The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty, Staff, and Students and Coping Strategies Used During the Lockdown in the United Arab Emirates

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown instigated serious mental health conditions. So far, the UAE data on mental health problems due to this pandemic outbreak is still scarce. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalent psychological difficulties experienced...

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Main Authors: Abdullah Seif Abdullah Al Miskry, Abdalla A. M. Hamid, Abdel Hameed M. Darweesh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-09-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.682757/full
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spelling doaj-e622c69631e548f6905a6dec32f58ecd2021-09-09T09:28:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-09-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.682757682757The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty, Staff, and Students and Coping Strategies Used During the Lockdown in the United Arab EmiratesAbdullah Seif Abdullah Al Miskry0Abdalla A. M. Hamid1Abdel Hameed M. Darweesh2Department of Cognitive Sciences, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Clinical Psychology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Cognitive Sciences, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown instigated serious mental health conditions. So far, the UAE data on mental health problems due to this pandemic outbreak is still scarce. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalent psychological difficulties experienced by university students, faculty members, and staff during COVID-19 lockdown and the coping strategies used.Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 737 participants using an online electronic survey. Participants included students, faculty members, and staff from universities in the UAE. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to measure general distress, Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ-16) was used to measure worry, and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS-48) was administered to measure coping strategies used by participants during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Data were collected during May to June 2020.Results: The results indicated that 60.4% of students, 57.4% of the faculty members, and 52.3% of the staff experienced mild psychiatric problems. About 32.9% of students, 33.7% of the faculty members, and 25% of the staff experienced high levels of worry during the COVID-19 lockdown. Changes in eating patterns, worsening chronic health problems, change in sleep patterns, and concentration difficulties were reported. Furthermore, significant differences were observed in worry and coping strategies among participants. Women use more avoidance and emotion-focused coping compared to men.Conclusion: It was concluded that COVID-19 lockdown has negatively impacted university faculty, staff, and students in terms of health behavior, psychological and physical health.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.682757/fullCOVID-19university faculty membersuniversity staffstudentsdistressworry
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Abdullah Seif Abdullah Al Miskry
Abdalla A. M. Hamid
Abdel Hameed M. Darweesh
spellingShingle Abdullah Seif Abdullah Al Miskry
Abdalla A. M. Hamid
Abdel Hameed M. Darweesh
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty, Staff, and Students and Coping Strategies Used During the Lockdown in the United Arab Emirates
Frontiers in Psychology
COVID-19
university faculty members
university staff
students
distress
worry
author_facet Abdullah Seif Abdullah Al Miskry
Abdalla A. M. Hamid
Abdel Hameed M. Darweesh
author_sort Abdullah Seif Abdullah Al Miskry
title The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty, Staff, and Students and Coping Strategies Used During the Lockdown in the United Arab Emirates
title_short The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty, Staff, and Students and Coping Strategies Used During the Lockdown in the United Arab Emirates
title_full The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty, Staff, and Students and Coping Strategies Used During the Lockdown in the United Arab Emirates
title_fullStr The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty, Staff, and Students and Coping Strategies Used During the Lockdown in the United Arab Emirates
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on University Faculty, Staff, and Students and Coping Strategies Used During the Lockdown in the United Arab Emirates
title_sort impact of covid-19 pandemic on university faculty, staff, and students and coping strategies used during the lockdown in the united arab emirates
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Psychology
issn 1664-1078
publishDate 2021-09-01
description Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown instigated serious mental health conditions. So far, the UAE data on mental health problems due to this pandemic outbreak is still scarce. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalent psychological difficulties experienced by university students, faculty members, and staff during COVID-19 lockdown and the coping strategies used.Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 737 participants using an online electronic survey. Participants included students, faculty members, and staff from universities in the UAE. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to measure general distress, Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ-16) was used to measure worry, and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS-48) was administered to measure coping strategies used by participants during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Data were collected during May to June 2020.Results: The results indicated that 60.4% of students, 57.4% of the faculty members, and 52.3% of the staff experienced mild psychiatric problems. About 32.9% of students, 33.7% of the faculty members, and 25% of the staff experienced high levels of worry during the COVID-19 lockdown. Changes in eating patterns, worsening chronic health problems, change in sleep patterns, and concentration difficulties were reported. Furthermore, significant differences were observed in worry and coping strategies among participants. Women use more avoidance and emotion-focused coping compared to men.Conclusion: It was concluded that COVID-19 lockdown has negatively impacted university faculty, staff, and students in terms of health behavior, psychological and physical health.
topic COVID-19
university faculty members
university staff
students
distress
worry
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.682757/full
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