One Virus, Four Continents, Eight Countries: An Interdisciplinary and International Study on the Psychosocial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults
Mélissa Généreux, Philip J. Schluter, Kevin K. Hung, Chi S. Wong, Tracey O’Sullivan, Marc D. David, Marie-Eve Carignan, Gabriel Blouin-Genest, Olivier Champagne-Poirier, Eric Champagne, Nathalie Burlone, Zeeshan Qadar, Teodoro Herbosa, Gleisse Ribeiro-Alves, Ronald Law, Virginia Murray, Emily Y.Y. Chan, Nathalie Pignard-Cheynel, Sébastien Salerno, Grégoire Lits, Leen D’Haenens, David D. Coninck, Koenraad Matthys & Mathieu Roy
| 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. |
| Keywords |
pandemic; psychosocial impacts; sense of coherence |
| Citation | Généreux, M., Schluter, P. J., Hung, K. K., Wong, C. S., O’Sullivan, T., David, M. D., Carignan, M. E., Blouin-Genest, G., Champagne-Poirier, O., Champagne, E., Burlone, N., Qadar, Z., Herbosa, T., Ribeiro-Alves, G., Law, R., Murray, V., Chan, E. Y., Pignard-Cheynel, N., Salerno, S., Lits, G., d’Haenens, L., Coninck, D. D., Matthys, K., & Roy, M. (2020). One Virus, Four Continents, Eight Countries: An Interdisciplinary and International Study on the Psychosocial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(22), 83-90. |
| Type | Journal article (English) |
| Date of appearance | 13-11-2020 |
| Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 22 |
| Pages | 83-90 |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228390 |
| Related project | Role of communication strategies and media discourse in C... |