The Psychological Status of General Population in Hubei Province During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Introduction: The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), originating from Wuhan (Hubei, China), has rapidly spread across China and several other countries. During the outbreak of COVID-19, mental health of the general population in Hubei province may be affected. This study aimed to assess the psychological status and associated risk factors of the general population in Hubei province during the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was used to evaluate the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety, which were assessed by the Chinese version of the Impact of Event Scale—Revised, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9, and the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, respectively. Coping style was assessed by the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to detect factors associated with mental health outcomes.Results: Among 9,225 participants, 44.5% rated symptoms of PTSD, and 17.9 and 12.7% suffered from moderate and severe symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively. Individuals who were geographically located in Wuhan and familiar with someone who has COVID-19 had more severe symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety, as well as a higher score in passive coping style (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that people who were geographically located in Wuhan [odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14–1.36, P < 0.001] were associated with severe symptoms of PTSD. Besides, individuals who were familiar with someone who had COVID-19 (OR = 2.33, 95% CI = 2.07–2.63, P < 0.001; OR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.66–2.17, P < 0.001; OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.78–2.39, P < 0.001) and had a higher score in passive coping style (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.14–1.17, P < 0.001; OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.15–1.19, P < 0.001; OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.15–1.19, P < 0.001) were associated with severe symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Moreover, a higher score in active coping style (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.95–0.97, P < 0.001; OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.93–0.94, P < 0.001; OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.94–0.96, P < 0.001) was associated with a lower risk of symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety.Conclusions: During the midphase of COVID-19 outbreak, quite a few people have mental health problems; nearly half of the respondents rated symptoms of PTSD, and approximately one-fifth reported moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and depression. Our findings may lead to better comprehend the psychological status of the general public and alleviate the public mental health crisis during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Mental Disorders and Emotional Competence Among Chinese Adolescents Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Mediation Model

“…Based on the hypothesized mediation model, one of the major findings was that 6-month follow-up levels of emotional competence played a vital mediating role in the association between 6-month follow-up depression and COVID-19 exposure after controlling for gender, age, and ethnicity. Most prior studies on mental health in the COVID-19 preferred to explore its correlation between outcome variables without including potential mediators of psychological disorders (44,45). The results from the current study suggested that emotional ability related variables, particularly the ones examining the levels of emotional skills or capabilities, could be included when exploring long-term psychological disorders in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Activity system, schizotypal personality, and mentalization: A study between halted activity and COVID-19 conducted in Henan, China

“…Around 46% of the participants had stress levels above the cut-off (score = 24 on IES-R), with a Mean score = 22.9 (SD = 14.9) (see Table 7 ), which goes with previous studies that also used IES-R to measure stress levels in the Chinese context during the pandemic. For Chen et al ( 106 ) and Ting et al ( 113 ) the considerable stress percentage was 44.5% for sample's N = 9,225 (Median is provided = 16.0) and 45.2% (Mean score = 26.61; SD = 17.95), respectively. However, our sample's PTSD mean was lower than that of studies conducted in 2020 [e.g., see, ( 15 )], which may consistent with a longitudinal study by Wang et al ( 16 ) that showed that the PTSD Mean score decreased over time [from 32.98 (SD = 15.42) to 30.76 (SD = 15.42)].…”

“…Also, the Chinese version of IES-R (CIES-R) has shown valid and satisfactory psychometric properties in the Chinese context [Intrusion (Cronbach's α = 0.89), Avoidance (Cronbach's α = 0.85), and Hyperarousal (Cronbach's α = 0.83)] ( 103 , 104 ). Furthermore, IES-R has been used in numerous studies to measure the psychological impact of COVID-19-related experiences [e.g., ( 15 , 16 , 54 , 59 , 60 , 68 , 105 , 106 )].…”

Utilization of a Mobile Multifunctional Workstation for Coronavirus Nasopharyngeal/Oropharyngeal Specimen Collection

“…The high prevalence of emotional distress in medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic deserves great attention ( 15 – 19 ). Nurses are more prone to anxiety in the late stage of epidemic development ( 20 – 22 ). The relationship between the negative emotions and the comfort of the working environment is worthy of further study in the future.…”