Mental Health Research Center, Community Mental Health Research Group, 440827Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, 6559Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Can J Psychiatry. 2022 Dec;67(12):918-927. doi: 10.1177/07067437211004881. Epub 2021 Apr 1.
New coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic socioeconomically affected the world. In this study, we measured the perceived stress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic among Iranians to determine the groups at both extremes of the spectrum followed by identifying the stressors and coping mechanisms.
This study was a mixed-methods study. We distributed a web-based 10-item perceived stress scale (PSS-10), to measure perceived stress score (PSS), through social networks from March 12 to 23, 2020. Then, we interviewed 42 students, 31 homemakers, 27 healthcare providers, and 21 male participants to identify the sources of stress and coping mechanisms.
Finally, 13,454 participants completed the questionnaires. The median and interquartile range (IQR) of the participants' PSS was 21 (15-25). Students, homemakers, and healthcare workers (HCWs) showed a higher median (IQR) of PSS compared to other groups (23 [18 to 27], 22 [16 to 26], and 19 [14 to 24], respectively). Male participants showed a lower median (IQR) PSS (17 [12 to 23]). Content analysis of 121 participants' answers showed that the most common stressors were school-related issues mentioned by students, family-related issues mentioned by homemakers, and COVID-19-related issues mentioned by healthcare providers. Male participants' coping mechanisms were mostly related to the perception of their abilities to cope with the current crisis.
Our participants clinically showed a moderate level of PSS. The main stressors among students, homemakers, and HCWs were related to their principal role in this period, and male participants' coping mechanisms were inspired by the self-image retrieved from the social perspectives.
新冠疫情在社会经济方面对全球造成了影响。在本研究中，我们评估了伊朗人对新冠疫情的感知压力，以确定处于两个极端的人群，随后确定压力源和应对机制。
本研究是一项混合方法研究。我们通过社交网络，于 2020 年 3 月 12 日至 23 日，分发了一个包含 10 个项目的感知压力量表（PSS-10），以衡量感知压力评分（PSS）。随后，我们对 42 名学生、31 名家庭主妇、27 名医护人员和 21 名男性参与者进行了访谈，以确定压力源和应对机制。
最终，共有 13454 名参与者完成了问卷。参与者 PSS 的中位数和四分位距（IQR）为 21（15-25）。与其他群体相比，学生、家庭主妇和医护人员（HCWs）的 PSS 中位数（IQR）较高（23 [18-27]、22 [16-26]和 19 [14-24]）。男性参与者的 PSS 中位数（IQR）较低（17 [12-23]）。对 121 名参与者回答的内容分析表明，最常见的压力源是学生提到的与学校相关的问题、家庭主妇提到的与家庭相关的问题以及医护人员提到的与新冠疫情相关的问题。男性参与者的应对机制主要与他们对当前危机的应对能力的认知有关。
我们的参与者在临床上表现出中等程度的 PSS。学生、家庭主妇和 HCWs 的主要压力源与他们在这一时期的主要角色有关，男性参与者的应对机制受到从社会视角检索到的自我形象的启发。
