Abstract
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic recession hurt people's mental health.
Aim:
To study the stress, resilience, and coping between COVID-19 patients and non-COVID people.
Materials and Methods:
A sample of 188 individuals including COVID-positive and negative were selected by snowball sampling method from the Pune area. All the subjects belong to the age group between 20 and 25 years. The variables are studied by using three tools. The tools used were the Student Stress Inventory, Resilience Scale, and Coping Response Inventory. The data obtained was analyzed using a statistical t-test for comparison and one one-way ANOVA test for gender differences on SPSS software.
Results:
The results showed that there is a significant difference found in stress (t = −3.269) at 0.01 level but no difference found in resilience (t = −0.525), approach coping (t = −1.084), and avoidance coping (t = −1.473) between COVID and non-COVID subjects.
Conclusion:
Patients with COVID had higher stress levels than those without the disease. In terms of resilience, approach, and avoidant coping, there were no significant differences between COVID and non-COVID subjects.
Keywords: Coping, COVID-19, resilience, stress
The psychological health of people worldwide was impacted by the COVID-19 global health emergency. The educational sector has been substantially impacted by COVID-19. It has altered how universities around the world operate. The lockdown that followed COVID-19 and the forced confinement that resulted has hurt the economy, people's education, and their physical, emotional, and mental health. Extreme anguish and a belief that the infection was equivalent to a death sentence resulted from sensationalized coverage of the pandemic in the electronic media and widespread disinformation on social media. As a result, the general public experienced widespread anxiety, depression, and an upsurge in suicide behavior.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
The immune system is genuinely disturbed by stress. Immune system decline can be caused by high cortisol levels. Additionally, stress and cardiovascular disease are linked. Knowing one's stress threshold would make it easier to pinpoint those at risk for cardiovascular disease. While low levels of resilience might result in bad feelings, high levels of resilience can favorably affect an individual's mental health. Individuals attempt to cope with stressful events by using various coping mechanisms.[8,9,10,11] In light of the aforementioned, it is important to comprehend how stress, resilience, and coping affect how quickly COVID-19 patients experience disease symptoms. This study will also shed light on the coping mechanisms that COVID-19 patients employed most frequently throughout the Pandemic. The goal of the current study is to compare COVID-19 patients with non-COVID people in terms of stress, coping mechanisms, and resilience. The findings of the study will also help to design various kinds of modules and intervention measures to enhance the quality of life among COVID-19 patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample
The sample consisted of 188 people among which 94 were with COVID and 94 without COVID. There were 94 girls and 94 boys. The snowball sampling was used for data collection.
Research design
The research design used in this study is comparative research. This study design involves comparing two groups to explain existing differences between them on some variables of interest. In the present study, the independent variable is COVID patients and non-COVID people and the dependent variables are Stress, resilience, approach coping, and avoidance coping.
Tools
The following tools were used to assess stress, resilience, and coping.
Procedure
The administration of the psychometric tests was done by individual testing on the students via Google Forms. They were informed about the objective of the tests and their permission was taken for the tests. Loud and clear instructions were given to all the college students. All their doubts were clarified. There was no time limit but they were instructed to complete the test as soon as possible. They were told to fill the Google forms in the order Personal Data sheet first; then Student Stress Inventory, Resilience Scale, and Coping Response Inventory were administered.
Statistical technique
Descriptive statistics is used. The data was analyzed using SPSS software. The t-test was used to analyze the data and the cause and effect relationship was established.
RESULTS
The stress score for COVID patients is M = 85, SD = 17.38, SEM = 1.79. The stress score for non-COVID people is M = 76, SD = 17.41, SEM = 1.79. The resilience score for COVID patients is M = 132, SD = 20.63, SEM = 2.128. The resilience score for non-COVID people is M = 130, SD = 22.92, SEM = 2.35. The approach coping score for COVID patients is M = 49.07, SD = 6.71, SEM = 0.69. The approach coping score for non-COVID people is M = 47.73, SD = 9.93, SEM = 1.02. The avoidance coping score for COVID patients is M = 48.12, SD = 6.97, SEM = 0.719. The avoidance coping score for non-COVID people is M = 46.13, SD = 11.08, SEM = 1.14.
For stress, the t value is −3.269 and it is significant at 0.01 level of significance. For resilience, the t value is −0.525 and it is not significant at 0.05 or 0.01 level of significance. For approach coping the t value is −1.084 and it is not significant at 0.05 or 0.01 level of significance. For avoidance coping the t value is −1.473 and it is not significant at 0.05 or 0.01 level of significance.
DISCUSSION
It is evident from Table 1 that there is a significant difference in stress levels for people with and without COVID as the t value = −3.269 is significant at 0.01 level of significance. Hence, this study suggests that there is a significant difference between stress levels between people with and without COVID-19. This finding is in agreement with previous studies and prevalent literature. In a previous study, it was seen that the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting confinement have been especially stressful for women, younger adults under 35 years of age, and people who are unemployed and have lower incomes. Further, resilience levels were studied and it was seen that there is no significant difference in resilience levels in people with and without COVID (t value = −0.525, P > 0.05). Prevalent literature suggests that the quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic is hugely impacted by resilience levels in the general population.[15] However, not many studies have been done on resilience levels in infected people. One study suggested a high level of resilience in primary healthcare workers during the pandemic.[16]
Table 1.
Comparison of stress, resilience, approach coping, and avoidance coping in individuals with (n=94) and without (n=94) history of suffering from COVID-19
| Variables | Group | Mean±SD | Std. Deviation | t | Sig.(2-tailed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stress | Non-COVID | 76.97 | (±17.41) | −3.269 | 0.001** |
| COVID | 85.27 | 17.38 | |||
| Resilience | Non-COVID | 130.38 | 22.92 | −0.525 | 0.600 (N.S) |
| COVID | 132.05 | 20.63 | |||
| Approach Coping | Non-COVID | 47.73 | 9.93 | −1.084 | 0.280 (N.S) |
| COVID | 49.07 | 6.71 | |||
| Avoidance Coping | Non-COVID | 46.13 | 11.08 | −1.473 | 0.143 (N.S) |
| COVID | 48.12 | 6.97 |
Mean (M), N (no. of participants), Std. Deviation (SD), **Significant at 0.01 level of significance. N.S-Not Significant
Approach and avoidant coping were also evaluated and studied. It was seen that there is no significant difference in approach coping in people with and without COVID (t value= −1.084, P > 0.05). It was seen that there is no significant difference in avoidant coping in people with and without COVID (t value = −1.473, P > 0.05). A study suggested that coping mechanisms, existential development, lessons from illness, new opportunities, and social development are some of the themes that have been developed as a by-product of the pandemic. These themes suggested that those who contracted the COVID-19 virus following the COVID-19 sickness experienced good changes in their life.[17] It can be presumably said that both the two groups with and without COVID-19 infection used approach coping strategies that commonly include logical analysis, positive reappraisal, reaching out for support, seeking guidance, and problem-solving equally. It also seems that both the two groups with and without COVID-19 infection used approach coping strategies which commonly include cognitive avoidance, acceptance or resignation, seeking alternative rewards, and adequate emotional discharge.
Limitations
This study had certain limitations such as the cases of the sample were young people and did not reflect the prevalence in the general population of other ages. The sample size was modest. A larger sample would throw more light on the extent of the problem in different ethnic, religious, and racial backgrounds in the general population.
CONCLUSION
Patients with COVID had higher stress levels than those without the disease. Regarding resilience levels, approach, and avoidant coping, there were no appreciable differences between those who had COVID-19 infection and those who did not.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
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