Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background and objectives:The COVID-19 pandemic has caused symptoms of anxiety, distress, and depression in the general population. In order to develop interventions that target psychological problems, it is necessary to determine individual factors that have an impact on the development of psychological problems. The present study examined the effects of emotion dysregulation, attachment style and perceived social support on psychological problems in the context of COVID-19 using a sample of people living in Türkiye. Methods:The sample consisted of 517 participants. In addition to the Demographic and COVID-19-related Information Form, a number of questionnaires were used, including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Experiences in Close Relationships Revised (ECR-R), Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Brief Form (DERS-16), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Results:The findings revealed that perceived social support, emotion dysregulation and attachment anxiety did not have serial mediation effects in the relationship between the impact of COVID-19, and depression or stress. However, there were serial mediating effects of perceived social support, emotion dysregulation, and attachment anxiety in the relationship between the impact of COVID-19 and anxiety. That is, the effects of the impact of COVID-19 (X) on anxiety (Y) through emotion dysregulation (M2) and attachment anxiety (M3) (bootstrap = 0.007, 95% CI = −0.001, 0.015), and through perceived social support, emotion dysregulation, and attachment anxiety (bootstrap = 0.005, 95% CI = 0.001, 0.013) were significant. Conclusion:These findings suggest the role of individual appraisals in the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Do Attachment Orientations Relate to Coping with Crises? Lessons from a Cross-Sectional Study during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The pandemic, which caused concern and distress, may have activated the attachment system. Several studies have investigated the relationship between attachment orientations and symptoms of emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ] and interventions based on attachment theory [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. The current study was designed to explore the relationship of attachment orientations to mental health during COVID-19, aiming to construct effective interventions.…”