Abstract

The Impact of Loneliness, Anger, and Regular Physical Activity on Mental Health During the Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the entire world and mandatory restrictions have increased mental health problems. This descriptive study aimed to examine the impact of loneliness, anger, and regular physical activity on mental health and investigate their interaction with regular physical activity. The universe of the study was people who lived in K?r?ehir, Turkey, 560 people participated via stratified sampling. Data of the study were collected through socio-demographic information form, General Health Questionnaire-12, UCLA Loneliness Scale-8, and Trait Anger Scale in March 2021. In the data analysis, the seven-way mixed-factor (ANOVA) variance analysis of such groups as regular physical activity, gender, loneliness, anger, body mass index, and educational status was compared in terms of GHQ-12 total score and the interaction effect of physical activity with each of other six independent variables were examined. The study found a statistically significant difference between physical activity groups, loneliness groups, anger groups, and age groups in terms of GHQ-12 total score, and there was no interaction effect among these variables. According to these results, it can be said that age, loneliness, anger, and regular physical activity are effective on mental distress, and it is suggested that advanced studies are conducted to examine mental distress. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 22(5), July 2021: 1-11.

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