Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Perceived Social Support and Mental Health of Persons With Disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

BACKGROUND: In December of 2019, SARS-CoV-2, a new type of coronavirus, appeared, and it turned into an international epidemic. The consequences of the pandemic, especially the isolation measures, fear of infection and bad economic trends, as a result of the crisis, threaten people's basic psychological needs. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and perceived social support of persons with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. METHODS: The research included a total sample of 232 respondents with different types of disabilities. The Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) was used to verify the research objective, which assessed three dimensions: somatization, depression and anxiety. Also, in order to verify the research objective, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was applied, which consists of 12 statements that measure the perceived social support of family, friends and other people. The research data was processed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The basic statistical parameters were calculated, while the t-test was used for an independent sample of respondents to verify the set objective. RESULTS: The results of the research showed that persons with disabilities, who were infected with the SARS-Cov-2 virus, had a significantly higher level of somatization, anxiety and depression compared to those who were not infected with the virus. The results in relation to social support did not prove to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The obtained results lead to the conclusion that, in the future, interventions by experts of various profiles must be planned to preserve the mental health of persons with disabilities, which is why it is important to invest in the emotional, psychological, social, physical and spiritual well-being of the individual.