Impact of the pandemic on emotional well-being

Abstract

With the World Health Organization declaring a global pandemic due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, governments across the world have been forced to take measures restricting the movement of individuals significantly, which has had collateral consequences on their emotional well-being. The objective of our study is to understand the status of emotional well-being in terms of the positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) and explore their determinants during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional analysis based on an online questionnaire was undertaken to collect data regarding the changes in physical activity, screen time, eating habits, and family relationships. Structural equation modelling and generalized multiple linear regression models were performed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) score as the dependent variable. Positive Affect (PA) Score is positively and significantly impacted by the physical activities that people enjoy doing. Similarly, the physical activities that people do not seek enjoyment for but still perform adds to their Negative Affect (NA) Score significantly. The increase in screen time due to activities that respondents undertake as a necessity has significantly contributed to their NA score. An increase in the consumption of food has led to a negative effect on the positive score. Contact with COVID 19 in the past presents a higher PA score, while a higher perceived risk of infection to the family has a significant negative impact on PA. Similarly, a lack of confidence in government measures relating to the pandemic shows a significantly higher NAS, on average. An increase in the frequency of washing hands and wearing masks has adversely affected the emotional well-being through a lower PA score. However, the frequency of stepping out does not significantly impact the PA or NA. With an increase in the duration of sleep, on average, the PA has been significantly impacted adversely. With the worsening of family relations, the NA has increased. Results also show that the PA is significantly different across genders, with females having a higher score. Similarly, people with lower education have higher PA. We conclude that the pandemic has been detrimental to the emotional well-being of people, indicating a need to develop a prolonged approach while addressing the health concerns of the population and pushing for the need to strengthen the regulation and guidance for negative affect while creating awareness regarding means of enhancing positive affect, especially during a global crisis.