Depression, anxiety, and stress and socio-demographic correlates among general Indian public during COVID-19

Shankey Verma and Aditi Mishra

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2020, vol. 66, issue 8, 756-762

Abstract: Background: The severe outbreak of COVID-19 has affected the mental health of Indians. Aim: The objective of this article was to find the prevalence rates of depression, anxiety and stress and their socio-demographic correlates among Indian population during the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an electronic questionnaire. A total of 354 participants were recruited through convenience sampling. Depression, anxiety and stress were measured using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), a 21-item self-reported questionnaire. Results: In total, 25%, 28% and 11.6% of the participants were moderate to extremely severely depressed, anxious and stressed, respectively. Binary logistic regressions indicated employment status (odds ratio (OR) = 1.91; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.072–3.418) and binge drinking (OR = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.045–3.945) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms; gender (OR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.317–3.589), employment status (OR = 1.77; 95% CI: 1.002–3.141) and binge drinking (OR = 2.62; 95% CI: 1.361–5.048) were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms; and binge drinking (OR = 3.42; 95% CI: 1.544–7.583) was significantly associated with stress symptoms. Conclusion: Depression, anxiety and stress among Indian population during the lockdown were prevalent. Along with other measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, mental health of citizens needs the urgent attention of the Indian government and mental health experts. Further large-scale studies should be conducted on different professions and communities such as health care professionals and migrant workers and incorporate other mental health indicators.

Keywords: Depression; anxiety; stress; COVID-19; lockdown; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:66:y:2020:i:8:p:756-762

DOI: 10.1177/0020764020934508

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