Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 in Spain started at the end of February. By 9th April 2020 Spain was the second country in confirmed cases and in deaths. On March 14, 2020, the Spanish Government declared the state of alarm to limit viral transmission. During such state, citizens must stay confined at home with few justified exceptions. This whole situation drastically changed the life of the population, which can cause a wide range of psychosocial impacts. This study explored the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general adult population (N = 3055) during the first stages of the outbreak in Spain, as well as their anxiety, stress and depression levels. We also examined the extent to which the following variables were associated to participants’ mental health: 1) demographics; 2) degree of concern about the pandemic; 3) environmental conditions during the home confinement; 4) changes in daily life as a consequence of the pandemic; 5) contact with the COVID-19 disease; 6) actual and perceived severity of the crisis; 7) information about the COVID-19; 8) perceived health status and; 9) leisure activities conducted within the last 24 hours. Our results show that Spanish consider the current COVID-19 health crisis as fairly severe, and the majority felt that the COVID-19 crisis had greatly impacted on their daily life, including changes in their daily routines and cancellation of important activities. About 36% of the participants reported moderate to severe psychological impact, 25% showed mild to severe levels of anxiety, 41% reported depressive symptoms, and 41% felt stressed. Women, young, and those who that lost their job during the health crisis showed the strongest negative psychological symptoms. What worried Spaniards the most was the likelihood of suffering an economic crisis derived from the pandemic. We found factors associated with better mental health, such as being satisfied with the information received about the health crisis, conducting leisure activities, and the perception of being in good health. These findings can be used to design psychological interventions to help coping with COVID-19 pandemic, both in Spain and other countries.
Highlights
In December 2019, the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID2019) started spreading in the Chinese city of Wuhan (Hubei province)
As of 9th April, Spain is the second country in confirmed cases of infected people (146,690) and the third in number of deaths (14,555; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2020)
To fill this gap in the literature, this study focused on the psychological impact that the first stages of COVID-19 crisis had on Spanish psychological health
Summary
In December 2019, the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID2019) started spreading in the Chinese city of Wuhan (Hubei province). COVID-19 virus spreads from person to person via virus-laden respiratory droplets produced when an infected person talks, coughs, exhales or sneezes These droplets can be inhaled by the people nearby, and/or fall over objects and surfaces, which another person can touch, and touch their nose, eyes or mouth and get infected (World Health Organization, 2020; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). As of April 3rd, the number of daily new cases in Spain per day seem to have stabilized and even begun to decrease, the number of active cases is still increasing. This is mainly due to the severe movement restrictions taken by the Spanish Government in order to mitigate the spread. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap in the literature
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