Psychological Distress Experiences of Nigerians Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study examined the psychological distress experience of Nigerians amid COVID-19 pandemic. From March 20, 2020 to April 12, 2020, this descriptive survey used a snowballing sampling technique to select 502-Nigerian with an online semi-structured questionnaire containing Impact of Event Scale-Revised, GAD-7, Patient Health Questionnaire and Insomnia Severity Index. Gender had insignificant difference in the level of insomnia (χ2=04.93; df=3; p>0.05), however, 20.8% of males had sub-threshold of insomnia, 8.2% experienced moderate insomnia and 5.9% had severe insomnia; 32% females reported sub-threshold of insomnia, 12.4% had moderate insomnia while, 3.6% had severe insomnia. Also, gender had insignificant difference in the measures of depression (χ2=01.94; df=4; p>0.05); 55.4% males reported minimal depression, 22.3% had mild depression, 11.9% had moderate depression; 6.7% to 3.7% males had moderately to severe depression while, 49.3% of the females had minimal depression, 26.7% reported mild depression, 14.29% had moderate depression, 4.4% to 5.3% had moderately to severe depressive symptoms. Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) has no gender difference among respondents (χ2=02.51; df =3; p>0.05); 23% of males reported partial PTSS, 17.5% presented clinical PTSS, and 21.6% males had severe PTSS; while 29.3% of females had severe PTSS, 24% reported partial PTSS and 18.7% had clinical PTSS. Respondents reported insignificant gender difference on anxiety (χ2=0.08; df=1; p>0.05), while 51% reported moderate anxiety and 49% exhibited severe anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Findings revealed that Nigerians experienced psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic. Government and stakeholders in health sectors should provide psychological health services for the residents in Nigeria.

The Implications of Misconceptions about Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic in Relation to its Daily Increases from Nigerian Perspective

“…Obviously, these negative effects have caused some psychological impacts -the prevalence of insomnia, depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms among Nigerians during COVID-19 pandemic [53]; including mental and physical stress among health practitioners thus leading to temporary separation from families, stigma and the pain of losing patient's and colleagues [23]. The survivals might experience social stigma from the society [14]; fear of being stigmatised could have prevented people with suspected cases of the virus from coming out voluntarily for testing [51].…”

“…Even, many of them have acquired the virus and some have lost their lives [23]; leading to a global health crisis, particularly to handle critically ill patients [52]. Moreover, the experience of psychological impacts such as the prevalence of insomnia, depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms among Nigerians during COVID-19 pandemic have been reported [53].…”

Differences in psychosocial impact of lockdown and life satisfaction among Nigerian working adults during Covid-19

“…The desire to understand the impact of the Covid-19 on people's social relationships and mental health as well as its influence on life satisfaction has led to the conduct of many studies among different categories of people in several countries of the world (Wang, et al, 2019;Fardin, 2020;Otu et al, 2020;Zhang & Ma, 2020;Blake, et al, 2020;Bukuluki, et al, 2020;Dai, et al, 2020;UCL, 2020;White & Boor, 2020;Briggs & Numbere, 2020;Olaseni, et al, 2020). For instance, examined the unprecedented disruption of lives and work: health, distress, and life satisfaction of working adults in China one month into the Covid-19 outbreak.…”

“…At the same time, the severity of the disease in participants' city predicted their life satisfaction. Also, Olaseni et al (2020) reported the psychological distress experienced by Nigerians amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The result of the study revealed that Nigerians generally experienced various degrees of distress during the pandemic.…”

Assessment of Insomnia and Psycho-Social Health Status of Indian Citizens During Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown Period

“…4 The feeling of loneliness, due to reduced social interactions is a challenge for several psychological disorders such as; anxiety, drug abuse, insomnia, major depression etc. 5 Fear of losing livelihood due to isolation, constant sense of insecurity for oneself and loved once, affect in the availability of basic supplies can add to change in an individual's mental health status. 6 Authors in China have found insomnia is highly prevalent and associated with COVID-19.…”