Factors Associated With Psychological Distress, Fear and Coping Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia

Rahman, Muhammad Aziz; Hoque, M. Nazmul; Alif, Sheikh M; Salehin, Masudus; Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful; Banik, Biswajit; Sharif, Ahmed; Nazim, Nashrin Binte; Sultana, Farhana; Cross, Wendy

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-57952/v1

Cited by 45 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…Similar ndings have been reported in many other countries [18][19][20][21]. Aslam et al investigated the news headlines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and their induced emotions.…”

Section: Fearsupporting

confidence: 78%

Exposure to the COVID-19 News on Social Media: Psychological and Self-reported Behavioural Responses Among Iranian Adults

Mokhtari-Hesari

Yarmohammadi

Bahabadi³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Exposure to news on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is inevitable. This study aimed to explore associations between exposure to COVID-19 news on social media and psychological and behavioral consequences among Iranians.Methods: This was a telephone-based survey carried out in April 2020 in Iran. Iranian adults aged 18 and over were randomly selected from the postal codes and using their mobile phones. A self-designed questionnaire was administered to collect data on participants’ characteristics and questions to address their psychological and behavioral responses regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to assess the relationship between anxiety, fear, and behavioral responses and independent variables including exposure to news.Results: In all 1563 adults participated in the study. The mean age of respondents was 39.17±13.5 years. Moderate to high-level anxiety was reported by 55.4% of participants, while fear of being affected by coronavirus was reported by 54.1%. Overall 88% reported that they changed their behaviors to some extent. Exposure to the COVID-19 news on social media was by far the most influencing variable on anxiety (OR= 2.21, 95% CI: 1.62-3.04; P < 0.0001), fear (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.49-2.56; P < 0.0001), and change in health behaviors (OR = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.28-3.19; P = 0.003) in the regression model. While independent variables did not show significant associations with anxiety and behavior change, the fear of being infected by the COVID19 was associated with the female gender and some socio-economic characteristics of the participants.Conclusion: Although exposure to the COVID-19 news on social media seemed to be associated with excessive anxiety and fear among people, it also, to some extent, positively has changed people’s health behaviors towards preventive measures.

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“…Similar ndings have been reported in many other countries [18][19][20][21]. Aslam et al investigated the news headlines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and their induced emotions.…”

Section: Fearsupporting

confidence: 78%

Exposure to the COVID-19 News on Social Media: Psychological and Self-reported Behavioural Responses Among Iranian Adults

Mokhtari-Hesari

Yarmohammadi

Bahabadi³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…The participants were aged between 18 and 65 years old. The questionnaire was designed in accordance with the previously published literature and the survey was pre-tested for validation amongst migrants and non-migrants [14,23]. The present study used same methods and tools that used The survey was conducted in Arabic and English and took about 15 minutes to be completed.…”

Section: Study Design and Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present study used same methods and tools that used The survey was conducted in Arabic and English and took about 15 minutes to be completed. The present study used same methods and tools that used for the previous studies [14,24].…”

Section: Study Design and Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The structured survey questionnaire was adapted from a previous Australian study conducted for the same objective of this study [14]. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) [26], fear was measured using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) [27], and coping was measured using Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) [28].…”

Section: Study Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has been widespread anxiety and distress in all affected countries, arising from prolonged self-isolation and quarantine, infection fears, frustration, boredom, shortage of essential supplies, inadequate information, and nancial losses [12]. Even in countries such as Australia, where the infection and case fatality rate was very low, compared to other developed countries such as the USA or UK, people were distressed because of the potential to be infected with the virus, even without close contact with an infected person and the rapid spread within the communities [13,14]. Depoux, Martin [15] warned of the possibilities of adverse psychosomatic outcomes among people due to the pandemic, which is likely to be compounded by the constant ow of information (sometimes, misinformation) via online and various forms of social media.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Psychological Distress, Fear, and Coping Strategies among Citizens and Residents in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Alharbi

AlQurashi

Mahmud

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

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Background: COVID-19 caused the worst international public health crisis, accompanied by major global economic downturns, mass-scale job losses, which impacted on the psychosocial wellbeing of the worldwide population. This study examined factors associated with psychosocial distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping strategies amongst the general population in Saudi Arabia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an anonymous online questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regressions were used; Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) was reported.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; 24% (n=195), reported comorbid conditions including mental health illness. Factors associated with moderate to high levels of psychological distress were: youth (18 - 29 years) (AOR 3.35, 95% CIs 2.06 - 5.44), females (2.59, 1.60 - 4.19), non-Saudi nationals (2.17, 1.11 - 4.26), change in employment (2.9, 1.73 - 4.87), negative financial impact (2.14, 1.29-3.56), having comorbidities (2.67, 1.47 - 4.87), and current smoking (2.87, 1.55 - 5.33). Being ex-smokers (3.72, 1.14 - 12.14) and change in employment (3.42, 1.91 - 6.11) were associated with higher levels of fear of COVID-19. People whose financial situation was impacted and who had contact with known/suspected cases (1.63, 1.12-2.38) had low medium to high resilient coping.Conclusions: People in Saudi Arabia were at a higher risk of psychosocial distress and fear along with low resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, warranting urgent attention from healthcare providers and policymakers, to provide specific mental health support strategies for their wellbeing currently and to avoid a post-pandemic mental health crisis.

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Distress of tertiary education students in Australia during the COVID‐19 pandemic

et al. 2022

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Objective This project sought to characterize levels of distress in Australian tertiary education students during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods Advertisements were placed on multiple participant recruitment and student run websites associated with various tertiary institutions. Level of overall distress was assessed with the K‐10 so that comparisons could be made with previous research. A total of 1072 tertiary education students 18 years or older participated in the study. Results 70.9% of tertiary education students studying in Australia displayed elevated levels of psychological distress during the pandemic, with 23.01% of the sample reporting extreme levels of distress. Conclusions More tertiary education students experienced severe distress during the COVID‐19 pandemic than adults in the general population, as well as before the pandemic. Implications: Services are needed to help tertiary education students cope with elevated levels of distress associated during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

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Factors Associated With Psychological Distress, Fear and Coping Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia

Cited by 45 publications

References 30 publications

Exposure to the COVID-19 News on Social Media: Psychological and Self-reported Behavioural Responses Among Iranian Adults

Exposure to the COVID-19 News on Social Media: Psychological and Self-reported Behavioural Responses Among Iranian Adults

Psychological Distress, Fear, and Coping Strategies among Citizens and Residents in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Distress of tertiary education students in Australia during the COVID‐19 pandemic

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