How to deal with the negative psychological impact of COVID-19 for people who pay attention to anxiety and depression

Ge, Fenfen; Wan, Mentong; Zheng, Anni; Luo, Guan; Zhang, Jun

BACKGROUND: The fear of insecurity and uncertainty caused by 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the separation and loss of certain important relationships, and the great changes in lifestyle have awakened strong emotional response, which may cause psychological problems to the general population. However, there are few researches on how the people who pay attention to anxiety and depression coping with negative psychological during the epidemic or major disaster. This study aimed to identify what behaviors can effectively reduce negative emotions during the epidemic. METHODS: From February 1, to March 8 in 2020, we conducted a web-based survey and collected information on general demographic data. The probable depression, anxiety symptoms and coping behaviors was assessed by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized anxiety disorder-7 and the self-made Coping Behaviors Questionnaires. RESULT: Among 17249 responders, 7923 and 9326 completed the assessment of depression and anxiety respectively, and all responders finished the assessment of the coping behaviors questionnaires. Our survey population had a high prevalence rate of possible depression disorders and anxiety disorders were34.66% and 56.93%, respectively. Those who are old, female, low education, low income, and cohabiting were more likely to suffer depression and/or anxiety. Students are a high-risk group suffering from depression and/or anxiety. After adjusting for social-demographic factors (e.g. age, sex), depression and anxiety were positively associated with self-injury, doing housework, and having sex or masturbating and negatively associated with singing, drawing, or writing, dating friends online, singing, attending lectures, and doing yoga. CONCLUSION: During the epidemic, our findings identify some spontaneous coping behaviors that can probably relieve the psychological impact of vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 epidemic.