Assessment of Psychological Stress Associated with COVID-19 Lockdown in the Urban Adult Population of India

Abstract

Background: COVID-19, the unprecedented deadly pandemic has turned the world topsy-turvy. It has affected all the people like poor and rich, young and old, educated and uneducated, male and female with detrimental consequences. People who are in quarantine and/or lockdown are likely to develop a wide range of symptoms like psychological stress, irritability, anxiety, depression etc. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the psychological effects of COVID-19 lockdown among adult population residing in Chennai, India. This study is a cross sectional descriptive study carried out in Chennai, India. A structured questionnaire was developed containing 25 questions related to the emotional disturbance, depression, self-concept, physical problems, cognitive changes and role performance and 7 questions related to the demographics. An online survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire using a non-probability snowball sampling technique. A total of 579 responses were received. The findings of the present study revealed that, among 579 respondents, more than half of the respondents 320(56.3%)were under severe psychological stress, 192(33.2%) respondents that is one third of the people had moderate psychological stress and remaining were having mild psychological stress. The study also revealed that there was a statistically significant association of psychological problems associated with demographic variables. Our Study revealed that people living in Chennai had severe psychological problem due to theCOVID-19 lockdown. This highlights the importance and immediate need for the development special intervention programmes for the people with psychological problems due to the COVID-19 lockdown.