Structure of anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the Russian-speaking sample: results from on-line survey

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed not only serious threats to the physical health of the population, but also provoked a wide range of psychological problems. Objective: to identify the most vulnerable populations during the epidemic period (including individuals with affective disorders) who are most in need of psychological and / or psychiatric help. Material and methods: on-line survey of 1957 Russian-speaking respondents over 18 years old from March 30 to April 5, 2020. The level of anxiety distress was verified with the psychological stress scale (PSM-25). Stigmatization of individuals experiencing respiratory symptoms was assessed with modified devaluation / discrimination questionnaire (PDD; Cronbach's α = 0.707). Results: 99.8% of respondents had variable concerns associated with COVID-19. Their mean scores of psychological stress were increased to moderate levels (104.9 ± 34.4 points), and the stigmatization scores exceeded the value of the whole sample median (19.5 ± 3.4; Me = 19). 35% of respondents had concerns about COVID-19 associated with anxiety distress (Cohen's d = 0.16-0.39): these were "risk of isolation" and "possible lack of medication for daily use". The most prone to concerns were respondents' groups with affective disorders, young people (≤20 years old), unemployed, single, those without higher education and women. Conclusions: large sub-cohorts of the Russian-speaking sample need correction of anxiety distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of such measures should be targeted and oriented in terms of coverage and content to identified vulnerable social groups.

<p>The Magnitude of Psychological Problem and Associated Factor in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic Among Communities Living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 2020: A Cross-Sectional Study Design</p>

“…The current research found that having more than a secondary level of education had two times more to develop the psychological problem as compared to those who had primary level education. This result was inconsistent with the studies done in Russia 25 and China. 26 It might be due to a chance to work outside the home through contact with different people and high expectations from the community and government in controlling and preventing the pandemic with limited resources.…”

“…The question item 21, 17, 16, 13, 10, 5, and 3 were items of the depression subscale. The score of depression subscale was Normal (0-9), Mild depression (10)(11)(12), Moderate depression (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), severe depression (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), and Extremely severe depression (28-42). Questions item 20, 19, 15, 9, 7, 4, and 2 were items of the anxiety subscale.…”

“…Questions items 18,14,12,11,8,6, and 1 were items of the stress subscale. The score of stress subscale was Normal (0-10), Mild stress (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18), Moderate stress (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26), severe stress (27-34), and Extremely severe stress (35-42). 22,23 The third part of the questioner was the current knowledge, attitude, and awareness (KAP) about the coronavirus (COVID-19).…”

COVID-19 Impact on Kazakhstan University Student Fear, Mental Health, and Substance Use

“…Studies show pandemic, such as COVID-19, increases psychological stress and the consequences of quarantine lead to mental health conditions such as depression, irritability, insomnia, anger, and exhaustion (Brooks et al 2020;Prilutskaya and Grjibovski 2020;Sorokin et al 2020). The present fear level of Kazakh students tends not to differ from that reported by Russian and Belarus university students at the peak of first wave infection during April to June 2020.…”

Perceived Threat of COVID-19 Contagion and Frontline Paramedics’ Agonistic Behaviour: Employing a Stressor–Strain–Outcome Perspective

“…Per Chinese scholars, a parallel epidemic of depression, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion is triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic [4,49]. In addition, recent studies posited that the pandemic had provoked widespread psychological issues, such as fear, anxiety, and depression, among countries with a high prevalence of viral infections [50,51]. Similarly, we assumed that perceived emotional and cognitive threat concerning COVID-19 would create anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion among the paramedics treating patients with COVID-19, which would ultimately lead to their agonistic behaviour (i.e., outcome).…”