Department of Cognition and Human Development, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Division of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Yale - New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Psychol Rep. 2022 Apr;125(2):723-741. doi: 10.1177/0033294120976628. Epub 2021 Feb 10.
During quarantine, both physical and mental health are a concern. To the same extent that physicians are a scarce resource during this crisis, psychiatrists and psychologists are also limited in number. To help practitioners and public managers decide where to invest their resources, the present research investigated the relationships of stress, depression and state anxiety levels with sociodemographic and behavioural variables.
Data were collected in Brazil between March, 18 and 22, 2020 in 1,468 volunteers during quarantine. Participants with a history of or current mental health illnesses were excluded leaving 1,460 individuals in the final sample. The online assessment included instruments for psychological stress, depression and state anxiety. A sociodemographic and behavioural questionnaire with 15 items was used to assess other factors. Multiple linear regression was performed for each psychological outcome to determine a hierarchy of significant predictors.
Stress, depression and state anxiety levels were all predicted by gender (women higher than men), quality of nutrition, attendance in tele-psychotherapy, exercise frequency, presence of elderly persons in quarantine with the person, obligation to work outside the home, level of education (more educated, lesser risk for mental illness) and age (younger age, greater risk). Having a perceived risk factor for COVID-19 predicted depression and state anxiety, but not stress. Finally, the presence of children in quarantine with the participant was a protective factor for depression.
Even though this research is limited by its cross-sectional design, it is possible to infer that mental health varies by demographic attributes, obligations and health behaviours. Those who report higher distress must work outside the home during quarantine, live with an elderly person and carry a risk factor for COVID-19, among other factors. Identifying those who are most vulnerable would help to prioritize those who may need the greatest psychological aid and assist public health practitioners in developing support strategies.
在隔离期间，人们既关注身体健康，也关注心理健康。在这场危机中，医生资源稀缺，精神科医生和心理学家的数量也有限。为了帮助从业者和公共管理者决定在哪里投入资源，本研究调查了压力、抑郁和状态焦虑水平与社会人口学和行为变量的关系。
本研究于 2020 年 3 月 18 日至 22 日在巴西收集了 1468 名志愿者在隔离期间的数据。有精神病史或目前患有精神疾病的参与者被排除在外，最终样本中有 1460 人。在线评估包括心理压力、抑郁和状态焦虑的量表。使用包含 15 个项目的社会人口学和行为问卷来评估其他因素。对每个心理结果进行多元线性回归，以确定显著预测因素的层次结构。
压力、抑郁和状态焦虑水平均由性别（女性高于男性）、营养质量、参加远程心理治疗、运动频率、隔离期间与他人同住的老年人、必须外出工作、教育水平（受教育程度越高，患精神疾病的风险越低）和年龄（年龄越小，风险越高）预测。对 COVID-19 的感知风险因素预测了抑郁和状态焦虑，但不能预测压力。最后，与参与者一起隔离的儿童的存在是抑郁的保护因素。
尽管这项研究受到其横断面设计的限制，但可以推断出心理健康状况因人口统计学属性、义务和健康行为而异。那些报告压力较大的人在隔离期间必须外出工作，与老年人同住，并存在 COVID-19 的风险因素，等等。确定那些最脆弱的人将有助于优先考虑那些可能最需要心理援助的人，并帮助公共卫生从业者制定支持策略。
