{
  "abstract": "Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the mental health of nursing students, highlighting the importance of examining their mental health changes and recovery in the post-pandemic era.\n\nObjective: This study aimed to explore the mental health changes and longitudinal relationships among nursing students after the full removal of COVID-19 restrictions through a longitudinal study conducted from December 2022 (one month post-removal, T1) to November 2023 (12 months post-removal, T2).\n\nMethods: A total of 379 nursing undergraduates completed baseline and follow-up surveys, with all data collected using paper questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, paired sample T-tests, and Chi-square tests were used to analyze the data. Cross-lag analysis was used to investigate the longitudinal relationships between depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.\n\nResults: The study demonstrated that scores for depression and anxiety symptoms significantly decreased over time, with prevalence decreasing from 72% to 50.1% at baseline to 51.7% and 31.2% at follow-up (P < 0.001). However, PTSD symptom scores unexpectedly showed an upward trend, with prevalence increasing from 15.9% at T1 to 27.8% at T2 (P < 0.001). In the cross-lagged model, depression (β = 0.61, P < 0.001) and anxiety (β = 0.67, P < 0.001) at T1 had significant cross-lag effects on PTSD symptoms at T2. Similarly, PTSD symptoms at T1 predicted subsequent depression (β = 0.33, P < 0.001) and anxiety (β = 0.33, P < 0.001) symptoms at T2.\n\nConclusion: The persistence of PTSD symptoms following the pandemic along with significant psychological stress, underscoring the need for targeted educational policies. Such policies should focus on enhancing post-disaster mental health recovery courses and fostering resilience among students.\n\nClinical trial number: Not applicable.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Key Laboratory of Digital-Intelligent Disease Surveillance and Health Governance, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China",
    "School of Nursing, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China",
    "School of Public Health, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China",
    "Sichuan Primary Health Care Research Center, North Sichuan Medical College, 234 Fujiang Road, Shunqing District, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yinhai Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Tong Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xuan Jiang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jiali Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Congxuan Lin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Xiong Ke",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-4534-7866"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8113byp8dzzrq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s12912-026-05035-7",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13712037/",
  "id": "8113byp8dzzrq",
  "issns": [
    "1472-6955"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05035-7",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3203|COVID-19 and Mental Health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7171653775",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13712037",
  "pmid": "42934627",
  "published": "2026-07-29",
  "publisher": "BMC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8113byp8dzzrq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:22:42Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13712037",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05035-7"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:3203|COVID-19 and Mental Health",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Mental health changes and associations among nursing students in the post-pandemic era: a one-year longitudinal study",
  "title_text": "Mental health changes and associations among nursing students in the post-pandemic era: a one-year longitudinal study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:22:42Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8113byp8dzzrq",
  "venue": "BMC Nursing",
  "versions": []
}