Pre-pandemic disgust proneness predicts increased coronavirus anxiety and safety behaviors: Evidence for a diathesis-stress model

Abstract

Highlights Pre-pandemic disgust proneness predicts coronavirus anxiety and safety behaviors. Effect moderated by current perceived stress. Highest anxiety response in those with high disgust proneness and current stress. Disgust proneness may contribute to maladaptive anxiety responses to the pandemic.

Coronaphobia revisted: A state-of-the-art on pandemic-related fear, anxiety, and stress

“…Such work may be informed by a nuanced understanding of the natural fluctuations in COVID-related distress, the reciprocal roles of the various symptoms comprising the COVID Stress Syndrome, the functional limitations associated with COVID Stress Disorder, as well as more nuanced influences of symptom presentation. For example, in this volume Cox, Jessup, Luber, and Olatunji (2020)) show that disgust proneness contributes to maladaptive anxiety responses and, in doing so, may represent a target for treatment. This work may also be informed by better understanding challenges that COVID-19 creates for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders, such as illustrated in this volume by Sheu, McKay, and Storch (2020)) regarding applications of exposure and response prevention for OCD during a pandemic.…”

Risk and protective factors of college students’ psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: emotional stability, mental health, and household resources

“…More vulnerable individuals will tend to have a harder time coping with stressors than less vulnerable individuals. Several studies have applied diathesis-stress models to describe how interactions between vulnerability and the COVID-19pandemic-related stressors predicted mental health outcomes (e.g., Cox et al, 2020;Hong et al, 2020;Lynch et al, 2020;Raj et al, 2020). In line with this earlier research, we expect that prior mental health impairment may represent a vulnerability or risk factor affecting the ability to cope with an ongoing stressor, such as a pandemic.…”

Psychometric Validation of the Arabic Fear of Illness and Virus Evaluation

“…For instance, the internal consistency of Fears about Contamination and Illness subscale (items 1-9) was 0.89 and Fears about Social Distancing (items 10-19) was 0.91, which are relatively higher than that found in the Arabic FCV-19S [28] and Spanish FIVE [24]. The internal consistency of proposed structure of FIVE in Spanish language was α = 0.88 for Fears of Getting Sick from an illness or virus (items 1-4); α = 0.74 for Fears that Others May Get Sick from an illness or virus (items 5-9); α = 0.85 for Fears of Concrete Limitations due to an illness or virus (items 10,11,13,[15][16][17]; while the subscale Fears of not being able to meet Basic Needs of subsistence and work due to an illness or virus (items 12,14,18,19) had α = 0.79. The other FIVE subscales were marginally lower than FCV-19S (Behaviors Related to Illness and Virus Fears α = 0.87 and Impact of Illness and Virus Fears α = 0.84).…”

“…Pandemics due to influenza can impose many psychological stressors such as the threat of self-infection or close ones, separation from family and friends due to isolation, change in daily routine, loss of job, school closure and shortage of food or medicine [1,12]. In addition, people were requested to adapt to new social behaviors, such as maintaining physical distance from others, avoid gatherings in groups with their friends, family or work colleagues, and giving up on their usual leisure pursuits [13].…”