Factors associated with psychological distress, fear and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

Rahman, Muhammad Aziz; Hoque, Nazmul; Alif, Sheikh M; Salehin, Masudus; Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful; Banik, Biswajit; Sharif, Ahmed Raihan; Nazim, Nashrin Binte; Sultana, Farhana; Cross, Wendy

doi:10.1186/s12992-020-00624-w

Cited by 246 publications

(273 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Other studies also found a negative impact of substance use on a psychological response, either in a form of association of alcohol intake with higher risk on reporting the burnout (Colville et al, 2017), or substance use with lower resilience that is highly correlated with anxiety, depression and perceived stress (Smith et al, 2008), and with increased anxiety (McPherson, 2003). Several studies showed negative effect of maladaptive coping styles on mental health during COVID-19 pandemic, associating it with higher anxiety and depression, higher level of psychological distress and lower wellbeing (Dawson & Golijani-Moghaddam, 2020;Rahman et al, 2020;Rettie & Daniels, 2020;Wang et al, 2020b;Yan et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coping strategies and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown

Budimir

Probst

Pieh

2021

Journal of Mental Health

153

103

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Background: COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures changed the everyday lives of people around the world. Aims: To evaluate the effects of different coping strategies on mental health during COVID-19 lockdown. Methods: A representative sample for Austria was recruited through Qualtrics V R in a period of 4 weeks after the lockdown started. Measurements were coping inventory (SCI), psychological quality of life (WHO-QOL BREF, psychological domain), well-being (WHO-5), depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), stress (PSS-10), and insomnia (ISI). Regression analyses were performed with coping strategies as predictors and mental health measures as dependent variables.Results: The representative sample included N ¼ 1,005 respondents (52.7% women). Positive thinking, active stress coping and social support were found to be positive predictors for psychological life quality, well-being, and negative predictors for perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Alcohol and cigarette consumption was a negative predictor for psychological life quality, and well-being, and a positive predictor for perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Support in faith was a positive predictor for perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Conclusions: Coping strategies are significant predictors for mental health measures. Education about positive thinking, active coping, and social support could be beneficial for dealing with a decrease in mental health due to COVID-19 pandemic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coping strategies and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown

Budimir

Probst

Pieh

2021

Journal of Mental Health

153

103

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“…Recent studies have been put forth to identify various sociodemographic factors, social and job-related factors (e.g., working as health care professions, poor household income and high social media exposure) and pre-existing psychiatric illnesses, which increased the risks of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic [1,3,15]. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence addressing the interrelationships between the perceived threats related to COVID-19, coping strategies and mental health outcomes [16][17][18][19]. With the more use of emotional-focused coping [18,19], the less use of problem-focused coping [19] and the lower social support [18], people tend to exhibit more mental health symptoms, including symptoms of depression and anxiety [18,19].…”

Section: Psychological Flexibility and Prosocialitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Can psychological flexibility and prosociality mitigate illness perceptions toward COVID-19 on mental health? A cross-sectional study among Hong Kong adults

et al. 2021

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Background The negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on public mental health can be persistent and substantial over a long period of time, but little is known regarding what psychological factors or processes can buffer such impact. The present study aimed to examine the mediating roles of coping, psychological flexibility and prosociality in the impacts of perceived illness threats toward COVID-19 on mental health. Method Five-hundred and fourteen Hong Kong citizens (18 years or above) completed an online survey to measure illness perceptions toward COVID-19, coping, psychological flexibility, prosociality, and mental health, together with their socio-demographic variables. Structural equation modelling was used to explore the explanatory model that was the best-fit to illustrate the relationships between these constructs. Results Serial mediation structural equation model showed that only psychological flexibility (unstandardised beta coefficient, β = − 0.12, 95% CI [− 0.20, − 0.02], p = 0.031) and prosociality (unstandardised β = 0.04, 95% CI [0.01, 0.08], p = 0.001) fully mediated the relationship between illness perceptions toward COVID-19 and mental health. In addition, psychological flexibility exerted a direct effect on prosociality (standardised β = 0.22, 95% CI [0.12, 0.32], p < 0.001). This best-fit model explained 62% of the variance of mental health. Conclusions Fostering psychological flexibility and prosocial behaviour may play significant roles in mitigating the adverse effects of COVID-19 and its perceived threats on public mental health.

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“…An emerging body of research suggests that lockdown-related changes in addictive and compulsive behaviors may be predicted by, or otherwise related to, behavior-specific factors, such as motives [e.g., ( 13 )] and pre-existing severity ( 6 , 10 , 14 ). However, individual characteristics also play a role [e.g., ( 15 )]. This pattern of findings is not unique to COVID-19; there is a wealth of past research showing that while stressful life events generally increase risk for addictive and compulsive behaviors ( 16 – 19 ), the extent to which they do is influenced by individual differences ( 20 – 22 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Trait Compulsivity and Impulsivity on Addictive and Compulsive Behaviors During COVID-19

et al. 2021

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high levels of psychological distress worldwide, with experts expressing concern that this could result in corresponding increases in addictive behaviors as individuals seek to cope with their distress. Further, some individuals may be at greater risk than others for developing problematic addictive behaviors during times of high stress, such as individuals with high trait impulsivity and compulsivity. Despite the potential of such knowledge to inform early detection of risk, no study to date has examined the influence of trait impulsivity and compulsivity on addictive behaviors during COVID-19. Toward this aim, the current study examined the association between impulsive and compulsive traits and problematic addictive and compulsive behaviors during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Australia.Methods: Eight hundred seventy-eight adults completed a cross-sectional online survey during the first lockdown, between late May to June 2020. Participants completed scales for addictive and compulsive behaviors for the period prior to and during lockdown for problematic eating, pornography, internet use, gambling, drinking, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Negative binomial regressions examined the associations between impulsivity, compulsivity, and their interaction with problematic behaviors during lockdown, controlling for age, gender, sample, psychological distress, exposure to COVID-related stressors, and pre-COVID problems.Results: Greater trait compulsivity was associated with more problematic obsessive-compulsive behaviors (p < 0.001) and less problematic drinking (p = 0.038) during lockdown. Further, trait compulsivity interacted with trait impulsivity in relation to problematic eating behaviors (p = 0.014) such that greater trait compulsivity was associated with more problems among individuals with low impulsivity only (p = 0.030). Finally, psychological distress and/or exposure to COVID-related stressors were associated with greater problems across all addictive and compulsive behaviors, as was severity of pre-COVID problems.Discussion: Trait compulsivity was associated with addictive and compulsive behaviors in different ways. Further, the finding that stress-related variables (psychological distress and COVID-related stressors) were associated with greater problems across all lockdown behaviors supports the idea that stress may facilitate, or otherwise be associated with, problematic behaviors. These findings highlight the need for interventions that enhance resilience to stress, which in turn may reduce risk for addictive and compulsive disorders.

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Factors associated with psychological distress, fear and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

Cited by 246 publications

References 36 publications

Coping strategies and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown

Coping strategies and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown

Can psychological flexibility and prosociality mitigate illness perceptions toward COVID-19 on mental health? A cross-sectional study among Hong Kong adults

The Influence of Trait Compulsivity and Impulsivity on Addictive and Compulsive Behaviors During COVID-19

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