{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,10]],"date-time":"2026-10-10T08:56:07Z","timestamp":1791622567548,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,19]],"date-time":"2024-10-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1729296000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased fear of infection, social isolation, financial concerns, and feelings of loneliness and uncertainty. Studies reveal that the pandemic has had a significant negative impact on mental health. This systematic review aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among students in Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. A literature search was performed on August 5, 2024, using the electronic databases Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO. The search utilized the Boolean logical operator expression (\u2018depression\u2019 AND \u2018anxiety\u2019 AND \u2018stress\u2019 AND \u2018COVID-19\u2019 AND \u2018Croatia\u2019 AND \u2018student\u2019). Results: Out of one hundred and fifty-four identified studies, five met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The studies used the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) to assess mental health. The results indicate a high prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among students in Croatia during the pandemic. Conclusion: A high prevalence of negative affective emotions was observed among students in Croatia during the pandemic. This finding underscores the importance of developing effective strategies for the early identification and management of mental disorders among students, irrespective of the pandemic\u2019s conclusion.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm13206240","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,21]],"date-time":"2024-10-21T10:49:22Z","timestamp":1729507762000},"page":"6240","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Symptoms Among Students in Croatia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3025-6870","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stipe","family":"Vidovi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31 000 Osijek, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Slavica","family":"Kotromanovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Split, 21 000 Split, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1517-720X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zenon","family":"Pogoreli\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Split, 21 000 Split, Croatia"},{"name":"Department of Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Split, 21 000 Split, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1700","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(21)02143-7","article-title":"Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"398","author":"Santomauro","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"240","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(19)30934-1","article-title":"New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"394","author":"Charlson","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1192\/bji.2017.11","article-title":"Public mental health: Key challenges and opportunities","volume":"15","author":"Campion","year":"2018","journal-title":"BJPsych. 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