The psychological distress and COVID-19 pandemic during lockdown: A cross-sectional study from United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Background: The pandemic resulted in the societal changes as conflicts and instability were the common concerns experienced by families because of the lockdown. However, the psychological impact of the COVID-19 on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population is not studied extensively. Objective: The study evaluates the psychological impact of lockdown during the pandemic on the people in the UAE. Material and methods: This study was cross-sectional in nature and was conducted using a questionnaire consisting of 35-items. The questions were related to social, psychological, and personal aspects. Multivariate Linear regression was used to find the outcomes between independent variables. Results: The mean value of social phobia was 2.56 ± .620, followed by the mean score of anxiety (2.47 ± .666), stress (2.44 ± .631), and depression (2.42 ± .682). The higher the respondents experienced the scores, the more depression, anxiety, and stress. Demographics such as marital status, age, and occupation and education level have a statistically significant association with social phobia, anxiety, depression, and stress. Conclusion: The study concludes that the lockdown more psychologically impacted males, older people, and unemployed individuals during the pandemic.