L’objectif principal était d’explorer et de comparer l’impact de la pandémie de la COVID-19 (stress perçu, risque et crainte perçus d’être contaminé, gravité estimée, respect du confinement, qualité de vie, qualité des relations, solitude, résilience) lors de la période de confinement dans un échantillon de français métropolitains et de l’île de La Réunion, département ultramarin le plus peuplé.

Un échantillon de 347 participants, âgés de 18 à 78 ans, a répondu à un questionnaire diffusé sur Internet lors des dix derniers jours du confinement en France. L’échantillon se découpe en 227 métropolitains (M=38,24 ; DS=13,41 ; 13,2 % d’hommes) et 120 Ultramarins réunionnais (M=37,26 ; DS=12,81 ; 31,7 % d’hommes).

Les métropolitains, plus exposés, respectaient davantage le confinement et se sentaient plus à risque. Des scores élevés non significatifs de résilience et de qualité de vie contrastent dans l’échantillon réunionnais qui estimait par ailleurs la gravité ou la crainte similairement. Chez les métropolitains, le stress était expliqué par des variables liées à la COVID-19 (crainte, gravité, respect des mesures), la solitude et négativement par la résilience et la qualité de vie. Dans l’échantillon réunionnais, le stress était expliqué par la crainte et négativement par la résilience.

Cette étude apporte des nouvelles données sur l’impact psychologique important de la pandémie du COVID-19 dans deux échantillons français ayant des caractéristiques différentes. Davantage de travaux pourraient mettre en avant les facteurs de protection de ces populations.

The COVID-19 pandemic raised a lot of anxiety around the world. France is composed of several overseas territories with major cultural differences but also with a different exposure to the COVID-19. Reunion Island is the most populated overseas French department, but few researches have focused on this population. Therefore, the main objective was to explore and compare the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (perceived stress, risk and fear of being infected, severity, lockdown respect, perceived stress, quality of life, quality of relationship, loneliness, resilience) during the lockdown among residents of metropolitan France and of Reunion Island.

A sample of 347 participants, aged from 18 to 78 (M=37.90; DS=13.20) replied to a questionnaire posted online during the last ten days of the lockdown in France. The sample is divided into 227 metropolitans (M=38.24 DS=13.41; 13.2% of men) and 120 residents of Reunion Island (M=37.26; DS=12.81; 31.7% of men). Resilience, loneliness and perceived stress have been assessed using validating scales while specific items have been created to assess COVID-19 impacts.

The majority of the total sample has been little exposed to the COVID-19, but the estimated severity was high throughout the sample. Several significant differences have been observed between overseas and metropolitans. The latter, who were more exposed, were more respectful of lockdown measures and felt more concerned about being contaminated. They also had different professional activities (work at home, stop working) since the lockdown than did the overseas sample. Non-significant higher scores of resilience and quality of life during the lockdown contrast in the overseas sample, who estimated risk, fear and severity similarly. In correlational analyses, many relationships were significant only in one sample. For example, in metropolitans the higher the loneliness, the higher the severity. In the other sample, the higher the perceived stress, the higher the respect of lockdown measures, while more metropolitans felt lonely the more they respected these measures. Regressional analysis showed different predictive variables of the scores of perceived stress and fear of being contaminated. In metropolitans, stress was explained by COVID-19 related variables (fear, severity, respect), loneliness and negatively by resilience and quality of life while in the other sample it was explained by fear of being infected and negatively by resilience. Fear of being infected was explained by risk and stress in the overseas, but also by quality of life in the metropolitan sample.

This study brings new data on the important psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on two French samples. Observed differences highlight a higher fear of being infected among the metropolitans who were generally more exposed. Overseas from La Réunion did not feel more spared by this risk, despite the limited number of cases since the appearance of the first case in March 11th and the end of the lockdown in May 11th. Despite exposure, our results could be explained by several cultural differences such as way of life or beliefs. Overseas life in Reunion Island might bring more resilience and less loneliness given the particular familial, social and religious functioning. Given the limits of this study and the lack of similar comparisons, more work could highlight the protective factors of these populations.