Essentials not the biggest headache: Study shows most people find plight of poor, economic crisis more stressful

NEW DELHI: Confined to their homes because of the lockdown, it seems that people these day are more stressed seeing the plight of the disadvantaged and the economic crisis rather than immediate worries like availability of essential goods, job cuts and getting infected by novel coronavirus.

All this and more interesting aspects have come across in a study conducted by Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR). The study titled “Probing Pandemic Pandemonium: A Real Time Study of Covid-19 Stress, Coping and Psychological Consequences in India” was conducted in 10 states, including Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Karnataka, Assam and Maharashtra.

A majority of the respondents felt that the government’s response had been adequate and now work on the economy should be started on a war footing. Around 43% respondents said they participated in activities like clapping from the balcony with a sense of pride.

The lockdown has also brought about various changes in people with 96.5% agreeing not to waste food, 72.2% saying they will reduce expenditure on luxury items and 91.1% promising to take better care of their health and hygiene. Interestingly, none of the coping strategies, like meditation, pursuing hobbies and talking to friends, helped in reducing stress.



Out of the 1,009 respondents from the middle/upper class income strata, 63.1% were women. The age ranged from 17-83 years. While 44.4% of the sample was of 36-59 years, 30.2% were students, 12.5% homemakers, 7.1% retired, and 50.2% employed in fields like education, finance, health services, law, real estate, business, startups, etc.

Inspired by several initiatives taken by LSR principal Suman Sharma, the survey was conducted by department of psychology associate professor Kanika K Ahuja with the support of research associates Mitali Temurnikar and Vani Bhardwaj.

The research, using factor analysis, revealed that stress experienced due to Covid-19 is made up of five stressors — vexation with others, immediate concerns, routine disruption, uncertainty about the future and systemic stressors (abbreviated as VIRUS). Of these five, vexation with others emerged as the highest stressor, followed by systemic stressors, and lastly immediate concerns.

Frustration was very high due to people not following the social distancing norm leading to high rates of transmission and repetitive messages on social media and news channels creating panic.

The surveyors also held detailed telephonic interviews with 15 participants. “What distresses me the most is when I see Instagram photos of fancy food put up by my friends on one side, and images of poor, tired migrants walking back to their villages. I feel guilty about my position of privilege,” said a respondent.

With most coping strategies not working, Ahuja advised, “Social distancing has resulted in physical distancing, even among family members. This loss of touch needs to be restored. So, hold hands, hug, be physically intimate, but only within your homes. Become altruistic, create clear pathways towards contributions, not just in cash, but in kind.”