IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i22p8390-d444229.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

One Virus, Four Continents, Eight Countries: An Interdisciplinary and International Study on the Psychosocial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults

Author

Listed:
  • Mélissa Généreux

    (Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada)

  • Philip J. Schluter

    (School of Health Sciences, University of Canterbury-Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand)

  • Kevin KC Hung

    (Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ngan Shing Street 30-32, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Chi Shing Wong

    (Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ngan Shing Street 30-32, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Catherine Pui Yin Mok

    (Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ngan Shing Street 30-32, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Tracey O’Sullivan

    (Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 7K4, Canada)

  • Marc D. David

    (Département de communication, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada)

  • Marie-Eve Carignan

    (Département de communication, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada)

  • Gabriel Blouin-Genest

    (School of Applied Politics, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada)

  • Olivier Champagne-Poirier

    (Département de communication, Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada)

  • Éric Champagne

    (School of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada)

  • Nathalie Burlone

    (School of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada)

  • Zeeshan Qadar

    (National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T5, Canada)

  • Teodoro Herbosa

    (Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Philippines, Manille Grand Manille 1000, Philippines)

  • Gleisse Ribeiro-Alves

    (Centro Universitário de Brasília, Brasília 70850-090, Brazil)

  • Ronald Law

    (Department of Health, Manila, Manille 2932, Philippines)

  • Virginia Murray

    (Public Health England, London SE1 8UG, UK)

  • Emily Ying Yang Chan

    (Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ngan Shing Street 30-32, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Nathalie Pignard-Cheynel

    (Académie du journalisme et des médias, Université de Neuchâtel, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland)

  • Sébastien Salerno

    (Université de Genève, Boulevard du Pont-d’Arve 40, 1205 Genève, Switzerland)

  • Grégoire Lits

    (Institut Langage et Communication, Université catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)

  • Leen d’Haenens

    (Institute for Media Studies, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium)

  • David De Coninck

    (Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium)

  • Koenraad Matthys

    (Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium)

  • Mathieu Roy

    (Department of Family Medicine & Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada)

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic brought about several features that increased the sense of fear and confusion, such as quarantine and financial losses among other stressors, which may have led to adverse psychosocial outcomes. The influence of such stressors took place within a broader sociocultural context that needs to be considered. The objective was to examine how the psychological response to the pandemic varied across countries and identify which risk/protective factors contributed to this response. An online survey was conducted from 29 May 2020–12 June 2020, among a multinational sample of 8806 adults from eight countries/regions (Canada, United States, England, Switzerland, Belgium, Hong Kong, Philippines, New Zealand). Probable generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depression episode (MDE) were assessed. The independent role of a wide range of potential factors was examined using multilevel logistic regression. Probable GAD and MDE were indicated by 21.0% and 25.5% of the respondents, respectively, with an important variation according to countries/regions (GAD: 12.2–31.0%; MDE: 16.7–32.9%). When considered together, 30.2% of the participants indicated probable GAD or MDE. Several factors were positively associated with a probable GAD or MDE, including (in descending order of importance) weak sense of coherence (SOC), lower age, false beliefs, isolation, threat perceived for oneself/family, mistrust in authorities, stigma, threat perceived for country/world, financial losses, being a female, and having a high level of information about COVID-19. Having a weak SOC yielded the highest adjusted odds ratio for probable GAD or MDE (3.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.73–3.77). This pandemic is having an impact on psychological health. In some places and under certain circumstances, however, people seem to be better protected psychologically. This is a unique opportunity to evaluate the psychosocial impacts across various sociocultural backgrounds, providing important lessons that could inform all phases of disaster risk management.

