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Psychological distress, fear and coping among Malaysians during the COVID-19 pandemic
journal contribution
posted on 2021-09-10, 00:00 authored by A S B Moni, S Abdullah, M F I L B Abdullah, M S Kabir, S M Alif, F Sultana, M Salehin, Shariful IslamShariful Islam, W Cross, M A RahmanIntroduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has enormously affected the psychological well-being, social and working life of millions of people across the world. This study aimed to investigate the psychological distress, fear and coping strategies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors among Malaysian residents.
Methods
Participants were invited to an online cross-sectional survey from Aug-Sep 2020. The study assessed psychological distress using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, level of fear using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and coping strategies using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to adjust for potential confounders.
Results
The mean age (±SD) of the participants (N = 720) was 31.7 (±11.5) years, and most of them were females (67.1%). Half of the participants had an income source, while 216 (30%) identified themselves as frontline health or essential service workers. People whose financial situation was impacted due to COVID-19 (AOR 2.16, 95% CIs 1.54–3.03), people who drank alcohol in the last four weeks (3.43, 1.45–8.10), people who were a patient (2.02, 1.39–2.93), and had higher levels of fear of COVID-19 (2.55, 1.70–3.80) were more likely to have higher levels of psychological distress. Participants who self-isolated due to exposure to COVID-19 (3.12, 1.04–9.32) and who had moderate to very high levels of psychological distress (2.56, 1.71–3.83) had higher levels of fear. Participants who provided care to a family member/patient with a suspected case of COVID-19 were more likely to be moderately to highly resilient compared to those who did not.
Conclusion
Vulnerable groups of individuals such as patients and those impacted financially during COVID-19 should be supported for their mental wellbeing. Behavioural interventions should be targeted to reduce the impact of alcohol drinking during such crisis period.
History
Journal
PLoS ONEVolume
16Issue
9Article number
ARTN e0257304Pagination
1 - 21Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)Location
San Francisco, Calif.Publisher DOI
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ISSN
1932-6203eISSN
1932-6203Language
EnglishPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalUsage metrics
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