Health Literacy, Perceived Threat, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of the Study Sample

Demographic Characteristics	Frequency (%)
Age
18–24	310 (24.82)
25–34	467 (37.39)
35–44	309 (24.74)
45–54	130 (10.41)
≥ 55	33 (2.64)
Gender
Male	620 (49.64)
Female	629 (50.36)
Marital Status
Single	550 (44.04)
Married	658 (52.68)
Divorced/widowed	41 (3.28)
Income
Low income	469 (37.55)
Upper low income	178 (14.25)
Middle income	194 (15.53)
Upper middle income	278 (22.26)
High income	130 (10.41)
Education
Less than High school	26 (2.08)
High school	204 (16.33)
College	768 (61.49)
Postgraduate	251 (20.10)
Region
Northern region	139 (11.13)
Middle region	219 (17.53)
Southern region	125 (10.01)
Western region	680 (54.44)
Eastern region	86 (6.89)
History of mental illness	46 (3.68)
History of chronic conditions	162 (12.97)

Table 2 Mean and Standard Deviation of BIPQ-5 Items and Correlation with PCL-S Score

BIPQ-5^a	M ± SD	r	p
Consequences	5.5 ± 2.8	0.53	< 0.001
Timeline	5.1 ± 2.5	0.19	< 0.001
Identity	1.9 ± 2.6	0.34	< 0.001
Concern	5.2 ± 3.0	0.54	< 0.001
Emotional response	4.2 ± 3.3	0.68	< 0.001
Total BIPQ-5 score	22.0 ± 12.7	0.66	< 0.001

Note: BIPQ-5^a, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, version BIP-Q5, SD.

Table 3 Mean and Standard Deviation of Health Literacy Items and Correlation with PCL-S Score

Health Literacy Items	M ± SD	r	p
Find information about symptoms of COVID-19	6.2 ± 1.2	− 0.09	0.003
Understand what authorities say about the virus COVID-19	6.3 ± 1.2	− 0.08	0.006
Understand what authorities say about COVID-19 restrictions and recommendations	6.5 ± 1.2	− 0.13	< 0.001
Judge whether the information about COVID-19 in the media is reliable	6.5 ± 0.9	− 0.11	< 0.001
Follow the recommendations on how to protect yourself from COVID-19	6.5 ± 1.0	− 0.14	< 0.001
Judge when you need to go to the doctor for non-COVID-related problems, and when not to	5.5 ± 1.8	− 0.13	< 0.001
Decide when to engage in social activities, and when not to	5.5 ± 1.7	− 0.15	< 0.001
Decide when to stay at home from work/school, and when not to?	5.8 ± 1.6	− 0.14	< 0.001
Find out about political decisions on restrictions related to COVID-19	6.3 ± 1.1	− 0.13	< 0.001
Total Health literacy score	55.2 ± 8.0	− 0.18	< 0.001

Table 4 The Association Between PTSD and BIP-Q5 and Health Literacy

	Method 1		Method 2		Method 3
	OR (95% CI)	p	OR (95% CI)	p	OR (95% CI)	p
Marital status
Divorced/Widowed	2.47 (1.01–6.04)	0.048	2.51 (1.05 −6.01)	0.038	2.83 (1.12–7.17)	0.028
Married	1.42 (1.00–2.01)	0.050	1.38 (0.99–1.93)	0.060	1.55 (1.07–2.25)	0.022
Single	Ref		Ref		Ref
History of mental illness
Yes	3.53 (1.64–7.61)	0.001	2.98 (1.40–6.34)	0.005	4.20 (1.93–9.15)	< 0.001
No	Ref		Ref		Ref
BIP-Q5	1.17 (1.14–1.19)	< 0.001	1.15 (1.13–1.18)	< 0.001	1.17 (1.15–1.20)	< 0.001
Health Literacy	0.97 (0.95–0.99)	0.002	0.97 (0.95–0.99)	< 0.001	0.96 (0.94–0.98)	< 0.001

Notes: Method 1: a cut-off score of 45 or higher indicates the presence of PTSD symptoms; Method 2: determine if individuals meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria (DSM-IV) as defined by one item from questions 1−5, three items from questions 6−12, and two items from questions 13−17 rated “3” or above; and Method 3) a combination of method 1 and method 2.