Worry during the initial height of the COVID-19 crisis in an Italian sample

Abstract

In the earliest months of 2020, the COVID-19 emergency reached a pandemic status of international concern. In this situation, people tended to think more about current difficulties and their negative consequences due to the fear of infection and changed daily life during quarantine. The aim of this study was to explore the severity of worry in relation to individual characteristics and emotions during COVID-19 outbreak in the Italian people. Socio-demographic questions and standardized self-report questionnaires were administered online.Results highlighted a moderate level of worry, anxiety and distress. People with higher perceptions of COVID-19 severity exhibited higher levels of worry in contrast to those who perceived a greater control over the possibility of infection. Multiple regression analysis indicated that coping styles, emotion regulation strategies and personality traits significantly contributed to explain the variance in worry scores. Findings supported that cognitive reappraisal, emotion-focused coping and extraversion were protective factors for worry, while expressive suppression, dysfunctional and problem-focused coping, and neuroticism were related to high worry. However, neuroticism and dysfunctional coping were particularly important predictors of worry. This paper also considers possible psychological interventions that might be implemented in order to deal with mental health issues emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The interplay between risk and protective factors during the initial height of the COVID-19 crisis in Italy: The role of risk aversion and intolerance of ambiguity on distress

“…The exposition of a serious threat for physical safety enhances the perception of health risk for themselves and for significant others (Cava et al, 2005) and, consequently, distress. In line with such considerations, our findings suggests that COVID-19 exposure increased the worry perception (Sebri et al, 2021) which, in turn, was associated with higher distress. This result is consistent with the literature (Gudykunst & Nishida, 2001), which identifies high uncertainty as a risk factor for the development of negative psychological mental health.…”

“…Besides contingent and external factors, such as the exposure to COVID-19, other factors might influence individuals' level of distress during pandemic, such as individual differences in personality (Mazza et al, 2020;Morelli et al, 2020), dispositions (Conversano et al, 2020;Rossi et al, 2020;Sebri et al, 2021), and coping strategies (Prout et al, 2020). Literature indicates that individual differences in the ability to tolerate ambiguous situations (e.g.…”

“…Worry Participants were asked to indicate their worry about contracting COVID-19 infection by themselves, family members, and significant others with 3 items as done in other studies (Sebri et al, 2021). Response options were on a 5point scale (ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree").…”

A 6-Month Follow-Up Study on Worry and Its Impact on Well-Being During the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in an Italian Sample

“…759 respondents (out of a total sample of 1233) of the initial survey (Sebri et al, 2021) expressed their consent to participate in a follow-up study, gave email addresses, and were contacted to fulfill the next phase. 436 agreed to take part and complete the first follow-up evaluation but only 177 completed both the first (T1) and the second follow-up evaluation (T2).…”

“…Qualitative research based on the critical incident technique (Durosini et al, 2021) showed that healthy citizens were able to experience also positive events during the lockdown (e.g., in terms of cultivation and enjoinment of relationships with loved ones), but at the same time they were subjected to notable emotional distress: for example, the daily experience of the lockdown, along with the alarming messages coming from the media and the unreal perception of emptiness and isolation in the cities, were connected to a novel "sensation of emergency" accompanied by everlasting negative arousal. Likewise, research showed that people with higher perception of COVID-19 severity and lower perception of control over the possibility of infection reported higher levels of worry and anxiety (Sebri et al, 2021). A longitudinal study (Pellerin and Raufaste, 2020) demonstrated how psychological resources created a buffer against the negative effects on well-being.…”