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Psychological Distress, Fear and Coping during the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Psychological Distress, Fear and Coping during the COVID-19 Pandemic

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 5692

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alberto Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Psychology, Niccolò Cusano University, 00167 Rome, Italy
2. IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
Interests: neurobiological correlates of cognitive-affective functions; cognitive and behavioral disorders in individuals with vascular and neurodegenerative brain diseases
Dr. Calogero Lo Destro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Niccolò Cusano University, 00167 Rome, Italy
Interests: self-regulation; motivation; human performance; individual well-being; group dynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has been over 2 years since COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019. During this period, more than 495 million cases have been reported, and 6 million deaths.

The worldwide virus spread and the resulting public health emergencies produced dramatic changes in lifestyles. One of the most evident effects of these modifications is an increase of pandemic-related psychological distress.

In this vein, it has been suggested that older individuals and people with a history of medical and psychological diseases may be at greater risk for developing mental disorders (Parlapani et al., 2021). Moreover, a general increased level of psychological distress has already been detected in frontline medical professionals (e.g., Smallwood et al., 2021).

At the same time, it seems now well documented that the rapid spread of COVID-19 has generated fear and anxiety about being infected, at least in the first phase of the virus diffusion (e.g., Heiat et al., 2021). However, the specific clinical characteristics of mental distress across the populations impacted by the pandemic have not been well clarified.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect a mix of review and research papers from outstanding researchers in the field to provide a deep discussion on changes in psychological distress, from the early to the actual phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, and on the factors implied. A particular focus will be placed: a) on the discussion of COVID-19 pandemic effects on quality of life; b) on the characteristics of psychological distress in both clinical and healthy populations; and c) on the specific factors implied in resilience mechanisms.

Prof. Dr. Alberto Costa
Dr. Calogero Lo Destro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • psychological distress
  • coping with COVID-19
  • fear of COVID-19
  • health threat
  • well-being
  • mental health
  • COVID-19 vaccination
  • resilience

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 701 KiB  
Article
Effects of Locomotion Regulatory Mode on COVID-19 Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Resilience
by Calogero Lo Destro and Alberto Costa
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(15), 6533; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20156533 - 06 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1334
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a significant impact on mental health globally. The uncertainty, fear, and stress associated with this crisis have contributed to a heightened prevalence of anxiety, depression, and various other mental health disorders. In this scenario, the present study aimed [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a significant impact on mental health globally. The uncertainty, fear, and stress associated with this crisis have contributed to a heightened prevalence of anxiety, depression, and various other mental health disorders. In this scenario, the present study aimed at investigating the relationship between locomotion regulatory mode, resilience, and COVID-19 anxiety. It is worth noting that previous extensive research has established a significant correlation between high levels of locomotion and diverse positive psychological conditions, such as optimism, reduced hopelessness, and a positive effect. A total of 243 participants completed measures of locomotion regulatory mode, resilience, and COVID-19 anxiety. In line with our hypotheses, individuals’ locomotion regulatory mode was negatively, although non-significatively, associated with COVID-19 anxiety. Furthermore, resilience was found to mediate the relationship between the locomotion regulatory mode and COVID-19 anxiety, indicating that individuals displaying high locomotion may be better equipped to cope with the stress and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic due to their greater levels of resilience. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of considering both locomotion and resilience in managing anxiety related to COVID-19, and suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing resilience may be particularly beneficial for individuals with a low locomotion regulatory mode. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Distress, Fear and Coping during the COVID-19 Pandemic)
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14 pages, 370 KiB  
Article
COVID-19-Related Stressors and Clinical Mental Health Symptoms in a Northeast US Sample
by Mollie A. Monnig, Samantha E. Clark, Jaqueline C. Avila, Alexander W. Sokolovsky, Hayley Treloar Padovano, Kimberly Goodyear, Elizabeth R. Aston, Carolina L. Haass-Koffler, Jennifer W. Tidey, Jasjit S. Ahluwalia and Peter M. Monti
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1367; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021367 - 12 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1609
Abstract
Research has linked specific COVID-19-related stressors to the mental health burden, yet most previous studies have examined only a limited number of stressors and have paid little attention to their clinical significance. This study tested the hypothesis that individuals who reported greater COVID-19-related [...] Read more.
Research has linked specific COVID-19-related stressors to the mental health burden, yet most previous studies have examined only a limited number of stressors and have paid little attention to their clinical significance. This study tested the hypothesis that individuals who reported greater COVID-19-related stressors would be more likely to have elevated levels of anxiety, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and serious psychological distress. Methods: An online survey was administered to a convenience sample from 18 June to 19 July 2020, in US states that were most affected by COVID-19 infections and deaths at the time. Individuals who were 18 or older and residents of five Northeast US states were eligible to participate (N = 1079). In preregistered analyses, we used logistic regression models to test the associations of COVID-19 stressors with symptoms on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and K6, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Results: COVID-19-related stressors (i.e., essential worker status, worry about COVID-19 infection, knowing someone hospitalized by COVID-19, having children under 14 at home, loneliness, barriers to environmental rewards, food insecurity, loss of employment) were associated with meeting thresholds (i.e., positive screening) for anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and/or serious psychological distress. Loneliness and barriers to environmental rewards were associated with all mental health outcomes. Limitations: We used a non-probability sample and cannot assume temporal precedence of stressors with regard to development of mental health symptoms. Conclusions: These findings link specific stressors to the mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Distress, Fear and Coping during the COVID-19 Pandemic)
17 pages, 745 KiB  
Article
Stress, Coping and Considerations of Leaving the Profession—A Cross-Sectional Online Survey of Teachers and School Principals after Two Years of the Pandemic
by Petra Lücker, Anika Kästner, Arne Hannich, Lena Schmeyers, Janny Lücker and Wolfgang Hoffmann
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 16122; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316122 - 02 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2060
Abstract
Teaching is amongst the six professions with the highest stress levels and lowest job satisfaction, leading to a high turnover rate and teacher shortages. During the pandemic, teachers and school principals were confronted with new regulations and teaching methods. This study aims to [...] Read more.
Teaching is amongst the six professions with the highest stress levels and lowest job satisfaction, leading to a high turnover rate and teacher shortages. During the pandemic, teachers and school principals were confronted with new regulations and teaching methods. This study aims to examine post-pandemic stress levels, as well as resilience factors to proactively cope with stress and thoughts of leaving the profession among teachers and school principals. We used a cross-sectional online survey. The validated instruments Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Proactive Coping Subscale (PCI) were used. We included 471 teachers and 113 school principals in the analysis. Overall, respondents had a moderate stress level. During the pandemic, every fourth teacher (27.2%) and every third principal (32.7%) had serious thoughts of leaving the profession. More perceived helplessness (OR = 1.2, p < 0.001), less self-efficacy (OR = 0.8, p = 0.002), and poorer coping skills (OR = 0.96, p = 0.044) were associated with a higher likelihood of thoughts of leaving the profession for teachers, whereas for school principals, only higher perceived helplessness (OR = 1.2, p = 0.008) contributed significantly. To prevent further teacher attrition, teachers and school principals need support to decrease stress and increase their ability to cope. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Distress, Fear and Coping during the COVID-19 Pandemic)
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