Fear of COVID-19, Mental Health and Resilient Coping in Young Adult Male Inmates: A Portuguese Cross-Sectional Study.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 20(8)2023 04 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2299958
ABSTRACT
Inmates are highly exposed to mental and physical disorders. Therefore, periodic screening of their mental health and other health risks is required. This study aims to investigate the perceived fear of COVID-19 and the psychological impact of the pandemic in a sample of young adult male inmates. An institutional-based quantitative cross-sectional study design was performed. Data collection took place from July to September 2022 at a juvenile prison in the central region of Portugal. Data were collected using questionnaires on demographic and health characteristics; fear of COVID-19; depression, anxiety and stress levels; and resilient coping. The sample included 60 male inmates imprisoned for over 2 years. Stress was the most common symptom among inmates (75%), followed by anxiety (38.3%) and depression (36.7%). The mean score on the Fear of COVID-19 Scale was 17.38 ± 4.80, indicating relatively low fear levels. Low resilient scores were found in 38 participants (63.3%). Participants reported moderately high ranges of 3.62 ± 0.87 regarding mental health perception, 3.73 ± 0.95 for physical health perception, and 3.27 ± 0.82 for global health concerning the previous month. The Pearson correlation matrix indicated significant and moderate to strong correlations between fear of COVID-19 and mental health-related variables (p < 0.001). The predicting factors of fear of COVID-19 were identified by deploying a multiple linear regression model. We found four predictors age, perception of mental health, and overall levels of anxiety and stress (R2 = 0.497). Fear of a given scenario or factor may shift with time. Therefore, long-term research is needed to evaluate whether fear of COVID-19 is adaptive or long-reactive in victims. Our study can assist policymakers, mental health and public health experts, and others in recognizing and managing pandemic-related fears and mental health symptoms.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph20085510
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS