Emotional Wellbeing in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey

Abbas Al Mutair; Mohammed Alhajji; Abbas Shamsan

doi:10.2147/RMHP.S279716

Emotional Wellbeing in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey

Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2021 Mar 12:14:1065-1072. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S279716. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Abbas Al Mutair^{1

2

3}, Mohammed Alhajji⁴, Abbas Shamsan⁵

Affiliations

¹ Research Center, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
² College of Nursing, Princess Norah University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ School of Nursing, Wollongong University, Wollongong, Australia.
⁴ College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁵ Research Center, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the overall emotional wellbeing and emotional predictors of the Saudi population during COVID-19.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional design was employed; the data were collected by using the Arabic version of the Mental Health Inventory.

Results: A total of 5041 participants were successfully recruited over 1 week. The participants scored moderately on Anxiety, Depression, Loss of Behavioral/Emotional Control, General Positive Affect, Emotional Ties, and Life Satisfaction. The results indicated that age, gender, marital status, socioeconomic status, and having chronic health conditions are major predictors of emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion: A rehabilitation program should be initiated to restore the community function and the wellbeing of individuals who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Saudi Arabia; anxiety; depression; emotional wellbeing.