Characteristics of the study population
A total of 3,248 people from 31 provinces, municipalities directly under the Central Government and autonomous regions were surveyed, covering Hong Kong and Taiwan. The top six provinces with the largest number of subjects are: Heilongjiang 1,213, Shandong 180, Henan 156, Hebei 154,134 in Zhejiang and 131in Liaoning. The age of these respondents ranged from 18 to 82 years (mean=30·02±12·61). 759 were male (23·4%), 2,489 were female (76·6%), 1626 were in cities (50·1%) and 1622 were in villages and towns (49·9%).Marital status:1944 (59·9%) were unmarried, 1,201 (37%) were married, 75 were divorced, 28 were widowed, the level of education was predominantly high and university or above (2,855cases,87·9%), the main occupations were students 1,451 (44·7%), 611 (18·8%) were medical staff, 291 were teachers, 266 were farmers, 154 were company occupations, etc, monthly income was mostly >6000 RMB and 2000~3999 RMB (1,849cases, 56·93%).
The current situation of public psychological distress and attitudes toward seeking mental health under the outbreak of COVID-19 at home quarantine
3,248 individuals were enrolled, and the score of psychological distress scale was 15·93±6·99, 1,257 had psychological disturbance (the total score of K-10 ≥ 16), accounting for 38·7%, and 208 had serious psychological disturbance (the total score of K-10 ≥ 30), accounted for 6·4%. 2,016 (62·1%) never or rarely felt anxiety and panic, 1,034 (31·8%) sometimes felt anxiety and panic, and 1,034 (6·1%) often or always felt anxiety and panic.
The score of psychological help-seeking was 82·34 ±13·04. The scores of psychological openness, help-seeking tendency and social stigma were 23·6±6·30, 28·72±6·31 and 28·72±6·31 respectively. In this study, the low, medium and high psychological help groups were defined according to the dividing cut-off points of 25% and 75%. The number of people seeking help with low psychology was 913 (IASMHS≤72) (28·1%), those with moderate psychology was 1,510 (72<IASMHS<92) (53·5%), and those with high psychology was 825 (IASMHS≥92) (25·4%). According to the analysis of psychological help-seeking behavior, when they encountered psychological distress under the COVID-19 at home quarantine, 1,692 people (52·1%) turned to their relatives and friends for help, and 1,519 people (46·8%) would solve and endure it by themselves, 1,070 people (32·9%) sought help through Internet information, and only 954 people (29·4%) sought help from professionals (psychological assistance hotline, psychological counseling institutions). The elderly are more likely to solve and endure by themselves, while young people are more willing to turn to their relatives and friends and the Internet for help. Psychological distress was negatively correlated with Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services(r = -0·228, P<0·001).
Univariate analysis of public psychological distress and attitudes toward seeking mental health under the outbreak of COVID-19 at home quarantine
Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in public psychological disturbance among different ages, marital status, education level and occupation (P < 0·05), but there were no significant difference in family income and place of residence (P > 0·05). There were significant differences in the scores of public psychological help-seeking among different gender, age, marital status, education level, occupation, average monthly family income and place of residence (P < 0·05) (Table1,Table2 ).
The socio-economic factors predicted the level of psychological distress and attitudes toward seeking mental health
As shown in Table 3 and 4, among the socio-economic factors, age were positively associated with the psychological distress and attitudes toward seeking mental health; the level of income were negatively associated with psychological distress and attitudes toward seeking mental health; occupation were negatively associated with the level of psychological distress; sex and the level of education were positively associated with the level of attitudes toward seeking mental health; marital status were negatively associated with the level of attitudes toward seeking mental health.