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Emotional, Behavioral, and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 13352

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Giannini

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Guest Editor

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: emotional state; mental health interventions; well-being; stress; emotion regulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected people’s lives. In fact, many different confinement measures have been implemented around the world to reduce the risk of infection. In particular, stay-at-home policies have led people to reduce their mobility and increase social distancing between individuals, leading to profound changes at different levels, such as public health, economic crisis, and increased unemployment. At the individual level, the psychological effects of the pandemic have led to increased anxiety and stress, both related to the perception of the virus and its long-term consequences, changes in sleeping-waking rhythms but also the exacerbation of prior psychiatric conditions.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) aims to promote knowledge of the emotional impact that COVID-19 has had on individuals and groups.

Accepted manuscripts include, but are not limited to, original research articles, reviews, short reports, and commentaries. Papers that discuss the design implementation and evaluation of interventions are encouraged, as are cost-benefit analyses and theoretical articles that provide guidance on how to develop effective mental health strategies in specific domains such as family, work, and group settings.

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Giannini
Guest Editor

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

emotional state
COVID-19 and mental health
mental health interventions
well-being
quality of life
stress
emotion regulation

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 673 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coping of Chronically-Ill Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparison between Four Groups

by Mateusz Łuc, Marcin Pawłowski, Arkadiusz Jaworski, Karolina Fila-Witecka, Dorota Szcześniak, Hanna Augustyniak-Bartosik, Dorota Zielińska, Aleksandra Stefaniak, Anna Pokryszko-Dragan, Justyna Chojdak-Łukasiewicz, Magdalena Krajewska, Tomasz Pawłowski, Jacek C. Szepietowski and Joanna Rymaszewska

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 4814; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064814 - 9 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1374

Abstract

In many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic led to healthcare reorganization limiting access to diagnostic or therapeutic procedures for chronically-ill patients. In this article, we describe the psychological consequences and coping strategies of several groups of chronically-ill patients. During the cross-sectional survey conducted in 2020, we enrolled 398 patients with four different chronic conditions (psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and patients who have undergone a kidney transplant or received dialysis). The study sample was examined regarding the experienced stress levels (Perceived Stress Scale) and coping strategies (Brief-COPE). All four groups of patients most commonly declared using problem-focused coping strategies and least commonly reported the use of avoidant coping. Higher levels of perceived stress strongly correlated with self-blaming. The participants who declared previous psychiatric treatment or psychotherapy were more likely to use self-blaming, behavioral disengagement, substance use, and avoidant coping, while previous psychotherapy additionally correlated with emotion-focused coping. Group comparison identifies patients with a chronic neurological disease, such as multiple sclerosis, at higher risk of a less beneficial coping profile than kidney transplant recipients. Further focus on education and early interventions in at-risk individuals is needed, and widely targeted mental health programs are indicated in order to improve the mental health of patients suffering from chronic diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional, Behavioral, and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic)

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12 pages, 351 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Stigma, Mental Health, Stress, and Health-Related Quality of Life in People with Long COVID

by Urte Scholz, Walter Bierbauer and Janina Lüscher

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 3927; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20053927 - 22 Feb 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2143

Abstract

A considerable amount of people who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 experience ongoing symptoms, a condition termed long COVID. This study examined nuanced experiences of social stigma in people with long COVID and their associations with perceived stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and mental and physical health-related quality of life (hrqol). A total of N = 253 participants with long COVID symptoms (mean age = 45.49, SD = 12.03; n = 224, 88.5% women) completed a cross-sectional online survey on overall social stigma and the subfacets enacted and perceived external stigma, disclosure concerns, and internalized stigma. Data were analysed using multiple regression and controlling for overall burden of consequences of long COVID, overall burden of symptoms of long COVID, and outcome-specific confounders. In line with our preregistered hypotheses, total social stigma was related to more perceived stress, more depressive symptoms, higher anxiety, and lower mental hrqol, but—in contrast to our hypothesis—it was unrelated to physical hrqol after controlling for confounders. The three subscales of social stigma resulted in differential associations with the outcomes. Social stigma experiences go hand in hand with worse mental health in people with long COVID. Future studies should examine potential protective factors to buffer the effects of social stigma on people’s well-being. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional, Behavioral, and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic)

13 pages, 387 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Anyone but Me: Unrealistic Optimism, Emotions and Anxiety in the Face of COVID-19 Pandemic

by Adrianna Wielgopolan, Maciej Pastwa, Aleksandra Warkocka and Kamil Konrad Imbir

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010301 - 25 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2453

Abstract

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic (and its consequences, such as lockdown and public health regimes) was a novel and stressful situation for most of people, and, as such, it significantly affected both cognitive and emotional functioning of individuals. In our study, we explored unrealistic optimism bias (the cognitive error giving people a feeling of invulnerability) and any declared preventive behaviours undertaken in order to minimise the risk of contagion. We also measured twelve specific emotions (differing in valence and origin) and the feeling of the anxiety caused by the coronavirus. The results allowed us to confirm the occurrence of unrealistic optimism bias (being significantly stronger for men than women), which correlated negatively with the declared number of preventive behaviours. Unrealistic optimism was also positively correlated with negative automatic emotions and negatively correlated with positive reflective emotions. We created models accounting for the variance of general anxiety, finding significant predictors for both separate groups of younger and older adults (negative emotions, both automatic and reflective; and preventive behaviours). However, there was an effect of positive emotions (both automatic and reflective) having a protective role from the feeling of general anxiety, which was significant for the older group only. Our findings may be a valuable cue for coping with crisis situations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional, Behavioral, and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic)

12 pages, 1278 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Psychological and Biochemical Effects of an Online Pilates Intervention in Pregnant Women during COVID-19: A Randomized Pilot Study

by Hyun-Bin Kim and Ah-Hyun Hyun

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 10931; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710931 - 1 Sep 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3052

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of real-time online Pilates exercise during COVID-19 on women’s body composition, blood lipids, and psychological health after childbirth. The participants were 16 pregnant women (24–28 weeks pregnant) enrolled at the C Women’s Culture Center in Seoul, South Korea, classified into online Pilates groups and non-exercise groups (PE, n = 8; CON, n = 8). The online Pilates program was conducted for 8 weeks, twice a week, and 50 min a day using a real-time video chat app. Participants visited the hospital twice for body composition and blood tests. Questionnaires on postpartum depression, sleep disorder, and stress were conducted at 6 weeks and 12 weeks after childbirth. We found a significant difference between groups in body composition. The weight, percentage of body fat, body fat mass, and BMI of the PE group decreased. Blood lipids showed significant differences between the groups in TC, TG, LDL and CRP, while insulin and HDL showed no difference. All blood lipids, insulin, and CRP in the PE group were reduced. There were significant differences between the groups in postpartum depression, sleep disorders, and perceived stress indices performed in the post-test, and the serotonin concentration in the PE group increased. Serotonin levels were significantly correlated with postpartum depression, body fat mass, and body fat rate. Pregnant women’s online Pilates in this study was effective at reducing weight and depression in women after childbirth and should be used to promote women’s mental health during COVID-19. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional, Behavioral, and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic)

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18 pages, 1302 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Fear of COVID-19: Gender Differences among Italian Health Volunteers

by Jessica Burrai, Alessandro Quaglieri, Umberto Aitella, Clarissa Cricenti, Ivan D’Alessio, Alessandra Pizzo, Giulia Lausi, Anna Maria Giannini and Emanuela Mari

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(11), 6369; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116369 - 24 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1886

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the fear of being infected was a major concern, resulting in both physical and psychological effects. Despite several studies on fear of COVID-19 in the general population, the effects on healthy volunteers who face COVID-19 on the frontlines have not yet been investigated. Methods: An online survey on specific psychological variables related to COVID-19 was administered to 720 healthy volunteers, and gender differences were investigated. Results: The primary finding was that females showed higher scores in all dimensions assessed. A multiple linear regression conducted on both genders exhibited a similar pattern of predictors, highlighting the pivotal role of negative affect in the male group. Conclusions: The findings suggest that COVID-19 had significant effects on healthy volunteers, especially in the female group. Although the previous literature did not report the crucial role played by the negative affect in the male sample, these results highlight the need to deepen how both genders use different emotional strategies to cope with stressful situations. This study may be useful in the development of specific psychological support and ad hoc training for healthy volunteers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional, Behavioral, and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic)

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Review

Jump to: Research

21 pages, 1438 KiB

Open AccessReview

Mental Health in the Post-Lockdown Scenario: A Scientometric Investigation of the Main Thematic Trends of Research

by Ilaria Cataldo, Dora Novotny, Alessandro Carollo and Gianluca Esposito

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(13), 6310; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20136310 - 6 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1537

Abstract

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, researchers and clinicians have published scientific articles on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its medical, organizational, financial, and psychological implications. However, many effects have been observed in the post-lockdown scenario. In this study, we adopted a scientometric–bibliometric approach to drawing the state of the art regarding the emotional and psychological effects of the pandemic after the lockdown. In Scopus, we found 791 papers that were subsequently analyzed using CiteSpace. The document co-citation analysis (DCA) computation generated a network of eight major clusters, each representing a central area of investigation. Specifically, one major cluster—cluster no. 1—focuses on the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and individuals’ ability to develop adaptive coping mechanisms and resilience. The results allow us to frame the fields covered by researchers more precisely and the areas that still need more investigation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emotional, Behavioral, and Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic)

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