Cross-cultural comparisons of psychosocial distress in the USA, South Korea, France, and Hong Kong during the initial phase of COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in disruption of everyday life worldwide but the impact and response to the pandemic have not been uniform. Many countries rapidly deployed physical-distancing mandates to curb the spread of the virus; others did not. Social distancing strategies are necessary to reduce the transmission of the virus but there may be unintended consequences. We examined psychological distress in four societies with distinct public health strategies (South Korea, Hong Kong, France and the United States) to identify common and region-specific factors that may contribute to mental health outcome during the pandemic. From March to July of 2020, a survey of demographics, general health, mental health, loneliness and social networks was conducted. Overall, younger age, greater con

SUBMITTER: Dean DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8087149 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature