A comparison of anxiety levels before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 Pandemic upended the lives of nearly everyone worldwide, and recent studies have reported higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. Using a repeated crosssectional design, the current study compares anxiety levels from a representative sample of college students prior-to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Additionally, differences in anxiety prior to and following U.S. approval for use of the Pfizer-BioNTtech COVID-19 vaccine were also compared. Findings indicate that state-anxiety levels did not differ significantly prior to and during the Pandemic as well as before the vaccine and during and after the vaccine ( M = 43.01, 44.10, 44.77, respectively). Surprisingly, trait anxiety levels were significantly higher during the Pandemic than before ( p = .003), and anxiety levels trend down after the approval of the vaccine, but not significantly ( M = 45.10, 48.85, 47.58, respectively). Future research should continue to investigate and compare anxiety levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Exploring the relationship across autonomous motivation, affects, and anxiety among gym practitioners during the second COVID-19 lockdown

“…Descriptive statistics results show lower values of anxiety compared to Taiwan adults 50 , in confinement situations. Similarly, in a representative sample of college students, the results of our participants for anxiety was also lower 51 . On the other hand, physical activity has a direct effect on anxiety, in another sample of studies of physical activity participants 52 .…”

Needs of cancer patients during the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lockdown: A population-based survey in Shanghai, China

“…In contrast, Voss et al noted that state anxiety levels did not differ significantly before, during, and after vaccination. Although anxiety levels tended to decrease after vaccine approval, the decrease was not significant (32). Vaccination against COVID-19 is a key step in establishing a universal immune barrier (33,34), and its unique role in the psychological domain also warrants examination in depth.…”

Preoperative anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic: A single-center observational study and comparison with a historical cohort

“…According to STAI-Y1, only young adults seemed to experience a higher level of anxiety during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period, probably due to their greater and easier access to the internet and social media, which may have increased the exposure to misinformation; furthermore, men showed an increased level of state anxiety during the pandemic ( 29 ). This finding is in contrast with the APAIS score, which showed that during the pandemic preoperative anxiety about anesthesia and surgery in men was lower than in the pre-pandemic period; it is important to underline that APAIS questions are specifically focused on anesthesia and surgery, while STAI-Y1 questions are more generic and the patient could forget that the questionnaire refers to the procedures they will undergo ( 30 ). In addition, our data confirmed that both during and before the pandemic, the level of preoperative anxiety was lower in men than in women ( 23 ).…”

“…These findings agree with previous studies investigating trait anxiety in different populations during the pandemic. Trait anxiety is a relatively stable characteristic of a patient’s psychology, but it can be modified by many factors such as psychological therapies; we found that the psychological burden of the pandemic was so powerful to be able to alter the hardcore of people’s emotional sphere ( 30 , 33 ). The COVID-19 pandemic did impact the socio-economic, relational, and working aspects as well, and all these factors can profoundly influence the patient’s mood ( 34 – 38 ).…”