Work status, death anxiety and psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic: Implications of the terror management theory

Shakil, Muneeba; Ashraf, Farzana; Muazzam, Amina; Amjad, Maryam; Javed, Saba

doi:10.1080/07481187.2020.1865479

Cited by 26 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Thus, it can be hypothesized that the degree of online involvement in the gambling market may lead to diverse effects from the COVID-19. Given the psychological and social consequences of COVID-19, in line with terror management theory [5], it may be likely that particularly vulnerably groups may be more likely to engage in high-risk gambling on a highly accessible gambling market. With relevance to the present setting, such a situation may be a potentially increased risk of individuals with mental distress to engage in online gambling [24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequences on everyday lives and mental suffering have been described using the theory of terror management, underlining the dramatic impact resulting from the presence of COVID-19 in a society [5]. Psychological reactions to the pandemic, and to the fear of disease and mortality, have been hypothesized to have a broad impact on human behavior, including consumer behavior [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes of Gambling Patterns during COVID-19 in Sweden, and Potential for Preventive Policy Changes. A Second Look Nine Months into the Pandemic

Håkansson

Widinghoff

2021

IJERPH

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Gambling has been suggested as one of the potential mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In earlier self-report studies, increased gambling has been reported by a limited proportion of respondents characterized with a high degree of problem gambling. The present study, carried out with the same methodology and in the same geographical setting, around seven months later in the pandemic, aimed to repeat and to extend the understanding of potential gambling changes in the population during COVID-19. An anonymous sample of web panel members was assessed, altogether 2029 individuals (52% women, 10% moderate-risk or problem gamblers). Results indicated that 6% reported increased gambling, and 4% reported decreased gambling during the pandemic. Having increased gambling was associated with more severe gambling problems (OR 2.78, 95% confidence interval 2.27–3.40), increased alcohol consumption (OR 2.92, 1.71–4.98), and psychological distress (OR 3.38, 1.83–6.23). In the group reporting increased gambling during COVID-19, moderate-risk/problem gambling was very common (62%). Recent governmental policy interventions in the area were known to a minority (30%) of respondents, but awareness of the regulations was markedly more common in individuals with at least moderate-risk gambling (56%) and in self-excluders (78%). Reporting of any perceived influence from policy changes was low (3%), and divided between those reporting an increasing and decreasing effect, respectively. Increased gambling may be a consequence of COVID-19-related changes in everyday lives of individuals with problematic gambling patterns. Thus, a vulnerable group demonstrates higher rates of gambling migration and psychosocial problems, and may require particular attention in screening and treatment contexts, and further scientific evaluations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes of Gambling Patterns during COVID-19 in Sweden, and Potential for Preventive Policy Changes. A Second Look Nine Months into the Pandemic

Håkansson

Widinghoff

2021

IJERPH

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“…However, as some researchers have highlighted, the typical balance people had reached between the vague awareness of the possibility of their death and the need to protect themselves from the anxiety this generated, was completely subverted by the unpredictability and devastating impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it constantly made death present and salient, forcing people to find new ways to cope with it ( 15 , 22 ). Indeed, our results highlighted a peculiar way of dealing with the epidemic and its heavy consequences, since it was not possible anymore for the participants to simply ignore the thought of their mortality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of those was deciding to watch movies or TV series directly related to the themes of contagion, epidemic, pandemic etc., exactly during the period of the highest peak of COVID-19 contagions ( 20 , 21 ). Such a behavior seems to disprove TMT itself, according to which, as it has been mentioned before, people would generally feel the need to suppress any thought that could be linked with death and/or human vulnerability ( 22 – 24 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Catharsis Through Cinema: An Italian Qualitative Study on Watching Tragedies to Mitigate the Fear of COVID-19

et al. 2021

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Background: Among different ways of coping with the unsettling situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a very peculiar one has been identified: a more frequent request, by the general population, of movies or TV series related to the very theme of viruses, contagions, and epidemics.Objectives: The aim of the present study was to explore this peculiar phenomenon, in order to identify people's emotions and cognitions during and after the process, and to better understand the possible psychological function cinema can have during moments of intense and generalized crisis like the present COVID-19 pandemic.Participants: Fifteen Italian adults took part in the study – eight women and seven men (average age = 30 years, SD = 10.54). Participants were recruited through social media via a specific announcement, and subsequently, through a “snowball sampling.”Method: For the present study a qualitative approach was adopted, and more specifically, the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) have been followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone or through online meeting platforms (Zoom or Skype). The written texts obtained from the transcription of each interview were analyzed using thematic analysis with the support of the software Atlas.ti, in order to highlight their fundamental contents.Results: From the data analysis, four main areas of thematic prevalence emerged, which reflected the participants' condition during the pandemic that actually led them to watch epidemic-themed movies or TV series: the need to document themselves concerning the theme of epidemics, the need to exorcize contagion anxiety, the desire to find a character with which they could identify, and the casual condition of finding a peculiar movie related to the theme of pandemics and being interested in it because of the striking resemblance with real life.Conclusions: The findings suggest that cinema could indeed represent a powerful tool to help people face the intense uncertainty of the new COVID-19 epidemic, since it allows spectators to both obtain more insight into the current situation, and to project their fears and uncertainties into the movie or TV series, thus reaching a sort of cathartic liberation that offers them hope toward the future.

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“…These results are in line with previous research. For example, psychological distress was found to be associated with greater death anxiety (Shakil et al, 2020 ). Although limited, the association between pandemic related stressors and mental health outcomes have been documented in different studies (Joaquim et al, 2021 ; Ornell et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological maltreatment, coping flexibility, and death obsession during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-mediation analysis

et al. 2022

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Recent psychological studies have reported that child maltreatment is a common issue during the COVID-19 pandemic, with negative factor leading to greater risk of occurrence of mental health problems. However, the relationship between psychological maltreatment and psychological factors is complex. Understanding the factors, which may help to provide interventions, is a critical step for mental health providers. This study aims to examine the relationships between psychological maltreatment, coping flexibility, coronavirus anxiety, coronavirus stress, and death distress. We collected data from 394 Turkish young adults (76% male: average age 21.36 ± 2.57 years) during the outbreak of COVID-19. The results of multi-mediation analysis showed that psychological maltreatment was positively related to the death obsession. More importantly, this relationship could be explained through the mediated effects of coping flexibility, coronavirus anxiety, and coronavirus stress. This study highlights the non-negligible role of psychological maltreatment in affecting death obsession and the role of coping flexibility in explaining the psychological influence of maltreatment.

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Work status, death anxiety and psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic: Implications of the terror management theory

Cited by 26 publications

References 18 publications

Changes of Gambling Patterns during COVID-19 in Sweden, and Potential for Preventive Policy Changes. A Second Look Nine Months into the Pandemic

Changes of Gambling Patterns during COVID-19 in Sweden, and Potential for Preventive Policy Changes. A Second Look Nine Months into the Pandemic

Catharsis Through Cinema: An Italian Qualitative Study on Watching Tragedies to Mitigate the Fear of COVID-19

Psychological maltreatment, coping flexibility, and death obsession during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-mediation analysis

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