Comparison of Psychosocial Distress in Areas With Different COVID-19 Prevalence in Korea

• Main Authors: Mina Kim, In-Hoo Park, Young-Shin Kang, Honey Kim, Min Jhon, Ju-Wan Kim, Seunghyong Ryu, Ju-Yeon Lee, Jae-Min Kim, Jonghun Lee, Sung-Wan Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-11-01
• Series: Frontiers in Psychiatry
• Subjects: COVID-19; prevalence; pandemic; psychosocial stress; anger; activity
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.593105/full

Objectives: This study aimed to compare psychosocial distress in areas in Korea with different prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after validating a questionnaire on psychological experiences and stress associated with the disease outbreak.Methods: Using an online-based survey, psychosocial distress associated with COVID-19 was investigated in three regions, which were selected according to their prevalence of COVID-19. A total of 1,500 people from an online public panel in the three regions participated in the study. The questionnaire included sociodemographic information, psychosocial experience and stress related to COVID-19, and the perceived stress scale (PSS), patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7). Those questionnaires and scales were compared by level of prevalence of COVID-19 after validating the questionnaire on psychosocial distress associated with COVID-19.Results: The 19 items on psychosocial experience associated with COVID-19 comprised 5 subscales, with favorable Cronbach's α ranging from 0.69 to 0.88. Six stress items related to COVID-19 had a Cronbach's α of 0.79. Disturbance in eating and sleeping, difficulty with outside activities, stress from COVID-19, and PSS scores were greater in the areas where COVID-19 was highly prevalent. Economic problems, daily activity changes, and anger toward society were higher in the higher-prevalence regions.Discussion: Psychosocial distress associated with COVID-19 was closely related to the prevalence of the disease in the areas where participants lived. Psychosocial interventions for distress associated with COVID-19 should be developed and prepared for people during this lengthy pandemic.