Analysis of psychological status and effect of psychological intervention in quarantined population during the epidemic of SARS-CoV-2

During outbreaks of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many countries adopted quarantine to slow the spread of the virus of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Quarantine will cause isolation from families, friends, and the public, which consequently leads to serious psychological pressure with potentially long-lasting effects on the quarantined population. Experience of specific practices to improve the psychological status of the mandatory quarantined population was limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological impact of mandatory quarantine, and evaluate the effect of psychological intervention on the quarantined population. We conducted a prospective cohort study to assess and manage the psychological status of a mandatory quarantined population in Beijing, China. A total of 638 individuals completed 2 questionnaires and were enrolled in this study, of which 372 participants accepted designed psychological intervention while other 266 participants refused it. The SCL-90 questionnaire was used to evaluate the psychological status and its change before and after the intervention. The differences of SCL-90 factor scores between participants and the national norm group were assessed by 2 samples t test. While the SCL-90 factor scores before and after intervention were compared with 2 paired samples t test. Compared with the Chinese norms of SCL-90, the participants had higher SCL-90 factor scores in most items of the SCL-90 inventory. The SCL-90 factor scores of participants with psychological intervention significantly decreased in somatization, obsessive-compulsive, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism. In contrast, most factor scores of the SCL-90 inventory changed little without statistical significance in participants without psychological intervention. Psychological problems should be emphasized in the quarantined individuals and professional psychological intervention was a feasible approach to improve the psychological status of the mandatory quarantined population in the epidemic of SARS-CoV-2.

Automated summary

During the COVID-19 outbreak, quarantine measures can negatively affect psychological well-being, while professional psychological intervention proves to be an effective approach to improve the mental health of the quarantined population.