Suggested Citation

  • Mélissa Généreux & Philip J. Schluter & Kevin KC Hung & Chi Shing Wong & Catherine Pui Yin Mok & Tracey O’Sullivan & Marc D. David & Marie-Eve Carignan & Gabriel Blouin-Genest & Olivier Champagne-Poir, 2020. "One Virus, Four Continents, Eight Countries: An Interdisciplinary and International Study on the Psychosocial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:22:p:8390-:d:444229
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8390/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8390/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cuiyan Wang & Riyu Pan & Xiaoyang Wan & Yilin Tan & Linkang Xu & Cyrus S. Ho & Roger C. Ho, 2020. "Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    2. Julio Torales & Marcelo O’Higgins & João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia & Antonio Ventriglio, 2020. "The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(4), pages 317-320, June.
    3. Cristina Mazza & Eleonora Ricci & Silvia Biondi & Marco Colasanti & Stefano Ferracuti & Christian Napoli & Paolo Roma, 2020. "A Nationwide Survey of Psychological Distress among Italian People during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-14, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuen Yu Chong & Wai Tong Chien & Ho Yu Cheng & Demetris Lamnisos & Jeļena Ļubenko & Giovambattista Presti & Valeria Squatrito & Marios Constantinou & Christiana Nicolaou & Savvas Papacostas & Gökçen A, 2021. "Patterns of Psychological Responses among the Public during the Early Phase of COVID-19: A Cross-Regional Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Mélissa Généreux & Philip J. Schluter & Elsa Landaverde & Kevin KC Hung & Chi Shing Wong & Catherine Pui Yin Mok & Gabriel Blouin-Genest & Tracey O’Sullivan & Marc D. David & Marie-Eve Carignan & Oliv, 2021. "The Evolution in Anxiety and Depression with the Progression of the Pandemic in Adult Populations from Eight Countries and Four Continents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Lennart Reifels & Michel L. A. Dückers, 2023. "Disaster Mental Health Risk Reduction: Appraising Disaster Mental Health Research as If Risk Mattered," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Iris Schelhorn & Swantje Schlüter & Kerstin Paintner & Youssef Shiban & Ricardo Lugo & Marie Meyer & Stefan Sütterlin, 2022. "Emotions and emotion up-regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Rafael Youngmann & Nonna Kushnirovich, 2021. "Resource Threat versus Resource Loss and Emotional Well-Being of Ethnic Minorities during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-13, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ankica Kosic & Tamara Džamonja Ignjatović & Nebojša Petrović, 2021. "A Cross-Cultural Study of Distress during COVID-19 Pandemic: Some Protective and Risk Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-15, July.
    2. Md Altab Hossin & Lie Chen & Md Sajjad Hosain & Isaac Owusu Asante, 2022. "Does COVID-19 Fear Induce Employee Innovation Performance Deficiency? Examining the Mediating Role of Psychological Stress and Moderating Role of Organizational Career Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Carlos Ruiz-Frutos & Mónica Ortega-Moreno & Adriano Dias & João Marcos Bernardes & Juan Jesús García-Iglesias & Juan Gómez-Salgado, 2020. "Information on COVID-19 and Psychological Distress in a Sample of Non-Health Workers during the Pandemic Period," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-18, September.
    4. María Pilar Jiménez & Jennifer A. Rieker & José Manuel Reales & Soledad Ballesteros, 2021. "COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress as a Function of Age and Gender in a Spanish Sample," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Yanmengqian Zhou & Erina L. MacGeorge & Jessica Gall Myrick, 2020. "Mental Health and Its Predictors during the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic Experience in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-19, August.
    6. J. Pierre Zila-Velasque & Pamela Grados-Espinoza & Naomi Coba-Villan & Jocelyn Quispe-Chamorro & Yesenia F. Taipe-Guillén & Estefany Pacheco & Laura Ccasa-Valero & Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas & Cristian , 2022. "Mental Disorders and Level of Resilience in Eight High-Altitude Cities of Peru during the Second Pandemic Wave: A Multicenter Population-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Stefania Scuri & Marina Tesauro & Fabio Petrelli & Ninfa Argento & Genny Damasco & Giovanni Cangelosi & Cuc Thi Thu Nguyen & Demetris Savva & Iolanda Grappasonni, 2022. "Use of an Online Platform to Evaluate the Impact of Social Distancing Measures on Psycho-Physical Well-Being in the COVID-19 Era," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-10, June.
