Psychological problems in tunisian children during the covid-19 pandemic

Introduction: The Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown have profoundly impacted families' daily life. Children may be among the most exposed to the psychosocial consequences of the pandemic. Objective(s): To assess the psychological well-being of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): This was a descriptive study shared on social media during the period from 8 to 20 April 2021, targeting mothers of children aged 2 to 18 years. The first part included sociodemographic data of mothers and children. Then, to assess the behavior and coping skills of children and adolescents, we administered the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Result(s): Our study included 65 middle-aged moms = 35.28 years. Among mothers, 1.5% reported having at least one child with a psychiatric, medical or genetic illness. The average age of the children was 8.54 years, the sex ratio was 1.03 and they were in primary school in 52.3%. Moms had talked to their child about COVID in 93.8%, using scientific data in 69.4% of cases. The total average SDQ score was 10.82;and overall mental health was at risk in 15.4% of the children. They had risky emotional symptoms in 9.2%, risky aggressive behaviors in 12.3%, risky hyperactivityinattention symptoms in 16.9%, relationship behaviors with at-risk pairs in 24.6%, and risky prosocial behavior in 9.2% of cases. Conclusion(s): Researchers and government officials should be more concerned about the mental health of children who are often neglected as a result of the pandemic due to their comparatively lower mortality than older adults.

Perceived stress during the COVID-19 pandemic among the tunisian population

IntroductionDocumenting Tunisian’ stress responses to an unprecedented pandemic is essential for mental health interventions and policy-making.ObjectivesTo describe the perceived stress generated by the Covid-19 epidemic and confinement among the Tunisian people.MethodsParticipants had to fill out a questionnaire including epidemiological data and the Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS10), which is the most widely used psychological instrument for measuring the stress perception. Individual scores can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.ResultsOur study included 121 subjects, of which 70.6% were women.They had an average age of 36.52 years and a history of psychiatric disorders in 13.1% of cases, such as anxiety disorders (10.4%), depressive disorders (5.9%) and obsessive compulsive disorders (2.3%). More than one in two participants (61.4%) reported the presence of sleep disorders. Regarding medical history, participants declared having asthma (5%), diabetes (1.8%), high blood pressure (3.6%), and a chronic disease with corticosteroid treatment (5%). The mean PSS score was 16.96. This last was correlated to age (p<0.001), female gender (p<0.001), primary or secondary school level (p=0.03), a history of anxiety (p<0.001) and depressive disorders (p<0.001), and to sleep disorders (p<0.001).ConclusionsThe stress level among the Tunisian people during the Covid-19 pandemic was very close to that observed in other countries, deserving special attention especially among vulnerable populations.

Religious coping in time of covid 19 in tunisia

IntroductionReligion belongs among well-documented coping strategies, through which one can understand and deal with stressors.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to examine religious coping responses face to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic among Tunisian people.MethodsThe survey was conducted using the online anonymous questionnaires and distributed through social networks from 24 April to 23 May 2020. It included sociodemographic questions, participants’ experience of SARS-CoV-2related stressful events and the frequency of religious practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brief RCOPE was used to assess religious coping.ResultsOur study included 80 participants: 71.3%female and 42.5%married. The mean age of the participants was 29.30 years (SD = 8.72). The religion of all participants was Islam, and 72.5% of them had religious practices. Participants reported much lower levels of negative religious coping than positive religious coping (5% versus 37.5%). There were no significant differences in religious coping activities as a function of gender (p=0.180, p= 0.192). Significant relationships were found only for demographic variables: level of education with Higher-educated reported more PRC (p=0.002). Having a family member with a suspected or confirmed infection was correlated with PRC (p=0.016).Concern with becoming infected or having a friend with a suspected or confirmed infection did not correlate with any coping strategy (p=0.112;p=0.489). No correlation was found between religious commitment and religious coping (p=0.897;p=0.504) however increasing religious activity during this pandemic was correlated with PRC (p=0.013).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that lockdown experience is associated with higher use of NRC strategies.

Anxiety on the lockdown resolution

IntroductionLockdown due to the management of infectious diseases such as corona virus disease affect mental health. We would think that with the end of the lockdown due to the corona virus pandemic, the feeling of regaining freedom and movement would be good for our morale.ObjectivesThrough this servery, we examine the prevalence of anxiety symptoms in the Tunisian population face to the end of lockdown.MethodsThe survey was conducted using the online anonymous questionnaires and distributed through social networks from 24 April to 23 May 2020(which was considered the end of the lockdown in Tunisia). It included socio-demographic questions and participants’ experience of SARS-CoV-2related stressful events (A member of your family was suspected of having Corona virus /someone you know had Corona virus‘s symptoms /You were quarantined). Anxiety symptoms were evaluated with the Hospital anxiety and depression scale-anxiety (HADS-A)ResultsOur study included 80 participants: 71.3% female and 42.5% married. The mean age of the participants was 29.30 years (SD = 8.72). The mean HADS-A score was 8.03 (SD=2.938) (maximum=16 minimum=1). Two-thirds of the participants exhibited anxiety symptoms (66.3%) with 1.3 % reported moderate severe anxiety symptoms. Anxiety was correlated with age and gender (p=0.013, p=0.027).ConclusionsOur results suggest that in this early phase of the COVID-19 lockdown resolution we can already observe its fundamental impact on anxiety.

Impact of the COVID-19 virus and confinement on the mental health of the tunisian population: Anxiety and depression

IntroductionThe 2019 Coronavirus disease epidemic is a public health emergency of international concern and poses a challenge to psychological resilience.ObjectivesTo study the psychological repercussions in terms of anxiety and depression of the Coronavirus pandemic on the Tunisian population.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. We used an online questionnaire on Facebook, on June 2020. The heteroquestionnaire included epidemiological data and two scales: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI Form Y-1) to evaluate the anxiety level at the time of the study, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ 9) to detect a characterized depressive episode.ResultsWe included 121 participants. They had an average age of 36.52 years with a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.41. The mean STAI score was 43.12 while the PHQ score was 7.46, indicating that 30.8% of the participants suffered from depression. Both scores were correlated to female sex (p=0.01 for STAI and p=0.02 for PHQ), a history of anxiety (p<0.001) and depressive disorders (p<0.001) and to poor sleep quality (p<0.001). The STAI score was also associated with a family history of high blood pressure (p=0.004), while the PHQ score was correlated to a family history of diabetes (p=0.02), a widowed or divorced marital status (p<0.001) and to a single lifestyle (p=0.03). Furthermore, the two scores (STAI-Y and PHQ 9) were also associated (p<0.001;r=0.67).ConclusionsThe psychological impact of Coronavirus epidemic seems not negligible requiring psychological interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups.