Serious illnesses such as Ebola are often highly publicized in the mass media and can be associated with varying levels of anxiety and compensatory safety behavior (e.g., avoidance of air travel). The present study investigated psychological processes associated with Ebola-related anxiety and safety behaviors during the outbreak in late 2014. Between October 30 and December 3, 2014, which encompassed the peak of concerns and of the media's attention to this particular outbreak, 107 university students completed a battery of measures assessing fear of Ebola, performance of safety behaviors, factual knowledge of the virus, and psychological variables hypothesized to predict Ebola-related fear. We found that while our sample was generally not very fearful of contracting Ebola, the fear of this disease was correlated with general distress, contamination cognitions, disgust sensitivity, body vigilance, and anxiety sensitivity-related physical concerns. Regression analyses further indicated that anxiety sensitivity related to physical concerns and the tendency to overestimate the severity of contamination were unique predictors of both Ebola fear and associated safety behaviors. Implications for how concerns over serious illness outbreaks can be conceptualized and clinically managed are discussed.

The threat of a United States (U.S.) Zika virus pandemic during 2015-2016 was associated with public anxiety. Such threats represent opportunities to examine hypotheses about health anxiety. The present study investigated psychological predictors of Zika-related anxiety during the 2015-2016 outbreak. U.S. adults (N = 216) completed a battery of measures assessing Zika-related anxiety as well as psychological variables hypothesized to predict anxious responding to the threat of a domestic Zika outbreak. Contrary to hypotheses, regression analyses indicated that only contamination severity overestimates and greater Zika knowledge significantly predicted Zika-related anxiety. Study limitations and clinical implications are discussed.

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Background There are significant concerns about mental health problems occurring due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. To date, there has been limited empirical investigation about thoughts of suicide and self‐harm during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods A national survey was conducted May 2020 to investigate the association between mental health symptoms, social isolation, and financial stressors during the COVID‐19 pandemic and thoughts of suicide and self‐harm. A total of 6607 US adults completed an online survey; survey criteria included an age minimum of 22 years old and reported annual gross income of $75,000 or below. Statistical raking procedures were conducted to more precisely weight the sample using US Census data on age, geographic region, sex, race, and ethnicity. Results COVID‐19‐related stress symptoms, loneliness, and financial strain were associated with thoughts of suicide/self‐harm in multivariable logistic regression analyses, as were younger age, being a military veteran, past homelessness, lifetime severe mental illness, current depressive symptoms, alcohol misuse, and having tested positive for COVID‐19. Greater social support was inversely related to thoughts of suicide/self‐harm whereas running out of money for basic needs (e.g., food), housing instability (e.g., delaying rent), and filing for unemployment or disability were positively related. Conclusions Public health interventions to decrease risk of suicide and self‐harm in the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic should address pandemic‐related stress, social isolation, and financial strain experienced including food insecurity, job loss, and risk of eviction/homelessness.