Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Mar 23, 2025
Date Accepted: Jul 11, 2025
Changing trends in Suicidal ideation and its influencing factors during the transition from quarantine to post-quarantine: A six-wave panel study among Chinese university students during the COVID-19 surge
ABSTRACT
Background:
To mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19, numerous countries have implemented lockdowns and quarantine measures. However, little is known about the impact of these measures on suicide ideation.
Objective:
This study aims to examine the relationship between COVID-19 infection, perceived beliefs, uncertainty stress, and suicidal ideation during the transition from quarantine to non-quarantine periods in China's COVID-19 surge.
Methods:
A prospective longitudinal observation design was employed. Changing trends across the six observation points were assessed using the Mann-Kendall test and The Cochran-Armitage test. A generalized estimating equation was to analyze the association between independent variables and suicide ideation.
Results:
221 (96.5%) participants remained for all six observation waves. The prevalence of suicide ideation during the quarantine period was 16.7%, 14.5%, and 14.5%, while during the non-quarantine period, it was 13.8%, 10.9%, and 10.0% respectively. There was a significant downward trend (T: -4.06) in suicide ideation. Perceived risk, perceived severity, and the number of new infectious cases showed statistically significant upward trends (Z values: 9.56, 7.13, and 3.69). However, uncertainty stress did not significantly change over the observation period ( p>0.05). Perceived risk and perceived severity were positively associated with suicide ideation (β: 0.5482, p<0.01 and 0.0817, p<0.01 respectively), while higher uncertainty stress contributed to higher suicide ideation (β: 0.1776, p<0.01). The number of new infectious cases did not show a significant association with suicide ideation (β: 0.0041, p>0.05).
Conclusions:
The findings have important implications for governments and policymakers in designing effective strategies to control infectious diseases. Clinical Trial: N/A
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