Fear of COVID-19 mediates the relation between mental distress and at-risk health behaviours in Italian adults (original) (raw)
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Frontiers in Psychology, 2021
The Italian state adopted serious safety measures to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020. The lockdown was associated with negative psychological consequences in healthy populations, mostly in terms of anxiety, distress, depression, and even traumatic symptoms. This longitudinal study aimed at briefly documenting the psychological impact among an Italian sample, in terms of worry and its impact on psychological well-being levels, of the first wave of COVID-19, taking into account the changes in the lockdown scenario. A three-time follow-up survey was administered to 177 subjects (Female: 78%, Mage = 36.33), during (T0), at the end (T1), and 3 months after the end of the first lockdown (T2). Since the first wave of COVID-19, results showed a decrease in worry and the perception of virus diffusion’s controllability over time while psychological well-being increased. Furthermore, factors such as personality traits (neuroticism and agreeableness) and dysfunctional coping strat...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has called for unprecedented measures, to the extent that the Italian government has imposed a quarantine on the entire country. Quarantine has a huge impact and can cause considerable psychological strain. The present study aims to establish the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and identify risk and protective factors for psychological distress in the general population. An online survey was administered from 18–22 March 2020 to 2766 participants. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression models were constructed to examine the associations between sociodemographic variables; personality traits; depression, anxiety, and stress. Female gender, negative affect, and detachment were associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Having an acquaintance infected was associated with increased levels of both depression and stress, whereas a history of stressful situations and medical problems was associat...
The outbreak of the COVID-19 has largely impacted individuals' health and lifestyles. This study aimed to investigate people's psychological well-being during the second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We selected six indicators of psychological well-being: fear of COVID-19, loneliness, social interaction anxiety, generalized anxiety, PTSD, and depression. A sample of 231 Italian participants (56.3% women), with a mean age of 32.7 (SD=12.
European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education
Italy was quickly hit hard by the coronavirus. ‘Lockdown’ has significantly impacted the psychological health, personal wellbeing and quality of life of the people. The study aims to explore the relationship between positive and negative affect, as well as positive (spiritual well-being and flourishing) and negative outcomes (psychological distress caused by a traumatic life event in terms of perception of PTSD symptoms) on Italian adults during the lockdown period. Data was collected between April and May 2020. The participants were 281 Italian adults aged between 18 and 73 years. The survey was composed of the following measures: Flourishing Scale, Jarel Spiritual Well-Being scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Impact of Event Scale—Revised, Fear of COVID-19. The mediational analysis shows that fear of COVID-19 fully mediates the relationship between negative affect and spiritual well-being and flourishing; fear of COVID-19 partially mediates the relationship between nega...
2020
A sudden outbreak of diseases poses a serious threat to mental health. Relying on strengths might mitigate negative mental health outcomes and promote positive mental health. Prior research suggests a potential moderated mediation effect between fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being. Based on the Complete State Model and the Competence-Based Model of mental health, this study examined the relationship between fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being through perceived distress moderated by resilience in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey using questionnaires was employed. Data were collected online from 384 participants ( 270 females and 114 males, age range= 15 to 29 years). The participants had indirect exposure to COVID-19 through information from the media. Results demonstrated that fear of illness significantly predicts subjective psychological well-being both directly and indirectly. In addition, the moderated mediation e...
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
This study focuses on the effects of fear factor due to COVID-19 on stress and well-being of college students in India. The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey among 625 Indian students across various Indian universities and structural equation modeling (SEM) has been performed for analyzing the data. The findings of the study show a positive effect of fear of COVID-19 on stress with β = .27, p < 0.05, and a negative effect on well-being (β = −.13, p < 0.05). The results also depicted the mediating role of stress between fear of COVID-19 and well-being. Therefore, it is suggested that measures must be taken by individuals, society, and policy makers to include mental health maintenance in the pandemic response activities. Further longitudinal studies in different geographical regions and demographics can provide a more generalized understanding of the relationship between the pandemic and mental health. The limitations, policy implications, and suggestions are discussed. Keywords COVID-19. Fear of COVID-19. Mental health. Stress. Well-being. Students The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has raised numerous concerns in public health (Heymann & Shindo, 2020) in recent times. Besides fear of infection, mental health concerns among the public have also increased all over the world (Holmes et al., 2020). The COVID-19 scenario has resulted in an increased level of psychiatric issues such as stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, insomnia, denial, anger, fear and, in the worst case, suicide (Torales et al., 2020).
Psychological Reports, 2022
The coronavirus pandemic has been sweeping the world for more than a year. As physical health begins to stabilize in the western world, an increasing concern is related to the impact of the virus and its containment measures on people's mental health. This work aimed to explore the effect of demographic factors (age, gender, level of education, and socioeconomic status) and variables such as fear of COVID-19 and social support in predicting the quality of life and mental health of adults during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. Through an online survey with 1087 Italian adults (M = 39.7, SD = 16.39; 74.4% women), gender and socioeconomic status emerged as crucial factors in determining differences regarding people's responses and reactions to the pandemic. In addition, the results highlighted the importance of perceived social support and a moderate fear of COVID-19 in predicting people's quality of life and mental health. The study suggests important guidelines for the development of interventions to support the population's well-being and mental health.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Background. The COVID Stress Scales (CSS) assess COVID-related stress experienced in the past week related to danger and contamination fears, socioeconomic consequences, xenophobia, compulsive checking, and reassurance seeking, and traumatic stress symptoms. Our objective was to provide a translation into Italian, replication, and psychometric validation of the CSS in the general population. Moreover, we aimed to test the convergent and discriminant validity of the Italian CSS (CSS-I) with respect to anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms in the general Italian population. Method. Adult participants (n = 935) over the age of 18 years were recruited from the general population in Italy. Psychological status was assessed using multiple validated measures, including the CSS, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), and the Prejudice Against Immigrants Scale (PAIS). Results. Our confirmatory factor analysis supported a 6-factor model, including danger fears (DAN), socioecon...
Journal of Clinical Medicine
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a major stressor for the psychological health of people worldwide. In the UK, the COVID19-Psychological Research Consortium Study (C19PRC) launched to evaluate the psychological impact of COVID-19 in the general population and its implications. The project was then extended to Italy and several other countries. This article provides an overview of the Italian C19PRC study and its replication of two specific findings from the UK C19PRC. In the first part, the relationship between anxiety and somatic symptomatology is examined. In the second part, we analyze the association between several factors and psychological health outcomes: depression/anxiety, traumatic stress, COVID-19 anxiety. In line with the study conducted in the UK, an online survey was administered to the adult Italian general population. The sample included 1038 respondents (age, mean = 49.94, SD = 16.14, 51.15% females) taken from four regions: Lombardia, Veneto, Lazio, and Campania. T...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has called for unprecedented measures, including a national lockdown in Italy. The present study aimed at identifying psychological changes (e.g., changes in depression, stress, and anxiety levels) among the Italian public during the lockdown period, in addition to factors associated with these changes. An online follow-up survey was administered to 439 participants (original sample = 2766), between 28 April and 3 May 2020. A paired sample t-test tested for differences in stress, anxiety, and depression over the period. Multivariate regression models examined associations between sociodemographic variables, personality traits, coping strategies, depression, and stress. Results showed an increase in stress and depression over the lockdown, but not anxiety. Negative affect and detachment were associated with higher levels of depression and stress. Higher levels of depression at the start of the lockdown, as well as fewer coping strateg...