Post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth in patients with COVID-19 after hospital treatment: sociodemographic, clinical and psychological factors

The article presents a study of the factors of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in patients undergoing hospital treatment for coronavirus infection. An analysis of the literature showed that the prevalence of PTSD symptoms in patients who have suffered coronavirus infection varies from 3.8% to 34.5%. At the same time, female sex, severity of symptoms, traumatic experience, stigmatization of patients and lack of social support were noted as risk factors for the development of PTSD. However, post-traumatic growth was more often associated with the presence of support, constructive coping strategies, and positive core beliefs. As part of this work, 67 respondents were examined, who were asked to answer semi-structured interview questions, as well as fill out a number of questionnaires to assess the level of emotional maladaptation. According to the results obtained, 19% of respondents had symptoms of depression of varying degrees, 10% of respondents noted clinically significant indicators of anxiety, 6% of patients reported the presence of critical values ​​of PTSD, while a quarter of patients noted high values ​​of PTD. Analysis of factors showed that women are more likely to have indicators of PTSD and PTD. Also, significant factorы in post-traumatic growth was the severity of lung damage and subjective severity of experience, while the duration of hospitalization, stay in intensive care and time after discharge were not associated with any of the studied indicators. Post-traumatic stress was associated with all indicators of stress: financial and domestic difficulties, lack of social and family support, and fear of complications from the disease. Moreover, post-traumatic growth was primarily associated with constructive coping strategies and the availability of financial support.

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