| dc.description.abstract | COVID-19 spread rapidly across the world, and by March 2020, the first case of COVID-19
was identified in South Africa. Lockdown-related measures such as restricted movement and
isolation were implemented to contain the virus. Combined with these measures, factors such
as economic decline, job losses, and food shortages can cause numerous mental health sequelae
such as depression. Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness as well as cases of suicide have
been reported around the world due to the pandemic and the associated feelings of anxiety and
depression. The aims of this study were to investigate levels of hopelessness and depression in
a sample of health care students. A random sample of students (N=174) enrolled in a health
sciences programme at the University of the Western Cape completed the Beck Hopelessness
Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and a three-item Resilience Scale.
The results revealed high levels of hopelessness and depression compared to previously reported
normative data for these scales. In addition, the indirect effects of hopelessness on depression
were significant, demonstrating the mediating role of resilience in the hopelessness–depression
relationship. | en_US |
