Rajkumar RP. The Contributions of Pandemic Severity, Government Stringency, Cultural Values and Internet Usage to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Data From 35 Countries.
FRONTIERS IN SOCIOLOGY 2022;
7:881928. [PMID:
35620119 PMCID:
PMC9127200 DOI:
10.3389/fsoc.2022.881928]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Emergent symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been frequently reported in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and may affect up to 17-18% of individuals. There is preliminary evidence that pandemic severity, cultural values, restrictions imposed by governments, and Internet usage may all influence the emergence of PTSD symptomatology. In this study, possible linear- and non-linear associations between these factors and the prevalence of PTSD symptoms across 35 countries were examined based on data from existing research. Evidence was found for a positive logarithmic relationship between the COVID-19 case-fatality ratio and PTSD (p = 0.046), a positive logarithmic relationship between power distance and PTSD (p = 0.047), and a trend toward a negative quadratic association with Internet usage (p = 0.051). No significant cross-national effect was observed for government restrictiveness. These findings suggest that strategies aimed at minimizing COVID-19 deaths, and at ensuring equitable access to essential resources, may be of use in reducing the emergence of PTSD symptoms at a population level during this pandemic.
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