Psychological effects of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown on dental students in Tunisia: An online survey

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Published Dec 27, 2025
https://doi.org/10.62438/tunismed.v103i10.5429
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Vol. 103 No. 10 (2025): Tunis Med Oct 2025

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Farah Chouchene
Laboratory of Biological, Clinical and Dento-Facial Approach, University of Monastir, Monastir, Dentistry Department, Ibn El Jazzar University Hospital, Kairouan, Tunisia
Nehed Sboui
Laboratory of Biological, Clinical and Dento-Facial Approach, University of Monastir, Monastir, Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dental Medicine of Monastir, Tunisia
Imed Ouni
Laboratory of Biological, Clinical and Dento-Facial Approach, University of Monastir, Monastir, Dentistry Department, Regional Hospital of Kasserine, Kasserine, Tunisia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2903-4514
Fatma Masmoudi
Laboratory of Biological, Clinical and Dento-Facial Approach, University of Monastir, Monastir, Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dental Medicine of Monastir, Tunisia
Ahlem Baaziz
Laboratory of Biological, Clinical and Dento-Facial Approach, University of Monastir, Monastir, Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dental Medicine of Monastir, Tunisia

Abstract

Aim:


The present study aimed to assess the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the mental health of dental students.


Methods:


The survey was designed as an online cross-sectional study conducted among dental students in Tunisia between May 2020 and January 2022 using a web-based questionnaire. Anxiety, depression, and stress were assessed using three standardized scales (validated French version); the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), the Patient Heath Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The independent t-test and analysis of variance were used to determine the significance of the continuous data. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were performed for categorical data.


Results:


A total of 366 dental students completed the questionnaire, 82.5% (302) were female and 17.5% (64) were male, with a mean age of 21± 6 years. Most participants (96.7%) were Tunisian and 25.7% were in the first grade. The mean scores for anxiety, depression, and stress were 11.48±5, 13.82±5.63, and 8.20±4.72 respectively. Female students were more likely to experience depression than male students (P<0.05).A statistically significant difference was reported between students mental health status, GAD-7, PHQ-9, and PSS-10 scores (P<0.05) and a statistically significant difference was found between students under medical care for mental health problems, GAD-7, PHQ-9, and PSS-10 scores (P<0.001).


Conclusion:


During the pandemic, increased stress and anxiety have been reported among dental students, and some experienced symptoms related to depression.

Keywords:

Anxiety, COVID-19, Dental student, Depression, Mental health, occupational stress

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Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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