Ogueji Ifeanyichukwu Anthony, Agberotimi Samson Femi, Adesanya Bolaji Johnson, Gidado Taiwo Nurudeen
Department of Psychology, Faculty of the Social Sciences University of Ibadan Ibadan Nigeria.
Lifestyle Diseases Research Entity North-West University South Africa.
Anal Soc Issues Public Policy. 2021 Dec;21(1):941-959. doi: 10.1111/asap.12259. Epub 2021 Jun 30.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) significantly disrupted human activities all over the world. Despite this, little or nothing is known about mental health and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic among the unemployed and employed people in Nigeria. Therefore, this study was an effort towards bridging this knowledge gap. We employed a qualitative design with 66 participants (age range = 18-62 years) who described how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their mental health and how they coped during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Our findings revealed distressing impacts (e.g., depressive and anxious impacts, stress, loss of job, financial challenges, loneliness, etc.) for the unemployed and employed groups. Further, the unemployed group utilized more positive coping strategies (e.g., engaging in activities, hope, relaxation, connecting with others, etc.) than the employed group; whereas, only the employed group utilized a maladaptive coping strategy (alcohol consumption). These data have practical implications for protecting mental health and fostering positive coping in these groups during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）严重扰乱了全球人类活动。尽管如此，对于尼日利亚失业者和就业者在COVID-19大流行期间的心理健康及应对策略，我们却知之甚少或几乎一无所知。因此，本研究旨在填补这一知识空白。我们采用了定性研究设计，共有66名参与者（年龄范围为18至62岁），他们描述了COVID-19大流行如何影响他们的心理健康以及在大流行期间他们是如何应对的。数据采用主题分析法进行分析。我们的研究结果揭示了失业和就业群体所面临的令人痛苦的影响（如抑郁和焦虑影响、压力、失业、经济挑战、孤独等）。此外，失业群体比就业群体更多地采用积极的应对策略（如参与活动、抱有希望、放松、与他人联系等）；而只有就业群体采用了一种适应不良的应对策略（饮酒）。这些数据对于在COVID-19大流行期间及之后保护这些群体的心理健康和促进积极应对具有实际意义。
