COVID-19 fear and anxiety as mediators in the relationship between repetitive negative thinking and psychopathology: a community-based study during the 2nd confinement in Portugal.

Autor: Peixoto MM; Center for Psychology, University of Porto (CPUP), Porto, Portugal.; Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto, Centro de Psicologia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, s/n, Porto, 4200-135 Portugal., Cunha O; HEI-Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab, Universidade Lusófona Do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) [Curr Psychol] 2023 May 25, pp. 1-7. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 May 25.
DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04782-z
Abstrakt: Repetitive negative thinking is a cognitive dimension of the onset and maintenance of psychopathology, and increased levels of psychopathology have been observed during COVID-19 lockdowns. The role of fear of COVID-19 and COVID-19 anxiety has been poorly explored in terms of psychopathology during lockdowns due to the pandemic crisis. This study examines the mediating role of fear of COVID-19 and COVID-19 anxiety in the relationship between repetitive negative thinking and psychopathology during the second lockdown in Portugal. Participants completed a web survey that included a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, the Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale - 21. The results showed a positive and significant correlation between all variables and identified fear of COVID-19 and COVID-19 anxiety as significant mediators in the relationship between repetitive negative thinking and psychopathology during the second lockdown in Portugal, after controlling for being isolated, being infected, and working in first line response of COVID-19. Overall, the current findings highlight the role of cognitive dimensions such as anxiety and fear in the context of COVID-19, nearly a year after the pandemic outbreak and after the release of a vaccine. Mental health programs should consider improving coping strategies for emotion regulation, particularly fear and anxiety, during major catastrophic health-related events.
Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors report there is no conflict of interest to declare.Disclosure statementThe authors report there are no competing interests to declare.
(© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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