COVID-19: Factors Associated with the Psychological Distress, Fear and Resilient Coping Strategies among Community Members in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

(1) Background: COVID-19 caused the worst international public health crisis, accompanied by major global economic downturns and mass-scale job losses, which impacted the psychosocial wellbeing of the worldwide population, including Saudi Arabia. Evidence of the high-risk groups impacted by the pandemic has been non-existent in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study examined factors associated with psychosocial distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping strategies among the general population in Saudi Arabia. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in healthcare and community settings in the Saudi Arabia using an anonymous online questionnaire. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) were used to assess psychological distress, fear and coping strategies, respectively. Multivariate logistic regressions were used, and an Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) was reported. (3) Results: Among 803 participants, 70% (n = 556) were females, and the median age was 27 years; 35% (n = 278) were frontline or essential service workers; and 24% (n = 195) reported comorbid conditions including mental health illness. Of the respondents, 175 (21.8%) and 207 (25.8%) reported high and very high psychological distress, respectively. Factors associated with moderate to high levels of psychological distress were: youth, females, non-Saudi nationals, those experiencing a change in employment or a negative financial impact, having comorbidities, and current smoking. A high level of fear was reported by 89 participants (11.1%), and this was associated with being ex-smokers (3.72, 1.14–12.14, 0.029) and changes in employment (3.42, 1.91–6.11, 0.000). A high resilience was reported by 115 participants (14.3%), and 333 participants (41.5%) had medium resilience. Financial impact and contact with known/suspected cases (1.63, 1.12–2.38, 0.011) were associated with low, medium, to high resilient coping. (4) Conclusions: People in Saudi Arabia were at a higher risk of psychosocial distress along with medium-high resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, warranting urgent attention from healthcare providers and policymakers to provide specific mental health support strategies for their current wellbeing and to avoid a post-pandemic mental health crisis.

Hardiness Personality and Family Support for Women’s Quality of Life with Breast Cancer

“…In effect, our study indicates that respondents had an average hardiness score of 73.0233 with SD = 9.3998, where 51.2 % of respondents were mature and had a hard and resistant culture and character slamming in the face of various situations in life. In line with the resilient theory resilient individuals are more optimistic than individuals who are not strong, are more flexible in the face of adversity, and prefer to use adaptive coping styles, such as control and a personal approach using adaptive (26,27), rather than maladaptive coping, such as avoidance, in the face of conditions stress (28). Hardiness and optimism are two factors needed in dealing with and promoting individuals to remain psychologically healthy even in the face of difficulty (12).…”

The Role of COVID-19-Associated Fear, Stress and Level of Social Support in Development of Suicidality in Patients Diagnosed with Affective and Stress-Induced Psychiatric Disorders during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Comparative Analysis

“…The feeling of fear of COVID-19, especially the fear of getting sick and dying, is significantly associated with a perceived level of distress [37][38][39][40]. The lowest and highest scores on the FCV-19S scale are recorded in East Asia and Spain (16 +/− 6; 18 +/− 5) and Australia (19 +/− 6), with a special risk for people who are younger, female, unemployed and students, as well as health care workers, while older people, men and those with better education showed lower values on the Fear of COVID-19 Scale [40][41][42]. The data on the level of fear in previously mentally ill people show clearly that it is significantly higher than in the general population.…”