PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN ORDER AND HOUSEHOLD EXPERIENCES IN NIGERIA (A STUDY OF NSUKKA METROPOLIS)
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak was a profound cultural shock, leaving lasting psychological and emotional traumas that will not be forgotten for decades. This study focuses on the experiences of households in Nsukka metropolis during the COVID-19 lockdown order. The identified experiences include job loss, depression, financial worries, unwanted pregnancies, sexual abuse, police extortion/brutality, loneliness, and other social vices, including criminal activities. The study recommends intervention measures such as an active healthcare sensitization campaign, government palliative support, strategic policies for quick economic recovery, and specialized training for the Nigeria police force to respond to emergencies. Ethnographic techniques were employed for accurate data collection, and the collected data were analyzed descriptively using the Content Analytical (CA) technique. The study also explores how conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic brought pain, depression, worries, and anxieties to households in the study area.
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