COVID-19-related stigma and its impact on psychological distress: A cross-sectional study in Wuhan, China

Health-related stigma arises from the perceived association between a person or group of certain characteristics and a specific disease. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought about stigma targeted at individuals and groups who are perceived to be connected with the virus. Wuhan of China was not only the locale where the first COVID-19 cases were detected in the world but was also the hardest hit across China.

Using new data (N = 1153) from a survey conducted in Wuhan in August 2020, this cross-sectional study aims to reveal the stigma experienced by residents in Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of this experienced stigma on psychological distress, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder.

69.47% (95% confidence interval (CI): 66.81%─72.13%) of the surveyed Wuhan residents have experienced some forms of stigma related to COVID-19. The average posttraumatic stress disorder score based on the impact of event scale-revised is 20.28 (95% CI: 19.096─21.468) out of 88. In particular, 27.75% (95% CI: 25.17%─30.34%) of the respondents display clinically significant distress symptoms. Moreover, this stigma not only aggravates individuals' posttraumatic stress disorder score by 10.652 (95% CI: 8.163─13.141) but also elevates the chance of developing clinically significant distress symptoms. Specifically, the probability of clinical distress is significantly higher (p < 0.001) among those who have experienced stigma (33.66%) than those who have no such experiences (12.62%).

The public should be aware of the distress-inducing impact of stigma related to COVID-19 and prevent it from causing more harm to certain individuals and groups.