We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and panic disorder (PD) among citizens in 11 countries during the Covid-19 pandemic. We explored risks and protective factors most associated with the development of these mental health disorders and their course at 68 days follow up. We acquired 9543 unique responses via an online survey that was disseminated in UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, India, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Sweden. The prevalence and new incidence during the pandemic for at least one disorder was 48.6% and 17.6%, with the new incidence of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorder being 11.4%, 8.4%, 9.3%, and 3%, respectively. Higher resilience was associated with lower mental health burden for all disorders. Ten to thirteen associated factors explained 79% of the variance in PTSD, 80% in anxiety, 78% in depression, and 89% in PD. To reduce the mental health burden, governments should refrain from implementing many highly restrictive and lasting containment measures. Public health campaigns should focus their effort on alleviating stress and fear, promoting resilience, building public trust in government and medical care, and persuading the population of the measures’ effectiveness. Psychosocial services and resources should be allocated to facilitate individual and community-level recovery from the pandemic.

National governments took action to delay the transmission of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) by implementing different containment measures. We developed an online survey that included 44 different containment measures. We aimed to assess how effective citizens perceive these measures, which measures are perceived as violation of citizens’ personal freedoms, which opinions and demographic factors have an effect on compliance with the measures, and what governments can do to most effectively improve citizens’ compliance. The survey was disseminated in 11 countries: UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, India, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Sweden. We acquired 9543 unique responses. Our findings show significant differences across countries in perceived effectiveness, restrictiveness, and compliance. Governments that suffer low levels of trust should put more effort into persuading citizens, especially men, in the effectiveness of the proposed measures. They should provide financial compensation to citizens who have lost their job or income due to the containment measures to improve measure compliance. Policymakers should implement the least restrictive and most effective public health measures first during pandemic emergencies instead of implementing a combination of many restrictive measures, which has the opposite effect on citizens’ adherence and undermines human rights.

11 marca 2020 r. Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia (WHO) ogłosiła szybkie rozprzestrzenianie się epidemii koronawirusa. Aby opóźnić transmisję wirusa, rządy poszczególnych krajów zdecydowały o wprowadzeniu różnych środków ograniczających. Miały one ekonomiczny i psychologiczny wpływ na społeczeństwo i spowodowały dyskusję dotyczącą norm etycznych oraz praw człowieka. Celem badania było porównanie reakcji i postaw wobec wprowadzonych restrykcji w dwóch sąsiadujących krajach – Polsce i Czechach oraz odpowiedź na pytanie, czy różnią się one w kontekście tych samych środków ograniczających. Zastosowano metodę ankiety internetowej, w której badani oceniali 28 wprowadzonych ograniczeń pod kątem ich efektywności, restrykcyjności i stosowania się do nich. W badaniu wzięło udział 1731 osób, w tym 723 z Czech i 1008 z Polski. Badanie przeprowadzono pomiędzy 26 maja a 31 sierpnia 2020 r. – pod koniec pierwszej fali pandemii. Wykazano różnicę w postrzeganiu stosowanych środków. Polacy niżej oceniali ich efektywność i restrykcyjność, rzadziej też stosowali się do wprowadzanych ograniczeń. Pozwala to na wniosek praktyczny o konieczności wprowadzania środków o najwyższej efektywności i najmniejszej dolegliwości w połączeniu z wcześniejszą kampanią informacyjną.

SPSS syntax created during the project 'Evaluation of citizens' psychological distress and their perception of the effectiveness and restrictiveness of national measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 epidemic in 11 countries' which was funded by the EOSCSecretariat.eu. The syntax has been used for the statistical analyses of 'Perceived Effectiveness, Restrictiveness, and Compliance with Containment Measures against the Covid-19 Pandemic: An International Comparative Study in 11 Countries' (Study 1) and 'Prevalence, New Incidence, Course, and Risk Factors of PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, and Panic Disorder during the Covid-19 Pandemic in 11 Countries' (Study 2).