Exploring the relationships between quarantine stressors, COVID-19 severity, pre-existing vulnerabilities, and first psychotic symptoms in COVID-19 survivors in North Lebanon

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially classified COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020, due to its significant challenges in public health, medical research, and other disciplines (Tariku & Hajure, 2020). COVID-19 survivors displayed psychotic symptoms without a prior history, influenced by factors such as quarantine stress, pre-existing vulnerabilities, and illness severity, including ICU admission (Parra et al., 2020; Haddad et al., 2020). This is a correlational, cross-sectional design study of quantitative type that intends to explore the relationships between predictor variables, including stressors associated with quarantine, severity of COVID-19 infection, and pre-existing vulnerabilities, and the first experience of psychotic symptoms among COVID-19 survivors, who are 18 years of age or older, following discharge from Saydet Zgharta University Medical Center, a hospital located in North Lebanon. We used the Prodromal Questionnaire, Brief Version (PQ B) to check for psychotic symptoms. In addition, data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using STATA (version 17). The final sampling involved a total of 233 survivors who were 18 years of age or older. Results showed a significant correlation between the long duration of quarantine, not receiving support during hospitalization, having a pre-existing psychological or medical issue, and the first experience of psychotic symptoms. Unfortunately, studies concerning the various variables that could have a correlation with the first appearance of psychotic symptoms in COVID-19 patients are quite limited (Esposito et al., 2021). To ensure patient psychological health and establish health organizations for future pandemics, further research on the long-term effects on COVID-19 survivors' mental health is necessary