Psychological Distress due to COVID-19 in the Albanian Adult Population

Abstract

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11th, 2020. The pandemic had significantly affected public health, and the mental health of people was compromised regardless of age or socioeconomic status. In this study, we measured the psychological distress caused by the pandemic and determined the associated factors. An online survey was conducted from November 16th (2020) to January 31st (2021). The participants were Albanian adults (≥18 years old). The call to participate was posted on social networks. A questionnaire based on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was distributed to the participants via Google Forms. The internal consistency of the scales was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. The total number of participants was 488, and 87.3% were females. The mean age was 21.17 years. Full-time students and health care workers comprised 58% and 12.9% of the participants, respectively. The participants were asked 24 questions, and five factors explained 54.14% of the variance. The factors included mental fatigue, psychological consequences in metabolism, obsession with protective measures, negative perception of the situation, and empathy for patients with COVID-19. Effective and relevant mental health interventions and policies to help cope with psychological distress specifically related to COVID-19 should be designed and implemented.