Volume 11, Number 3—March 2005
Research
SARS-related Perceptions in Hong Kong
Joseph T.F. Lau*
, Xilin Yang*, Ellie Pang*, H.Y. Tsui*, Eric Wong*, and Yun Kwok Wing*
, Xilin Yang*, Ellie Pang*, H.Y. Tsui*, Eric Wong*, and Yun Kwok Wing*Table 4
Psychological and related effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (survey 2 data)*
| Men, % | Women, % | Total, % | p value† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General mental health effect of SARS | ||||
| SARS perceived to be severe or very severe | 91.4 | 93.7 | 92.5 | 0.216 |
| Felt horrified because of SARS (agree or strongly agree) | 65.4 | 80.3 | 72.9 | <0.001 |
| Felt apprehensive because of SARS (agree or strongly agree) | 55.5 | 69.1 | 37.7 | <0.001 |
| Felt helpless about SARS (agree or strongly agree) | 65.0 | 63.7 | 64.4 | 0.703 |
| Worried or worried very much about oneself or family members contracting SARS | 41.3 | 57.2 | 49.3 | <0.001 |
| IES cutoff (posttraumatic stress symptoms) | 13.3 | 18.0 | 15.7 | 0.060 |
| Worsened self-assessed mental health effect of SARS (very much or somehow) | 42.6 | 54.1 | 48.4 | 0.001 |
| Sleeping/psychosomatic problems | ||||
| Experienced trouble falling or staying asleep because of SARS (sometimes or often) | 9.3 | 13.6 | 11.5 | 0.054 |
| Sleep was restless in the last month (sometimes or often) | 15.3 | 21.9 | 18.6 | 0.015 |
| Experienced sweating, trouble breathing, nausea, or heart pounding because of SARS | 5.2 | 8.5 | 6.9 | 0.059 |
| Substance use | ||||
| Increased frequency of smoking‡ | 13.2 | 11.5 | 12.9 | 0.820 |
| Increased frequency of drinking alcohol§ | 4.7 | 14.8 | 6.8 | 0.062 |
| Perceived increased stress because of SARS | ||||
| Increased or much increased work stress | 35.4 | 38.2 | 36.8 | 0.403 |
| Increased or much increased family stress | 38.6 | 37.0 | 37.8 | 0.639 |
| Increased or much increased financial stress | 25.1 | 28.0 | 26.5 | 0.344 |
| Other problems | ||||
| Family members in need of psychology or psychiatry services | 4.7 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 0.539 |
| Difficult or very difficult to concentrate at work¶ | 18.8 | 21.8 | 20.1 | 0.409 |
| Worsened or much worsened sexual life | 6.2 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 0.855 |
| Worsened or much worsened social life | 31.0 | 43.4 | 37.2 | <0.001 |
| Family member with worsened or much worsened emotional states | 26.0 | 26.9 | 26.5 | 0.783 |
*IES, Impact of event scale.
†Chi-square test.
‡Among those who were smokers.
§Among those who drank alcohol.
¶Among those who were currently working full time or part time.
