Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals have been quarantined due to their contact with someone infected with the disease and some have experienced psychological stress reactions as a result. This study aims to explore factors affecting the psychological health and post-traumatic stress reactions in people quarantined due to COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Participants included an experimental group of 450 quarantined individuals and a control group of 594 non-quarantined individuals. Participants completed measures of post-traumatic stress reactions, emotional regulation, general self-rated health, and multi-dimensional scales of perceived social support, stigma, and interpersonal avoidance. Significant differences in measures were found between the quarantined and the non-quarantined groups with respect to intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal, PTSD, degree of emotional regulation, stigma, interpersonal avoidance, and general self-rated health. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that enforced quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic is a significant determinant of psychological effects in individuals, including post-traumatic stress reactions.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major global health threat and crisis
Social distancing, quarantining, and isolation started to be practiced at the beginning of April, 2020 in an attempt to reduce the spread of the disease, along with contact tracing to track those who had come in contact with an infected person [2]
Whereas the first objective of this research was to establish the effects of COVID-19 quarantining on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the second objective was a follow-up analysis
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major global health threat and crisis. Social distancing, quarantining, and isolation started to be practiced at the beginning of April, 2020 in an attempt to reduce the spread of the disease, along with contact tracing to track those who had come in contact with an infected person [2]. Quarantine is different from isolation, which, strictly speaking, is the seclusion of an infected person from uninfected individuals, even in one’s own home. Due to the global shutdown and stay-at-home orders, many others are experiencing social isolation. Saudi Arabia has been intensely vigilant and has implemented strict guidelines about remaining in one’s home and quarantining [4]. As of this writing, Saudi Arabia has already recorded 354,813 confirmed cases of COVID-19 [1]
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