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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Public Mental Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1596929

Anti-stigma campaign: The COVID-19 stigma and associated factors among Chinese young students

Provisionally accepted
Cong WangCong Wang1Yun-Fei MuYun-Fei Mu1Jia CaiJia Cai1Yu WangYu Wang1Zhongyue DengZhongyue Deng1Ai-Ping DengAi-Ping Deng1Hong-Jun SongHong-Jun Song1Tianming ZhangTianming Zhang2Xin-Yi ZhaoXin-Yi Zhao3Yiyue YangYiyue Yang1Li YinLi Yin1Yi HuangYi Huang1Jian-Jun LuoJian-Jun Luo4Mao-Sheng RanMao-Sheng Ran1*
  • 1Mental Health Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
  • 2Department of Social Work, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
  • 3School of Health Humanities, Health Science Centre, Peking University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 4Chongqing Mental Health Center, Chongqing, China

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COVID-19-related stigma, a persistent consequence of the pandemic, poses a significant threat to the well-being of individuals, particularly young students in crucial developmental stages. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of stigma views towards COVID-19 patients among young students in Sichuan Province, China, following the lifting of pandemic restrictions, and explored the associated influencing factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted online involving 82,873 young students. Data on demographic information, COVID-19-related experiences, and stigma views were collected. Logistic regression analysis identified risk factors for stigma, while Random Forest (RF) modeling ranked the importance of these factors. 20,155 (24.3%) participants reported stigmatizing views toward COVID-19 patients. Higher levels of psychological stress, particularly post-restriction lifting, significant emerged as a risk factor for stigma. Both self-infection and family members’ infection were risk factors of stigma, although psychological stress proved more influential. Furthermore, male students, those from minority groups, and those with rural household registrations exhibited higher stigma risk. These findings highlight the enduring nature of COVID-19 stigma among young students even after restrictions lifted. Targeted interventions aimed at reducing stigma and mitigating psychological stress are crucial for supporting the well-being of this vulnerable population.

Keywords: MSR designed this study. MSR, CW, YFM, Jc, YW, ZYD, APD, HJS

Received: 27 Mar 2025; Accepted: 11 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Mu, Cai, Wang, Deng, Deng, Song, Zhang, Zhao, Yang, Yin, Huang, Luo and Ran. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Mao-Sheng Ran, Mental Health Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material