Associations of the perceived benefits and harms of COVID-19 with confidence in coping with the pandemic and mental health symptoms: a population-based survey in Hong Kong

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Wei Jie Gong¹  Ying Yao²  Man Ping Wang²  Shirley Man Man Sit²  Agnes Yuen Kwan Lai²  Yongda Socrates Wu²  Tai Hing Lam³  Sai Yin Ho³ 

[1] Department of General Practice, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China;School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China;School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China;

关键词: COVID-19;    perceived benefit;    perceived harm;    confidence;    coping;    mental health;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.1175085

 received in 2023-02-27, accepted in 2023-05-24,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionBoth perceived benefits and harms of COVID-19 have been reported, but whether they affect confidence in coping with the pandemic and mental health remains uncertain.ObjectiveTo examine the association of perceived benefits and harms of COVID-19 with confidence in coping with the pandemic and mental health symptoms.MethodsA population-based survey was conducted on 7,535 Hong Kong adults from 22 February to 23 March 2021, when the 4th wave of COVID-19 was under control. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, perceived benefits (10 options) and harms (12 options) of COVID-19, confidence in coping with the pandemic (range 0–10), loneliness (range 0–4), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorders-2, range 0–6) and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-2, range 0–6) was collected. Latent profile analysis was used to identify the combined patterns of perceived benefits and harms of COVID-19. The associations of combined patterns with confidence in coping with COVID-19, loneliness, anxiety, and depression were examined using linear regression (β coefficient) adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsThe combined patterns of perceived benefits and harms were classified into benefit (n = 4,338, 59.3%), harm (n = 995, 14.0%), and ambivalent (n = 2,202, 26.7%) groups. Compared with the ambivalent group, the benefit group had a significantly higher level of confidence (adjusted β 0.46, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.58), and lower levels of loneliness (−0.35, −0.40 to-0.29), anxiety (−0.67, 0.76 to-0.59), and depression (−0.65, −0.73 to-0.57). The harm group had a significantly lower level of confidence (−0.35, −0.53 to-0.16), and higher levels of loneliness (0.38, 0.30 to 0.45), anxiety (0.84, 0.73 to 0.96), and depression (0.95, 0.84 to 1.07).ConclusionPerceived greater benefit from COVID-19 was associated with better mental health and stronger confidence in coping with the pandemic.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Yao, Gong, Lai, Wu, Sit, Wang, Ho and Lam.