Age-Related Differences on Psychological Distress Levels and Coping Strategies Due to COVID-19 among Nairobi Residents
Abstract
The study sought to establish whether there are age differences in the coping strategies and psychological distress levels among Nairobi Residents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was necessitated by a paucity of scholarly studies that have examined age differences in psychological coping strategies and levels of distress due to the pandemic. Two tools of assessment were used for data collection; the Brief Cope inventory and the COVID-19 Related Psychological Distress (CORPD) for healthy people. An ex post facto research design was used to survey 356 Nairobi residents. Data were analyzed through the application of descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. The results show that there were significant statistical differences between age and psychological coping strategies (p-value=.001) but no significant statistical differences between age and psychological distress levels (p-value=.514). The study thus recommends that the residents of Nairobi be educated on active coping strategies, self-distraction, planning and venting to enable them to reduce psychological distress that may accrue out of the fear, anxiety, and suspicion related to the COVID-19 pandemic
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Copyright (c) 2023 Ambrose Ondiek Ngere, Charity Waithima, Michelle Karume
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