Psychological problems in general population during covid-19 pandemic in Pakistan: role of cognitive emotion regulation

Abstract

Objectives: To explore psychological problems (Anxiety, Depression and Stress) in general population during Covid-19 pandemic. To find predictive effects of cognitive emotion regulation on psychological problems. Methodology: Convenient sampling technique was used to obtain the sample of 500 participants (Male = 239, Female = 261). Research instrument consists of four parts. First part comprised of consent form, second part was about demographic profile, third part was Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS-21) while Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire was the last part of the instrument. Results: SPSS 23.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version was used for study analysis. Descriptive statistics used to summarize the raw data. The inferential statistics such as regression, correlation and t-test were used to calculate the findings according to research objectives. Results indicated that 33%, 40% and 27% individuals were experiencing Depression, Anxiety and Stress respectively during Covid-19 pandemic. Among these participants, 48% (N = 242) were experiencing normal level of all these targeted psychological problems while remaining 52% (N = 258) respondents have mild to very severe level of all these disorders. Furthermore, findings of linear regression analysis illustrated that cognitive emotion regulation significantly predicts psychological problems [R 2=.216; F = 51.223, p