Perceived stress during lockdown due to corona pandemic in Indian urban population: A questionnaire-based study

Abstract

Aim: The coronavirus pandemic led to lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19. The lockdown caused various lifestyle changes that might have affected mental health. The study aimed to assess the effect of lockdown on stress level of Indian urban population. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based exploratory survey was conducted. A prevalidated Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) was used. A total of 120 questionnaires were sent via online social media using snowball sampling technique. PSQ Index scores were calculated for each participant. On the basis of these scores, participants were grouped into three categories: mild, moderate, and severe. The Shapiro–Wilk test was applied to check data for normality. Independent t-test was applied to find the difference of PSQ scores between males and females. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to find the difference in PSQ scores between various occupational groups and between various age groups, followed by post hoc Tukey’s honest significant difference (HSD) test. Results: Completely filled 100 responses were analyzed to form results. About 44% population was found to have moderate stress. Mean PSQ index was 0.35 for sample population with standard deviation of 0.17. Pearson’s correlation between age and PSQ score was –0.452. Values of PSQ scores were higher for female participants, but the difference was not statistically significant. PQS scores were the highest in healthcare workers when compared with other occupations. Results of one-way ANOVA for various age groups were significant (F = 6.73, p = 0.001). Post hoc Tukey’s analysis revealed that only group of senior citizens is significantly different from others. Results of one-way ANOVA for various occupational groups are significant (F = 3.79, p = 0.01), and the result of post hoc Tukey’s HSD test suggests that only group of healthcare workers is significantly different from other groups. Conclusion: Results suggest prevalence of moderate stress level in studied sample population. More stress level was observed in females than males but the difference was not statistically significant. The stress level was higher among healthcare workers when compared with participants with other occupations. Stress was found to be negatively correlated with age of participants. The stress level was lowest in senior citizen participants when compared with other participants.