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Psychological Distress During COVID-19 Curfews and Social Distancing in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT: Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to over 150 countries worldwide. Since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Saudi Arabia, cases have continued to escalate exponentially. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a negative effect on mental health and well-being. The study aimed to investigate the effects of the strict national regulations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of Saudi residents. Saudi residents aged 18 years or older were invited to complete an online questionnaire after one month of a nationwide 24-h curfew between May 6, 2020 and May 13, 2020. We measured psychological distress using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). We ran binary logistic regression analyses to detect variables that significantly predicted DASS-21 scores. Results: A sample of 2252 participants was recruited from the general population of Saudi Arabia. The DASS-21 score means and standard deviations for depression and anxiety for the whole sample (10.73 ± 10.29 and 6.98 ± 8.30, respectively) were in the range of mild depression and anxiety. In contrast, the mean DASS-21 stress score was within the normal range (11.97 ± 10.80). The mean stress score for healthcare workers was within the normal range (13.70 ± 10.68) but was significantly higher than the mean score for the public (11.56 ± 10.89; P = 0.0006). Several variables (e.g., age, gender, and history of contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases) were significantly associated with higher DASS-21 scores. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a psychological burden. Therefore, there is an urgent need to implement emergency public health interventions that ameliorate the risk perception of COVID-19 through the dissemination of adequate and targeted health information that could be a successful measure to mitigate the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Alghamdi BS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8764301 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ObjectivesThis study objectives were to investigate maternal psychological distress, mothers' fear of their children contracting COVID-19, mothers' perceptions of the information available regarding children and COVID-19, changes in children's behavior during lockdown, and concerns of pregnant women in Saudi Arabia.MethodsThis cross-sectional study surveyed women aged 18 years and older who either had children under 10 years of age or were pregnant at the time of the survey. The outcomes included psychological distress, mothers' fear of their children contracting COVID-19, change in children's behaviors during COVID-19 lockdown and pregnant women's concerns. Multivariable ordinary least squares regression models were employed to examine the adjusted associations between sociodemographic factors and psychological distress, as well as fear of COVID-19.ResultsOf 628 women, 11.8% (n = 74) were pregnant at the time of survey. Most of the pregnant women (89.2%, n = 66) had some degree of concerns about their unborn babies getting infected during delivery in the hospital. Among mothers of children under 10 years of age (n = 564), half (n = 282) reported change in their children's behavior during the lockdown. Most mothers and pregnant women (94.9%, n = 569) had some degree of psychological distress. Mothers and pregnant women with a college degree had significantly lower psychological distress (β = -1.346; p = 0.014) than women with a high school education or less. Similarly, mothers and pregnant women with monthly family income ≥ US$ 1,333 had lower psychological distress than those with < US$ 1,333. Women with pre-existing chronic physical (β = 2.424; p < 0.001) or mental (β = 4.733; p < 0.001) conditions had higher psychological distress than those without these conditions. Having children in the house was a contributory factor for higher psychological distress. For example, mothers with one child (β = 2.602; p = 0.007) had significantly higher psychological distress compared to expectant mothers without children in the house.ConclusionsMost mothers and expectant mothers in our study had moderate to high levels of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Saudi Arabia. Education, family income and chronic mental and physical conditions were associated with high psychological distress in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19.

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Psychological Distress During COVID-19 Curfews and Social Distancing in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

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