Abstract
Background: Lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19 have affected many people's lifestyles and ability to earn a living. They add further distress to the lives of people in Syria, who have already endured 9 years of war. This study evaluates distress and the major causes of concerns related to COVID-19 during the full lockdown.Methods: Online questionnaires were distributed using SPTSS, K10, and MSPSS which were used with other demographic, war- and COVID-19-related questions that were taken from The (CRISIS) V0.1 Adult Self-Report Baseline Form.Results: Our sample included 5,588 with the mean age of 26.84 ± 7.815 years. Of those, only one case of COVID-19 was confirmed. Over 42.7% had two or more positive PTSD symptoms, 42.6% had moderate or severe mental disorder, but only 14.9% had low social support. Higher PTSD and K10 scores overall were seen in female participants and with most of war variables (P < 0.05). Relationships with the partner being negatively affected and distress from a decline in ability to work and provide food were the most prominent.Conclusions: The indirect effects of COVID-19 are far more than that of the pathogen itself. A reduced ability to earn and to provide food were the main concerns indicated in this study. Relationships deteriorated in participants with high K10 and PTSD scores who also had more symptoms and used more hypnotics in the last four weeks. Smoking patterns were not related to K10 and PTSD. Social support played a role in reducing stress, but when relationships were affected, lower support was observed.
Highlights
Further to the ramifications of war which the Syrian population has been experiencing since 2011, the spread of the COVID-19 virus has created additional challenges
37% did not report positive Screen for Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (SPTSS) items, and 23.3% met the criteria for probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
When regressing to determine the most significant contributing factors, we found that distress about providing food was the main contributing factor to the high SPTSS and K10 scores followed by distress from friends or family being infected, studies being affected from COVID-19, their job being affected from COVID-19, and gender
Summary
Further to the ramifications of war which the Syrian population has been experiencing since 2011, the spread of the COVID-19 virus has created additional challenges. Mental Disorder and COVID-19 Lockdown around the world designated specific hotlines, projects and support platforms for citizens coping with the stress of changes to their life brought by the pandemic [1,2,3,4], such measures in Syria did not take place. The reason for this could be attributed to the stigma regarding mental health, which is highly prevalent in most developing countries [5] and to the difficult nine years of war the country had been experiencing, making any mental health programs appear unreasonably out of context. This study evaluates distress and the major causes of concerns related to COVID-19 during the full lockdown
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