Salud Mental

Assessment of corona-phobia in university students with the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S): A cross-sectional analysis

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Muhammad Salman
Zia Ul Mustafa
Abdul Wahab Javaid
Naureen Shehzadi
Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi
Yusra Habib Khan
Fozia Masood
Khalid Hussain

Abstract

Introduction. Disease phobia may impose distressing manifestations along with compromised quality of life, particularly in young age. COVID-19 caused substantial psychological concerns in general population which required the attention of health authorities to address the issue as soon as possible.

Objective. This study was aimed to determine COVID-19 phobia in Pakistani youth during the current pandemic.

Method. A cross-sectional study was conducted to ascertain the extent of fear of COVID-19 among university students in Lahore, Pakistan using the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S). Psychological, somatic, social, and economic factors were ascertained among students. The relationship of demographics with the phobia score was determined through appropriate statistical tests.

Result. This study included 374 students with a male preponderance (64.7%). The mean C19P-S score was 59.08 ± 14.44 (IQR: 50 - 70), with no significant difference among demographics except gender (male 57.65 ± 14.77 vs female 61.70 ± 13.47; p = .009). The mean psychological, psycho-somatic, economic, and social subscale scores were 19.59 ± 5.00 (25th percentile = 16 and 75th percentile = 24), 12.29 ± 4.56 (25th percentile = 10 and 75th percentile = 15), 11.22 ± 3.67 (25th percentile = 8 and 75th percentile = 14) and 15.97 ± 4.04 (25th percentile = 13.75 and 75th percentile = 19), respectively. Male students had a significantly lower score on social and psychological subscales than females (< .05).

Discussion and conclusion. One fourth of the students achieved a fear score > 70 on C19P-S. These results indicate the need of dire maneuvers for reducing corona-phobia among university students.
Keywords:
COVID-19, fear, phobia, Pakistan, coronavirus, students, youth, phobia scale

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