3 ׀ RESULTS
The average age of the participants was 31.61 ± 11.05 (min-max: 19-76). 67.0% reported living in a nuclear family, 1.9% in a single-parent family, 13.2% alone, and the rest (17.9%) in an extended family. 17% reported that they smoked, 4.7% reported that they smoked + used alcohol, 75.5% reported that they did neither, and 2.8% reported that they had previously had an addiction. 16% stated that they had a chronic disease.
As seen in Table 1, 11.3% reported living alone, 82.1% with their families, and 6.6% with relatives or friends (Table 1).
As seen in Table 2, 92.5% stated that their health was generally good. However, 59.4% stated that they were concerned that their health might be negatively affected. Of those who had contracted COVID-19, 81.1% stated that their mental health deteriorated and 64.2% stated that their physical health was impaired. 37.7% stated that they did not know how they contracted the disease, and 58.5% treated COVID-19 at home (Table 2). The participants’ average length of hospital stay due to COVID-19 was calculated as 4.33 ± 6.69 days (Min-max: 0-30 days). 92.5% stated that their health was generally good while the rest reported having poor health status.
This research examined whether the participants’ scores from the overall PTGI or its sub-dimensions differed in terms of their sociodemographic characteristics or health status. As a result, it was observed that variables such as age, gender, marital status, income status, parental status, family type, members of the household, place of residence, perceived health status, health-related anxiety, and presence of a chronic disease did not make a difference in the scores (p > 0.05).
As seen in Table 3, 41.5% reported avoiding crowds, 39.6% avoiding public transportation, and 50.9% a decline in their interpersonal relationships after the outbreak of the pandemic (Table 3). Of the participants, 45.3% stated that their habit of storing food and cleaning materials did not change, 34% stated that the frequency they visited health institutions did not change, 48.1% reported no change in their sleeping habits, 40.6% reported no change in their social media usage habits, 37.7% stated that they did not have any difficulty focusing on their goals, 39.6% stated that their belief in the effect of modern medicine did not change, and 36.8% stated that their trust in public institutions remained unchanged. Moreover, 33.0% reported an increase in their frequency of handwashing, 50% reported a significant increase in their usage of masks and gloves outside, 39.6% reported an increase in their health-related anxiety, 44.3% reported an increase in symptoms that bring to mind COVID-19, 48.1% reported an increase in their healthy eating habits, 45.3% reported an increase in their habit of following the news, and 50.9% stated that they started to question the meaning of life more often.
As seen in Table 4, the median value of CiSP scores was obtained to be high for primary school graduates (p = .047), for unemployed participants (p = .006), for those who reported that their mental health was affected due to the pandemic (p = .026), and for those who reported they were concerned about their health (p = .008) (Table 4). Also, the median value of ACPoL scores was obtained to be high for those who reported that they had previously had an addiction (p = .010), for those who stated that their mental health was affected negatively after the pandemic (p = .022), and for those who reported they were concerned about their health (p = .013). Besides, the mean and standard deviation values of CiIR scores were obtained to be high for those who perceived their income status as low (p = .012), for those who stated that their mental health was affected negatively after the pandemic (p = .022), and for those who stated that their physical health was impaired after the pandemic (p = .012). Finally, the median value of overall PTGI scores was obtained to be high for unemployed participants (p = .044), for those who stated that their mental health was affected negatively after the pandemic (p = .010), and for those who reported they were concerned about their health (p = .006).
Although the participants’ scores from the overall PTGI are not shown in the table, those who reported an increase in their frequency of visiting health institutions (KW = 9.993, p = .041), those who reported increased health-related anxiety (KW= 10.300, p= .036), those who reported an increase in the habit of following the news (KW= 18.232, p= .001), and those with increased trust in public institutions (KW = 16.463, p = .002) obtained higher scores.