A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic: implications and policy recommendations

Qiu, Jianyin; Shen, Bin; Zhao, Min; Wang, Zhen; Xie, Bin; Xu, Yifeng

This study is the first nationwide largescale survey of psychological distress in the general population of China during the tumultuous time of the COVID-19 epidemic. A self-report questionnaire was designed to survey peritraumatic psychological distress during the epidemic. Data collection began on 31 January 2020, the day when the WHO announced the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia of China as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Leveraging the Siuvo Intelligent Psychological Assessment Platform, we presented QR codes of the questionnaire online openly accessible to the general public nationwide. The questionnaire incorporated relevant diagnostic guidelines for specific phobias and stress disorders specified in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision and expert opinions from psychiatrists. In addition to demographic data (ie, province, gender, age, education and occupation), the COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) inquired about the frequency of anxiety, depression, specific phobias, cognitive change, avoidance and compulsive behaviour, physical symptoms and loss of social functioning in the past week, ranging from 0 to 100. A score between 28 and 51 indicates mild to moderate distress. A score ≥52 indicates severe distress. Psychiatrists from the Shanghai Mental Health Center verified the content validity of the CPDI. The Cronbach's alpha of CPDI is 0.95 (p<0.001).