A Standardized Prospective Memory Evaluation of the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement on Young Students
The restriction imposed worldwide for limiting the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally impacted our lives, decreasing people’s wellbeing, causing increased anxiety, depression, and stress and affecting cognitive functions, such as memory. Recent studies reported decreased working...
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doaj-381e294131f14bc09452d5402051c6c82021-09-09T13:49:42ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832021-08-01103919391910.3390/jcm10173919A Standardized Prospective Memory Evaluation of the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement on Young StudentsFrancesca Pisano0Giulia Torromino1Daniela Brachi2Agnese Quadrini3Chiara Incoccia4Paola Marangolo5Department of Humanities Studies, University Federico II, 80133 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Humanities Studies, University Federico II, 80133 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Humanities Studies, University Federico II, 80133 Naples, ItalyIRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, ItalyIRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Humanities Studies, University Federico II, 80133 Naples, ItalyThe restriction imposed worldwide for limiting the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally impacted our lives, decreasing people’s wellbeing, causing increased anxiety, depression, and stress and affecting cognitive functions, such as memory. Recent studies reported decreased working memory (WM) and prospective memory (PM), which are pivotal for the ability to plan and perform future activities. Although the number of studies documenting the COVID-19 effects has recently blossomed, most of them employed self-reported questionnaires as the assessment method. The main aim of our study was to use standardized tests to evaluate WM and PM in a population of young students. A sample of 150 female psychology students was recruited online for the administration of two self-reported questionnaires that investigated psychological wellbeing (DASS-21), prospective, and retrospective memory (PRMQ). Subjects were also administered two standardized tests for WM (PASAT) and PM (MIST). We found increased anxiety, depression, and stress and decreased PM as measured by self-reports. The perceived memory failures agreed with the results from the standardized tests, which demonstrated a decrease in both WM and PM. Thus, COVID-19 restriction has strongly impacted on students’ mental health and memory abilities, leaving an urgent need for psychological and cognitive recovery plans.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/17/3919COVID-19 confinementprospective memoryworking memorypsychological wellbeing |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Francesca Pisano Giulia Torromino Daniela Brachi Agnese Quadrini Chiara Incoccia Paola Marangolo |
spellingShingle |
Francesca Pisano Giulia Torromino Daniela Brachi Agnese Quadrini Chiara Incoccia Paola Marangolo A Standardized Prospective Memory Evaluation of the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement on Young Students Journal of Clinical Medicine COVID-19 confinement prospective memory working memory psychological wellbeing |
author_facet |
Francesca Pisano Giulia Torromino Daniela Brachi Agnese Quadrini Chiara Incoccia Paola Marangolo |
author_sort |
Francesca Pisano |
title |
A Standardized Prospective Memory Evaluation of the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement on Young Students |
title_short |
A Standardized Prospective Memory Evaluation of the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement on Young Students |
title_full |
A Standardized Prospective Memory Evaluation of the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement on Young Students |
title_fullStr |
A Standardized Prospective Memory Evaluation of the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement on Young Students |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Standardized Prospective Memory Evaluation of the Effects of COVID-19 Confinement on Young Students |
title_sort |
standardized prospective memory evaluation of the effects of covid-19 confinement on young students |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Journal of Clinical Medicine |
issn |
2077-0383 |
publishDate |
2021-08-01 |
description |
The restriction imposed worldwide for limiting the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally impacted our lives, decreasing people’s wellbeing, causing increased anxiety, depression, and stress and affecting cognitive functions, such as memory. Recent studies reported decreased working memory (WM) and prospective memory (PM), which are pivotal for the ability to plan and perform future activities. Although the number of studies documenting the COVID-19 effects has recently blossomed, most of them employed self-reported questionnaires as the assessment method. The main aim of our study was to use standardized tests to evaluate WM and PM in a population of young students. A sample of 150 female psychology students was recruited online for the administration of two self-reported questionnaires that investigated psychological wellbeing (DASS-21), prospective, and retrospective memory (PRMQ). Subjects were also administered two standardized tests for WM (PASAT) and PM (MIST). We found increased anxiety, depression, and stress and decreased PM as measured by self-reports. The perceived memory failures agreed with the results from the standardized tests, which demonstrated a decrease in both WM and PM. Thus, COVID-19 restriction has strongly impacted on students’ mental health and memory abilities, leaving an urgent need for psychological and cognitive recovery plans. |
topic |
COVID-19 confinement prospective memory working memory psychological wellbeing |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/17/3919 |
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