Quality of life in the COVID-19 outbreak: influence of psychological distress, government strategies, social distancing, and emotional recovery

Considering the severity of the effects of COVID-19 on psychological health and quality of life, the present study investigates the direct effects of government strategies and social distancing and the moderating effect of emotional recovery on psychological distress and quality of life using the tenets of the theory of attachment and learned helplessness. The snowball sampling technique was used to recruit respondents from Bangladesh who completed a self-administered questionnaire via Google Forms, which provided cross-sectional data. The results revealed that both social distancing and government strategies have significant negative influences on psychological distress. Besides, government strategies have a significant positive influence on social distancing. Although psychological distress has a significant negative influence on quality of life, emotional recovery shows no moderating effect on the relationship between psychological distress and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study provides insights for regulatory bodies and policymakers for developing effective policy interventions to ensure the well-being of people during this pandemic. Finally, the study highlights the implications for both theory and practice and a few notes for further research.