The Combined Outcomes of the COVID-19 Pandemic and a Collapsing Economy on Mental Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the outcomes of COVID-19 and a collapsing economy on the mental well-being (MWB) of the general Lebanese population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted online in May 2020 and enrolled 502 adults. Results: Mental well-being had a mean of 14.80 (14.37; 15.24). A lower MWB was associated with female gender (beta=−1.533 [−2.324; −0.743]), university education (beta=−2.119 [-3.353;-0.885]), fear of COVID-19 (beta=−0.131 [−0.199; −0.063]), fear of poverty (beta=−0.232 [−0.402;−0.063]), verbal violence at home (beta=−3.464 [−5.137; −1.790]), and chronic disease (beta=−1.307 [−2.283; −0.330]). Better family satisfaction (beta=0.380 [0.235; 0.525]) and better financial situation (beta=0.029 [0.003; 0.055]) were significantly correlated with better MWB. In the subsample of workers/looking for a job, additional factors affected MWB: physical exercise (beta =1.318 [0.370; 2.265]) was associated with better QOL, while being a previous waterpipe smoker, being self-employed before the crisis (beta=−1.22 [−2.208;−0.231]), working from home since the economic crisis (−1.853 [−3.692; −0.013]), and worrying about the long-term effects of the crisis on one's employment status (beta=−0.433 [−0.650; −0.216]) were associated lower MWB. It is noteworthy that closure of the institution yielded a borderline result (B = −1.2; p =.094), while the fear of COVID-19 was not significantly associated with MWB (B = −0.054; p =0.192). Conclusion: This study showed that, during the pandemic, economic and other factors, directly or indirectly related to COVID-19, significantly affected quality of life. The fear of COVID-19 and fear of poverty mainly impacted the MWB of the general population. However, the fear of COVID-19 lost its significance among workers, who reported that factors negatively affecting their MWB are directly related to their employment and the already collapsing economy in Lebanon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]