    8. Lucía del Río-Casanova & Milagrosa Sánchez-Martín & Ana García-Dantas & Anabel González-Vázquez & Ania Justo, 2021. "Psychological Responses According to Gender during the Early Stage of COVID-19 in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-20, April.
    9. Mateusz Ciski & Krzysztof Rząsa, 2023. "Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression in the Investigation of Local COVID-19 Anomalies Based on Population Age Structure in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-23, May.
    10. Maria Didriksen & Thomas Werge & Janna Nissen & Michael Schwinn & Erik Sørensen & Kaspar R. Nielsen & Mie T. Bruun & Karina Banasik & Thomas F. Hansen & Christian Erikstrup & Sisse R. Ostrowski & Poul, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sleep Quality, Stress Level and Health-Related Quality of Life—A Large Prospective Cohort Study on Adult Danes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-14, July.
    11. José Pais-Ribeiro & Alexandra Ferreira-Valente & Margarida Jarego & Elisabet Sánchez-Rodríguez & Jordi Miró, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: Psychosocial and Health-Related Factors Associated with Psychological Discomfort," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    12. Alessandro Germani & Livia Buratta & Elisa Delvecchio & Claudia Mazzeschi, 2020. "Emerging Adults and COVID-19: The Role of Individualism-Collectivism on Perceived Risks and Psychological Maladjustment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-15, May.
    13. Edmond Pui Hang Choi & Bryant Pui Hung Hui & Eric Yuk Fai Wan & Jojo Yan Yan Kwok & Tiffany Hei Lam Tam & Chanchan Wu, 2021. "COVID-19 and Health-Related Quality of Life: A Community-Based Online Survey in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-12, March.
    14. Juan Gómez-Salgado & Montserrat Andrés-Villas & Sara Domínguez-Salas & Diego Díaz-Milanés & Carlos Ruiz-Frutos, 2020. "Related Health Factors of Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, June.
    15. Daniela Marchetti & Roberta Maiella & Rocco Palumbo & Melissa D’Ettorre & Irene Ceccato & Marco Colasanti & Adolfo Di Crosta & Pasquale La Malva & Emanuela Bartolini & Daniela Biasone & Nicola Mammare, 2023. "Self-Reported Mental Health and Psychosocial Correlates during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Data from the General Population in Italy," Data, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-7, June.
    16. Dana Alonzo & Marciana Popescu, 2022. "A qualitative examination of the mental health impact of Covid-19 in marginalized communities in Guatemala: The Covid Care Calls survey," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(7), pages 1435-1444, November.
    17. Martin Sanchez-Gomez & Gabriele Giorgi & Georgia Libera Finstad & Flavio Urbini & Giulia Foti & Nicola Mucci & Salvatore Zaffina & José M. León-Perez, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic as a Traumatic Event and Its Associations with Fear and Mental Health: A Cognitive-Activation Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-14, July.
    18. Daniela Morniroli & Alessandra Consales & Lorenzo Colombo & Elena Nicoletta Bezze & Lidia Zanotta & Laura Plevani & Monica Fumagalli & Fabio Mosca & Maria Lorella Giannì, 2021. "Exploring the Impact of Restricted Partners’ Visiting Policies on Non-Infected Mothers’ Mental Health and Breastfeeding Rates during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-11, June.
    19. Mohammad Farhan Al. Qudah & Ismael Salamah Albursan & Heba Ibraheem Hammad & Ahmad Mohammad Alzoubi & Salaheldin Farah Bakhiet & Abdullah M. Almanie & Soltan S. Alenizi & Suliman S. Aljomaa & Mohammed, 2021. "Anxiety about COVID-19 Infection, and Its Relation to Smartphone Addiction and Demographic Variables in Middle Eastern Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-14, October.
    20. Ewa Kupcewicz & Marzena Mikla & Helena Kadučáková & Elżbieta Grochans & Maria Dolores Roldán Valcarcel & Anna Maria Cybulska, 2022. "Correlation between Positive Orientation and Control of Anger, Anxiety and Depression in Nursing Students in Poland, Spain and Slovakia during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-18, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:22:p:8390-:d:444229. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.