The relationship between psychological distress, meaning in life, and life satisfaction in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the fear of being infected, losing relatives, and measures taken to prevent contamination (e.g., lockdowns, quarantining, spatial distancing, etc.) have all increased the risk of depression, anxiety and stress. In the present study, the relationship between psychological distress, meaning in life, and life satisfaction was explored among individuals who were infected and not infected with COVID-19 during the pandemic. The present study is the first to examine these variables simultaneously. The sample comprised 687 adult individuals over the age of 18 years (mean=30.51 years). Results indicated that adult individuals with high life satisfaction had lower levels of psychological distress, find life more meaningful, and seek meaning less. Psychological distress was positively related with the search for meaning in life and negatively related with the existence of meaning in life. Moreover, depressive symptoms and the existence of meaning in life were significant predictors of life satisfaction. Durante la pandemia de COVID-19, el miedo a infectarse, perder a familiares y las medidas tomadas para prevenir la contaminación (por ejemplo, cierres, cuarentenas, distanciamiento espacial, etc.) han aumentado el riesgo de depresión, ansiedad y estrés. En el presente estudio, se exploró la relación entre la angustia psicológica, el significado de la vida y la satisfacción con la vida entre personas infectadas y no infectadas con COVID-19 durante la pandemia. El presente estudio es el primero en examinar estas variables simultáneamente. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 687 adultos mayores de 18 años (media = 30,51 años). Los resultados indicaron que las personas adultas con una alta satisfacción con la vida tenían niveles más bajos de angustia psicológica, encontraban la vida más significativa y buscaban menos el significado. El malestar psicológico se relacionó positivamente con la búsqueda de sentido en la vida y negativamente con la existencia de sentido en la vida. Además, la depresión y la existencia de sentido en la vida fueron predictores significativos de la satisfacción con la vida.

Impact of COVID-19 on education, social life, and mental health to university population in Albania: A cross-sectional survey

“…Table 2 shows the descriptive frequency statistics of the Stress scale among students. Regarding the stress scale, almost 34.4% of students resulted in a range from (0-1) scores, and are considered normal stress, 19.6% of students are classified as "hardly ever" stress with a range of scores (15-18), 18.8% of students are classified as "occasionally stress" with a range of scores (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25), 14.6% are classified with "almost always stress" with range scores (26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33) and only 12.6% of students are classified "always stress" in COVID-19 time with range score (+34). Additionally, Table 5 shows descriptive frequency statistics of the PHQ COVID-19 Scale among 472 students.…”

“…Additionally, Table 5 shows descriptive frequency statistics of the PHQ COVID-19 Scale among 472 students. Based on 9 items of PHQ-9 calculation questions, most of the students 43.3% reflect depression in normal scores (0-4), 33.9% of students reflect depression in mild scores (5-9), 15.3% of students reflect depression in moderate scores (10-14), and 7.5% of students reflect depression in severe scores (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27). Figure 1 shows the mental health burden among students of the University, while Figure 2 shows the mean scores of all scales by gender which means that females are more stressed, they fear more from COVID-19 and also, they have a higher level of anxiety and depression than males.…”

“…The total GAD-7 score was summed, and anxiety levels were classified as normal (0-4), mild (5-9), significant (10)(11)(12)(13)(14), or severe (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). The PHQ-9 total score was calculated, and the degree of depression was classified as normal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10)(11)(12)(13)(14), fairly serious (15)(16)(17)(18)(19), or severe (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27). The total score can be determined by adding the outcomes of the nine questions.…”

“…Countless research papers published after the first months of the outbreak highlighted the same mental health issues induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Countless research papers published after the first months of the outbreak highlighted the same mental health issues induced by the COVID-19 pandemic [23][24][25][26][27] . Meng et al found an association between anxiety and depression with poor sleep quality, and smoking in patients with COVID-19 [28] .…”

Disease-preventive behaviors and subjective well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Sample size selection was guided by similar, prior survey-based study designs [ 38 , 45 , 46 ]. Post-hoc sample size estimation [ 47 ], using the conservative parameters of 5% margin of error, 50% response distribution, and a 99% confidence interval, suggested a minimum N of 643 was adequately powered to detect modest effect sizes.…”