Psychological status among inhabitants during early epidemic stage of COVID-19

Objective To investigate the psychological characteristics among inhabitants during early epidemic stage of COVID-19,and provide evidences for psychological crisis intervention and public-health improvements. Methods A self-designed general information questionnaire,the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 2 (GAD-2),Patient Health Questionnaire 2 (PHQ-2),Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) and the self-rating stress item were applied,then we conducted an internet-based questionnaire survey for inhabitants living in mainland China from February 20 to 26,2020 by a cross-sectional study. Results A total of 3087 people participated in and completed this survey.The average age of the sample was 37.53±13.51 years,and 43.38% of them were male.The prevalence of depression and anxiety were 13.25% and 14.09%,respectively.The subjects with lower education level,being non-medical staff,with medical disorder,under quarantine,and paying more attention to COVID-19 were more likely to be anxious (allP<0.05).The subjects who were married,with lower education level,being non-medical staff,and under quarantine were more likely to have depression (all P<0.05).Psychological stress was positively correlated with anxiety (r=0.395,P<0.01) and depression (r=0.379,P<0.01),while resilience was negatively correlated with anxiety (r=-0.354,P<0.01) and depression (r=-0.379,P<0.01). Conclusion Depression,anxiety and stress are correlated with education level,occupation,medical condition at baseline,isolation measures,and attention to the epidemic.Targeted intervention should be carried out in the early epidemic stage of COVID-19.