TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing Arab Citizens' Psychological Well-Being During Times of Crisis
T2 - A Comparison of Three Arab Countries
AU - Attiat, Madher
AU - Abdelfattah, Faisal
AU - Zayed, Kashef
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Attiat et al.
PY - 2023/5/5
Y1 - 2023/5/5
N2 - Emergencies have an impact on people's psychological well-being. The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns was significant. People from various countries reported varying levels of psychological distress. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological well-being of Arab citizens from the beginning of the pandemic to the end. The responses of 1239 citizens of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman were analyzed. The psychological wellbeing constructs of self-kindness, annoyance and rumination, and future anxiety were examined by gender and country, and by feelings of loneliness, presence of psychological disorders, and psychological rehabilitation before the start of the pandemic. The constructs of psychological well-being were assessed using self-report scales. The findings revealed significant differences between countries in the positive and negative components of psychological well-being, future anxiety, and rumination. Saudi and Omani citizens reported more positive feelings of self-compassion than Jordanians. Pre-existing feelings of loneliness were associated with lower levels of self-compassion, negative thought rumination, and elevated anxiety. Positive feelings, mental health, and sound thinking increase feelings of self-compassion and reduce future anxiety. Females were more concerned about the future and expressed more negative thoughts than males, mostly in Jordan and Oman. Positive self-compassion dimensions were associated with a reduction in future anxiety. Implying that the mental health resilience of countries differed in response to the crisis.
AB - Emergencies have an impact on people's psychological well-being. The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns was significant. People from various countries reported varying levels of psychological distress. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological well-being of Arab citizens from the beginning of the pandemic to the end. The responses of 1239 citizens of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman were analyzed. The psychological wellbeing constructs of self-kindness, annoyance and rumination, and future anxiety were examined by gender and country, and by feelings of loneliness, presence of psychological disorders, and psychological rehabilitation before the start of the pandemic. The constructs of psychological well-being were assessed using self-report scales. The findings revealed significant differences between countries in the positive and negative components of psychological well-being, future anxiety, and rumination. Saudi and Omani citizens reported more positive feelings of self-compassion than Jordanians. Pre-existing feelings of loneliness were associated with lower levels of self-compassion, negative thought rumination, and elevated anxiety. Positive feelings, mental health, and sound thinking increase feelings of self-compassion and reduce future anxiety. Females were more concerned about the future and expressed more negative thoughts than males, mostly in Jordan and Oman. Positive self-compassion dimensions were associated with a reduction in future anxiety. Implying that the mental health resilience of countries differed in response to the crisis.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Arab countries
KW - Psychological well-being
KW - Resilience
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85161182912&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85161182912&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/1f49b662-836b-3398-a389-94ba9dd10860/
U2 - 10.36941/jesr-2023-0079
DO - 10.36941/jesr-2023-0079
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85161182912
SN - 2239-978X
VL - 13
SP - 303
EP - 320
JO - Journal of Educational and Social Research
JF - Journal of Educational and Social Research
IS - 3
ER -