The psychological impact of COVID-19 in a socio-politically unstable environment: protective effects of sleep and gratitude in Lebanese adults.

Autor: El Khoury-Malhame M; Department of Social and Education Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon. myriam.malhame@lau.edu.lb., Rizk R; Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.; INSPECT-LB, (Institut National de Santé Publique, d'Epidémiologie Clinique Et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon., Joukayem E; Department of Social and Education Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon., Rechdan A; Department of Social and Education Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon., Sawma T; Department of Social and Education Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC psychology [BMC Psychol] 2023 Jan 19; Vol. 11 (1), pp. 14. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jan 19.
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01042-4
Abstrakt: Background: The COVID-19 global pandemic initiated an unprecedented medico-psychological turmoil. Our study investigates the psychological impact of the viral spread and austere lockdown, and focuses mostly on potential protective factors in a politically and economically unstable society.
Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to evaluate rates of mental distress in a sample of 348 Lebanese adults. Participants filled questionnaires of perceived stress (PSS), depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), PTSD (IES-22), as well as sleep (PSQi) and gratitude (GQ-6) immediately after 3 months of strict quarantine. Demographics included gender, age, employment and infection statuses. Correlations and regression models were used.
Results: Results indicated a very high prevalence of mental distress, in addition to major alterations in sleep quality and quantity. Younger age and unemployment correlated with more severe symptoms. Sleep was found to be a protective factor against all studied psychological distress, and gratitude further mitigated effects of depression.
Conclusions: Mental health significantly degrades post-COVID lockdown, even in the absence of direct viral threat. Yet simple behavioral and cognitive changes like sleep and attitude of gratitude could provide protective factors against these psychological distresses. Such changes should be further explored and advocated as cost-efficient self-care practices to buffer this devastating public health burden, especially in unstable socio-political environments.
(© 2023. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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