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. 2020;2(1):100052.
doi: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2020.100052. Epub 2020 Aug 26.

Psychological distress experiences of Nigerians during Covid-19 pandemic; the gender difference

Abayomi O Olaseni  1 , Olusola S Akinsola  2 , Samson F Agberotimi  3 , Rotimi Oguntayo  1
Affiliations

Psychological distress experiences of Nigerians during Covid-19 pandemic; the gender difference

Abayomi O Olaseni et al. Soc Sci Humanit Open. 2020.

Erratum in

Abstract

This study examine the psychological distress experience of Nigerians during the COVID-19 pandemic, across gender. From March 20, 2020, to April 12, 2020, this descriptive survey used a snowballing sampling technique to select 502-Nigerians with an online semi-structured questionnaire detailing the impact of Event Scale-Revised, Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7 item scale, Patient Health Questionnaire and Insomnia Severity Index. Gender had an insignificant difference in the level of insomnia (χ2 ​= ​04.93; df ​= ​3; p ​> ​0.05), however, 20.8% of males had sub-threshold of insomnia, 8.2% experienced moderate insomnia and 5.9% had severe insomnia; 32% females reported sub-threshold of insomnia, 12.4% had moderate insomnia while 3.6% had severe insomnia. Also, gender had an insignificant difference in the measures of depression (χ2 ​= ​01.94; df ​= ​4; p ​> ​0.05); 55.4% males reported minimal depression, 22.3% had mild depression, 11.9% had moderate depression; 6.7%-3.7% males had moderate to severe depression while, 49.3% of the females had minimal depression, 26.7% reported mild depression, 14.29% had moderate depression, 4.4%-5.3% had moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) has no gender difference among respondents (χ2 ​= ​02.51; df ​= ​3; p ​> ​0.05); 23% of males reported partial PTSS, 17.5% presented clinical PTSS, and 21.6% males had severe PTSS; while 29.3% of females had severe PTSS, 24% reported partial PTSS and 18.7% had clinical PTSS. Respondents reported insignificant gender differences on anxiety (χ2 ​= ​0.08; df ​= ​1; p ​> ​0.05), while 51% reported moderate anxiety and 49% exhibited severe anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Findings revealed that Nigerians experienced psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic. The government and stakeholders should initiate tele-mental health services to serve as alternative to traditional treatment to manage present and future pandemic psychological implications among Nigerians.

Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; Depression; Insomnia; PTSS; Psychological distress.

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Figures

Chart 1
Chart 1
Showing the prevalence of insomnia outcomes across respondents’ sex amidst Covid-19 pendemic.
Chart 2
Chart 2
Showing the prevalence of depression across respondents’ sex amidst Covid-19 pandemic.
Chart 3
Chart 3
Showing the prevalence of posttruamatic stress symptoms across respondents’ sex amidst Covid-19 pandemic.
Chart 4
Chart 4
Showing the prevalence of anxiety symptoms across residents in Niger amidst Covid-19 pandemic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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