Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the social and economic activities of the world as it
forced most countries to lockdown with many consequences. Objectives: The current study assessed the impact of
lockdown on the experiences of stress, anxiety, depression, and coping ability in a cohort in Sohar, Sultanate of Oman.
Method: A cross sectional study involved 289 participants who completed a socio-demographic questionnaire along with the
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the COPE Inventory. Results: In
total, 227 (78.5%) participants reported moderate to high levels of stress; 62 (21.4%) reported high anxiety; and 40 (13.8%)
had moderate to severe depression. Coping strategies were mean 65.1 \u00b1 12.9. the highest was acceptance (6.2 \u00b1 1.6) followed
by positive reframing, religion (5.8 \u00b1 1.7). Anxiety correlated with denial (r2
.230, p .001) while depression was negatively
correlated with active coping (r2
-135, p.021). Being a woman and single predicted anxiety. Conclusion: There is high use of
coping strategies which relatively mitigate the effects of stress. Vulnerable groups should be offered support.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Eman Elsheshtawy, Ahmed Qoura, Amani AlRaisi, Sirous Golchinheydari, Alaa Mahfouz, Miriam Simon<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n