Lived Experiences of Wives of Persons with Alcohol Dependence Syndrome during COVID-19 Pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51333/njpsw.2022.v23.i1.489Abstract
Background: There have been reports of increasing alcohol use and domestic violence among persons with alcohol dependence syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the experiences of domestic violence, psychological distress and the coping mechanism used by wives of persons with alcohol dependence syndrome (PWADS) during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional institutional-based study, 50 samples were collected using consecutive sampling method using the following tools - Socio-demographics, Questionnaire, Domestic Violence Questionnaire, the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and brief Cope was collected. Results: The mean age of their spouse (PWADS) was 42 ± 8.20 years, 42% (N = 21) were skilled workers, 60% (N = 30) were taking alcohol from the last 10 years and 50% (N = 25) were on treatment from the last 2-5 years. Among the study participants (wives of PWADS) the mean age was 40.70 ± 8.70 years, and 82% were housewives. They reported a significantly increased alcohol use and money spent by their husbands which affected the home environment. Domestic violence also increased significantly level (with a p-value of .001) in terms of psychological, physical and sexual in comparison to before lockdown and during the lockdown. Severe level of psychological distress reported by 48% of wives suffered from. They all used different types of coping. Conclusion: Lived experiences of wives of persons with alcohol dependence syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic were bitter as their husbands not only continued the use of alcohol regularly but they increased the amount of alcohol intake and spend more money which has worsted effects on the home environment in comparison to before lockdown which needs to be targeted through different interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic or similar situations.
Keywords: Life events, alcohol, COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence
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