Related Experiment Video For COVID-19

Updated: Sep 21, 2025

Signal Attenuation as a Rat Model of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Signal Attenuation as a Rat Model of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Published on: January 9, 2015

Increases in symptoms associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder among university students during the COVID-19

Michael E Silverman¹, Samoni Nag², Alyssa Kalishman³

¹Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.

Journal of American College Health : J of ACH

|June 3, 2022

Abstract

Objective:

The long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students' mental health remains unknown. The current study explored self-reported Obsessive-Compulsive symptomatology among college student cohorts from pre-, peak-, and later-pandemic time points.

Participants:

Undergraduate college students (N = 524) who volunteered for course credit.

Methods:

Self-report responses on the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS), which includes subscales for contamination, unacceptable thoughts, harm responsibility, and symmetry, were collected from November 29, 2016 through April 27, 2021 and assessed for differences between the pre-, peak-, and later-pandemic cohorts.

Results:

Peak-pandemic responders reported higher symptomatology for contamination and unacceptable thoughts compared to pre-pandemic responders (and for pre- vs. later-pandemic for contamination), with no significant effects for symmetry or harm responsibility.

Conclusions:

Although the longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on students remains unknown, a greater shift in college mental health services from prevention to assessing and addressing more immediate challenges may be necessary.

Keywords:

COVID-19 OCD Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms mental health university students

More Related Videos

Exploring the Neural Correlates of Cognitive Reappraisal in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Task-based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Exploring the Neural Correlates of Cognitive Reappraisal in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Task-based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Published on: March 14, 2025

Comparing Objective Conjunctival Hyperemia Grading and the Ocular Surface Disease Index Score in Dry Eye Syndrome During COVID-19

Comparing Objective Conjunctival Hyperemia Grading and the Ocular Surface Disease Index Score in Dry Eye Syndrome During COVID-19

Published on: May 25, 2022

Related Concept Videos

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both, which consume significant time and interfere with daily functioning. Obsessions involve persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that evoke anxiety. Common examples include irrational fears of contamination or harm. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed to reduce the anxiety caused by obsessions. For instance, individuals...

Anxiety: Overview

Anxiety: Overview

Anxiety is a common mental disorder featuring excessive worry, fear, and apprehension, significantly affecting daily life. People with anxiety disorders experience persistent and intense anxiety, interrupting their everyday functioning.
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.

Panic Disorder

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and sudden minutes-long episodes of intense fear, known as panic attacks. These attacks may feel like heart attacks and often happen without warning or a specific cause. They can include symptoms such as rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, chest pain, trembling, sweating, dizziness, and a sense of helplessness. During a panic attack, individuals may feel as though they are experiencing a heart attack or are in a...

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is characterized by an intense fear of social situations where one might face humiliation, rejection, embarrassment, or negative evaluation. This disorder leads individuals to avoid activities like casual conversations, public speaking, or seemingly simple tasks such as eating, signing documents, or swimming, in public settings. Its impact extends beyond discomfort, often significantly interfering with daily functioning and quality of life.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a chronic condition characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry that persists for at least six months, significantly interfering with daily functioning. Unlike situational anxiety, which arises in response to specific stressors, GAD often occurs without a clear cause. Individuals may experience disproportionate worry about work, health, or relationships. For instance, a person might continuously fear poor health despite normal medical evaluations or...

Stress and Mental Health

Stress and Mental Health

Chronic stress profoundly affects mental health, significantly influencing mood, behavior, and overall quality of life. Research closely links chronic stress with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Ongoing exposure to stress can lead to physiological and psychological changes, initiating a cycle of emotional distress and maladaptive coping mechanisms.
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...

Keywords:

COVID-19 OCD Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms mental health university students

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Extensive Experience Remodels Neural Task Circuitry to Escape the Frontal Bottleneck and Increase Automaticity of Categorization.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2026

Predicting errors before they occur using trial-by-trial dynamics of pre-error and post-error behavior.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2026

Repeated exposure to task-relevant and task-irrelevant information - and their interaction - affect visual search performance.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2026

Artificial intelligence and computer-aided diagnosis in diagnostic decisions: 5 questions for medical informatics and human-computer interface research.

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA·2025

Using the cognitive rigidity-flexibility dimension to deepen our understanding of the autism spectrum.

Personality neuroscience·2025

Standard experimental paradigm designs and data exclusion practices in cognitive psychology can inadvertently introduce systematic "shadow" biases in participant samples.

Cognitive research: principles and implications·2023

See all related articles