Decoding health-related disasters through sociodemographic characteristics: Does Arab cultural context matter? Lessons from COVID-19

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and psychological distress within the context of the Arab culture, specifically Jordan, during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess the stress levels among Jordanian citizens in rural and urban areas. This study revealed interesting findings. In accordance with the literature, females experienced higher stress levels than males, and higher education led to less stress. However, contrary to the literature, unmarried individuals experience less stress, higher income does not lead to less stress, younger age groups experience higher stress, and unemployed individuals experience higher stress than employed individuals do. There was no significant difference in stress levels between urban and rural areas. This study demonstrated the significant role of cultural context in the mechanics of the relationship between demographic and social characteristics and psychological distress by challenging dominant perspectives, especially in foreign cultures compared with Arab cultures.