COVID-19: An Insight into Social Dimension

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has not only impended physical health but also affected mental well-being followed by drastic alterations in social order and social economy. Severe psychological changes are instigated by the pandemic itself along with the imposition of adequate precautionary public health measures such as lockdowns, curfews, social distancing and isolation. The quarantine leading to minimal physical activities, isolation, separation from friends and relatives had a psychological impact on everyone, especially children, causing restlessness, loneliness, depression, lack of focus and low productivity. This chapter has focused on providing comprehensive information on Covid-19 relevant social and socio-ethical dimension. In this chapter, a detailed discussion has been made covering lockdown/quarantine and Covid fear-induced psychological consequences, people’s knowledge and attitude towards the pandemic, social crisis, viz., unemployment and crime, substance abuse, gender-based violence followed by some emerging trends in the social economy owing to the pandemic. Moreover, the socio-ethical dimension and prospects of crisis response through social networking in bringing transformative social change have also been deliberated. Some of the highlights of this chapter are as follows – COVID-19-induced global fiscal recession has pushed approximately 85 million populaces into unemployment and extreme poverty. Unemployment rate reached 14.8% in April 2020 in the USA, the world’s largest economy. Poor financial conditions accompanied by increased prices of consumer goods are one of the leading causes of stress-induced crimes. Stress induced by loss of income and inability to provide for food and housing exacerbated the intimate partner violence. 86% children of the studied population group, separated from their parents, exhibited emotional and behavioural changes. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder were also related to quarantine of 28% of parents. A survey correlating the mental health and imposed travel restrictions revealed 84% of the respondents with high or very high levels of psychological distress and 75% reported poor mental well-being. Moreover, substance use served as a coping mechanism for many which led to increased incidents of domestic abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.