Covid-19-related stigma and its relationship with mental wellbeing

A cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study in Japan

Bibliographic Data

ID22071256
AuthorsEmiko Sawaguchi (Kanagawa University of Human Services), Sho Nakamura (0000-0002-5378-9477, Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital Organization, corresponding author), Kaname Watanabe (0000-0002-6155-5283, Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital Organization), Kanami Tsuno (0000-0001-9399-6596, Kanagawa University of Human Services), Hiromi Ikegami (Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital Organization), Naoko Shinmura (Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital Organization), Yoshinobu Saito (0000-0002-4538-682X, Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital Organization), Hiroto Narimatsu (0000-0002-0383-4911, Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital Organization)
Year2022
Volume10
Pages1010720-1010720
Publication date2022-09-29
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2022.1010720
PMID36249227
OpenAlexW4297997414
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited35

Objective: Social stigma related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), i. e., COVID-19 stigma, forms a burden on people socially, economically, and mentally. This study assessed COVID-19 stigma using a scale to identify a population likely to exhibit higher prejudice against COVID-19 itself as well as those infected with COVID-19. Methods: We adapted and modified the Cancer Stigma Scale to assess COVID-19 stigma and used it as the baseline survey of a cohort study in Japan. The questionnaire was disseminated to 1,573 participants (51.7% men) between December 2020 and March 2021. The questionnaire items included the infection status of individuals close to the respondent and their preventive behaviors related to COVID-19, quality of life (QOL; using the EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level [EQ-5D-5L]), and psychological distress (using the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K6]). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to validate the COVID-19 stigma scale, and we further used the structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the relationship with QOL and psychological distress. Results: COVID-19 stigma was calculated for the 257 (16.3%) participants who responded to the questionnaire. The mean age (standard deviation) was 54.5 (14.4) years, and 50.2% were men. Factor analysis revealed a five-factor model: Awkwardness (feeling uncomfortable being with a person infected before), Severity (fear of not being able to return to normal after infection), Avoidance (attitude of avoiding infected persons), Policy Opposition (expecting more public funding investment), and Personal Responsibility (believing that infected persons themselves are responsible for their infection). Participants > 70 years had the highest scores among other age groups considering all factors except for Policy Opposition. Standardized coefficients in SEM for COVID-19 stigma (latent variable) was highest for Severity (beta = 0.86). Regression coefficients of COVID-19 stigma on K6 and QOL were 0.21 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.074-0.342) and -0.159 (95% CI -0.295-0.022), respectively. Conclusion: People aged ≥ 70 years are more likely to exhibit COVID-19 stigma. Additionally, the results indicate that COVID-19 stigma impacts QOL and psychological distress

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Cohort · Cohort study · Cross-sectional study · Disease · Environmental health · Mental health · Outbreak · Pathology · Psychiatry · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Virology

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