The Role of Personality, Political Attitudes and Socio-Demographic Characteristics in Explaining Individual Differences in Fear of Coronavirus: A Comparison Over Time and Across Countries

Abstract

Since the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in December 2019 about 500,000 people died within the first 6 months. The virus itself, as well as the related political decisions, intensified an increasing feeling of fear in billions of people worldwide. However, while some people remained unperturbed, others experienced panic over the current situation. In order to investigate individual differences in the perceptions, emotions and behaviors in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, an online survey was conducted between 6th and 27th of March 2020. Participants included 7309 individuals from 96 countries, who provided information on socio-demographics, personality, political orientation and general life satisfaction. To determine the specificity of fear of Coronavirus, we also investigated fear related to two other current political issues: the refugee and the climate crises. Overall, in parallel with the escalation of the pandemic, fear of Coronavirus increased significantly over the 22-day period, with the strongest predictors being the personality variable neuroticism, as well as education, sex and being an at-risk person. A detailed longitudinal analysis of the largest sample, Germany, revealed that political orientation was also an important predictor of fear of Coronavirus. Specifically, conservatives were more afraid of Coronavirus than liberals. However, as the perceived threat of the virus increased, the influence of political orientation disappeared, whereas personality remained a stable predictor. The pattern of results regarding the perceived threat of the refugee and climate crises painted a different picture: political orientation was by far the best predictor, more important even than personality. Conservatives were more worried about the refugees, and liberals about climate change. Cross-cultural analyses showed pronounced differences between countries, dependent on the crisis. Nonetheless, the importance of personality for the prediction of fear of Coronavirus remained stable over time and across the world within the investigated 22-day period.

Viral Tunes: Changes in musical behaviours and interest in coronamusic predict socio-emotional coping during COVID-19 lockdown

“…From a range of nearly forty functions, those related to regulating negative and boosting positive affect increased the most in importance during the COVID-19 lockdown, such as enjoyment, relaxation, comfort, distraction, and a reduction of stress and anxiety. All of these functions directly target the negative wellbeing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (Dagnino et al, 2020;Dawel et al, 2020;Franceschini et al, 2020;Groarke et al, 2020;Hur, Smith, DeYoung, Anderson, Kuang, Kim, Tillman, Kuhn, Fox, & Shackman, 2020;Lenzo et al, 2020;Lippold et al, 2020;Parlapani et al, 2020;Rajkumar, 2020;Rodríguez-Rey et al, 2020;Rossi et al, 2020). Ultimately, these findings extend our knowledge about music usage to a global public health crisis, beyond previous studies that have identified the importance of music as a tool for emotional regulation in everyday life (Juslin & Sloboda, 2010;Saarikallio, 2011;Thoma, Ryf, Mohiyeddini, Ehlert, & Nater, 2012;Randall, Rickard, & Vella-Brodrick, 2014;Groarke & Hogan, 2016).…”

“…Such is the case during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to fear of the virus (Lippold et al, 2020) and elevated stress levels due to physical-distancing measures (Best, Law, Roach, & Wilbiks, 2020), many people faced (and continue to face) reduced income or unemployment, the need to combine working from home with childcare duties, uncertainty about the future, and social isolation. Evidence is accumulating for severe negative mental health impacts, such as increased levels of anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness, and impaired sleep quality (Dagnino et al, 2020;Dawel et al, 2020;Franceschini et al, 2020;Groarke et al, 2020;Hur, Smith, DeYoung, Anderson, Kuang, Kim, Tillman, Kuhn, Fox, & Shackman, 2020;Lenzo et al, 2020;Lippold et al, 2020;Parlapani et al, 2020;Rajkumar, 2020;Rodríguez-Rey et al, 2020;Rossi et al, 2020).…”

Fear of COVID-19 for Individuals and Family Members: Indications from the National Cross-Sectional Study of the EPICOVID19 Web-Based Survey

“…Overall, as the pandemic escalated, fear of being infected increased significantly. According to a recent study by a German psychology research group, the strongest predictors of fear were personality variables, as well as education, sex and being an at-risk person [ 34 ].…”

Analysis and Psychoeducational Implications of the Behavior Factor During the COVID-19 Emergency

“…From a psychological viewpoint, research has largely been aimed at assessing the impact on persons’ mental, emotional and behavioral health from the periods of confinement that a large part of the population has been subjected to ( Lippold et al, 2020 ; Spalleta et al, 2020 ). The effects of confinement on mental health have been analyzed by a number of authors ( Taylor, 2019a , b , c ; Sokolowska et al, 2020 ).…”