Stigmatization related COVID-19 and PTSD among Chinese graduates

Abstract

Background Since COVID-19 broke out worldwide, it had caused extensive public health concerns and psychological distress, including PTSD and stigmatization towards recovered patients and people from high-risk areas. However, the association between PTSD, stigmatization and certain related factors have not been confirmed. Methods Through cluster random sampling, 946 Chinese graduates were investigated from 5 universities in Shanghai at three months after China lifted its coronavirus lockdown. PTSD symptoms were evaluated with PCL-5. Demographic and disease-related characteristics including stigmatization, educational attainment and working position were collected to assess their association with PTSD. Results 12.4% graduates were reported significant PTSD symptoms in PCL-5 screening with a cut-off of 33. Graduates with a Master’s degree (P = 0.02) or working position like “looking for a job” and “planning to go abroad” (P = 0.038) showed severer stigmatization related to COVID-19. Stigmatization towards both patients recovering from COVID-19 and people from high-risk areas had significant association with PTSD symptoms. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that stigmatization can explain 5% of variation of PCL-5 scores after controlling gender, age, educational attainments and working position. Conclusion Graduates who were looking for jobs or preparing to go abroad showed more stigmatization related to COVID-19. There was a positive correlation between stigma against COVID-19 and PTSD symptoms. More attention should be paid to the mental health status of graduates who are preparing to go abroad or looking for jobs.

Prevalence and risk for symptoms of PTSD among survivors of a COVID-19 infection

“…This result was consistent with previous studies among different populations, such as patients recovered from COVID-19 ( Mahmoudi et al., 2021 ), individuals who have experienced a mental disorder( Lewis et al., 2022 ), Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors and healthcare workers (HCWs) ( Cénat et al., 2022 ). A study conducted in China showed a positive correlation between COVID-19 related stigma and PTSD symptoms among patients recovering from COVID-19( Gu et al., 2022 ). Stigma would lead to self-esteem and self-efficacy reduction ( Avdibegović and Hasanović, 2017 ), as well as discrimination, rejection or exclusion from the normal social environment ( Rewerska-Juśko and Rejdak, 2020 ), which finally might result in further mental health issues.…”

Specifics of motivation of volunteers participating in in a clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine

“…По данным Всемирной организации здравоохранения, на сегодняшний день в мире зарегистрировано более 511 млн случаев заболевания коронавирусной инфекцией, среди которых более 6,2 млн привели к летальному исходу [1]. В России число заражённых достигло 18,4 млн и продолжает расти [2].…”

Identification and comparison of pandemic-to-symptom networks of South Korea and the United States

“…For instance, the South Korean government has taken a containment strategy focusing on disease prevention (14)(15)(16)(17), whereas in the U.S., a mitigation strategy was implemented at the level of government, that focused on reducing severe cases, while the stringency of the strategy differed widely depending on individual states (14,18). In addition, people of a collectivistic orientation like that of South Korea tend to show stronger risk perception and a higher sense of social responsibility toward their in-groups compared to a more individualistic culture (e.g., U.S.) (19)(20)(21), which may have impacted the psychological vulnerability during the early, adjustment stages of the pandemic. Lastly, differences in mental health care systems and accessibility to available mental healthcare in the two countries might also have contributed to different progress of anxiety/ depression during the pandemic.…”