Abstract
BackgroundThe burden of psychological distress is increasing with the spread of the pandemic and also with the enforcement of its containment measures. The aim of this research was to determine the proportion of self-reported psychological distress, loneliness and degrees of resilient coping, and to also investigate the relationship of loneliness, coping and other variables with psychological distress among apparently healthy Indians during nation-wide lockdown period.MethodsA cross-sectional, region-stratified survey using pre-designed pre-tested Google form disseminated via different social media platforms was conducted. A total of 1249 responses were analysed all over India. The form enquired about Socio-demographic profile, awareness on COVID pandemic and cases in the surroundings. UCLA Loneliness scale, Brief resilience and coping scale (BRCS) and Psychological distress scale (K6) assessed self-reported loneliness, coping and psychological distress, respectively. Special regressor technique adjusting for endogeneity and heteroskedasticity was used to extract the average marginal effects.ResultsMajority of the respondents were 18–35 years old, male, single and urban residents. News media, social media mostly acted as sources of information regarding COVID related news. Overall, 54.47% (95% CI: 51.39–57.53%) and 38.39% (95% CI: 35.57–41.29%) were reported to be lonely and had low resilient coping ability respectively. Around 44.68% had high risk of developing psychological distress. Being a student (average marginal effect coefficient (AMECoef).: -0.07, 95% CI: [-0.12, -0.01]) and perceiving lockdown as an effective measure (AMECoef: -0.11, 95% CI: [-0.19, -0.03]) were protective against psychological distress. Psychological distress was associated with male respondents (AMECoef 0.07, 95% CI: [0.02, 0.11]), low or medium resilient copers (AMECoef 0.89, 95% CI: [0.17, 1.61]), and perceiving a serious impact of social distancing measures (AMECoef 0.17, 95% CI: [0.09, 0.26]).ConclusionsPsychological distress among Indian population during lockdown was prevalent. Poor coping ability and perceiving social distancing to have a serious impact was found to be significantly contributing to psychological distress. Appropriate measures to address these issues would be beneficial for the community mental health.
Highlights
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19 or n-CoV-2019 or SARS-Cov-2) pandemic sweeps across the world, causing a serious impediment to the general health of the population and economic growth, it is causing widespread concern, fear and stress resulting in a deranged psychological well-being, all of which are natural and normal reactions to the changing and uncertain situation that everyone finds themselves in [1, 2]
Social media mostly acted as sources of information regarding COVID related news
54.47% and 38.39% were reported to be lonely and had low resilient coping ability respectively
Summary
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19 or n-CoV-2019 or SARS-Cov-2) pandemic sweeps across the world, causing a serious impediment to the general health of the population and economic growth, it is causing widespread concern, fear and stress resulting in a deranged psychological well-being, all of which are natural and normal reactions to the changing and uncertain situation that everyone finds themselves in [1, 2] Several researchers in their studies indicated towards a high burden of psychological distress often associated with an adverse perceived severity associated with the spread of the pandemic and the containment measures like lockdown, mandatory use of facemask, social distancing etc. 71.19% (95% CI: 62.73–78.39%) respondents belonged to younger age group (18–35 years) with 4.03% (95% CI: 2.97–5.44%) belonging to
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
