Abstract
The exceptional pandemic due to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has obliged all Italians to stay at home. In the literature, there are evidences that traumatic global events, such as natural catastrophes and pandemic, have negative effects on the physical and psychological health of the population. We carried out a survey to analyze the physical and psychological conditions of Italians during the pandemic. Due to the severe limitations in moving during the phase one lockdown, the survey was administered by internet. Results show that Italians followed the provisions established by the Italian government to avoid contamination, but 43% of them declared to have suffered from physical symptoms, in particular migraine, sleep disorders, persistent exhaustion, and difficulty of concentration. They have great fear to be contaminated or that relatives or friends can be contaminated, and they actively take actions to avoid contamination. Participants declared that they had suffered a lot of inconveniences due to restrictions in their movements, and that their life habits were strongly changed. They spent their time at home in different activities, but their psychological well-being was strongly impaired by the lockdown. The level of anxiety tripled, in relation to the prepandemic period, and 30% of males and 41% of females declared to have severe levels of depression. Participants with high levels of optimism and hopefulness show a stronger resilience against anxiety and depression. In addition, there is a negative correlation between anxiety and depression and the five factors of personality. These results show that psychological diseases must not be neglected, and that people in lockdown do need support for their psychological health, also with the help of internet and communication technologies.
Highlights
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a global event that is causing enormous changes in lifestyles and daily activities of people of every part of the world
People are obliged to stay at home, even if they have permission to go out
The data collected from our sample show that people, during their mandatory permanence at home, are not totally inactive, and that they follow the provisions established by the Ministry of Public Health to avoid contamination
Summary
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a global event that is causing enormous changes in lifestyles and daily activities of people of every part of the world. In Italy, the pandemic has caused a high level of deaths among Italian citizens (14.1% of the contaminated population), especially among persons who are over 65 years old. There are more than 4.5 million cases of contaminated people with more than 312,000 deaths. On the basis of this high risk for citizens health, the Italian government from 10 March declared the lockdown for all working and social activities (phase one lockdown); the closure of schools, universities, public offices, and private businesses; and the mandatory quarantine for all Italians who were contaminated by the virus. With a survey, the impact of the pandemic and of the first phase of the lockdown on the behavior and psychological well-being of people
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