Open AccessPsychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among adults in India: A longitudinal study
Author(s) -
Manjit Singh Sidhu,
Prahbhjot Malhi,
Neha Pandeya
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
indian journal of public health/indian journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.381
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 2229-7693
pISSN - 0019-557X
DOI - 10.4103/ijph.ijph_1034_21
Subject(s) - coping (psychology) , anxiety , dysfunctional family , dass , clinical psychology , distress , pandemic , mental health , longitudinal study , multilevel model , multivariate analysis , psychological resilience , psychology , medicine , public health , psychiatry , covid-19 , disease , social psychology , nursing , pathology , machine learning , computer science , infectious disease (medical specialty)
A longitudinal follow-up design was used to study the psychological distress and coping among 168 individuals immediately after the national lockdown and after 6 months of the pandemic. Psychological distress was measured using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The coping strategies used were measured by the Brief-COPE, and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12) was employed to measure response to uncertainty. On follow-up, the prevalence rates for severe/very severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress had increased substantially from time 1 to time 2. The stepwise multivariate regression analyses revealed that the change in the three DASS-21 scores over time was primarily predicted by intolerance of uncertainty as measured by the IUS-12 and dysfunctional style as assessed by the coping Brief-COPE. There is a need to implement public health policies that promote psychological resilience among high-risk groups.