Assessing the psychological distress and coping strategies among academic staff of a university during COVID-19

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been associated with stress because of its disruption to normal lifestyle. While the resilience of people was challenged, some coping strategies were adopted to maintain balance in the face of the pandemic. Aim: To assess psychological distress and coping strategies among the academic staff. Setting: Afe Babalola University located in the Southwest, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive-cross-sectional design was used on the population of 512 academics where a sample size of 248 was drawn using Taro Yamane with a 10% non-response rate. The instruments used were a modified Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and an adapted COPE inventory for coping strategies. The scale reliability of K10 was 0.866 while that of coping strategy was 0.610. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. The results were presented in simple percentages, means and standard deviations. Results: Most respondents had severe psychological distress (185, 98.9%) with the most rated report 'Feel worthless' 4.8 +/- 0.59. The most rated coping strategy was 'I try to lose myself for a while by drinking alcohol or taking drugs'3.8 +/- 0.60 with overall coping scale mean, 2.3 +/- 1.02. Conclusion: There was severe distress and substance used among academics. The study recommends teaching on effective coping styles and institution probable preparation for future pandemic. Contribution: The study provides insight into the psychological state of the academic staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and unveils the adaptive strategies used. The results of the study are useful for the development of appropriate coping skills for the staff.