A Cross-Cultural Exploratory Study of Health Behaviors and Wellbeing During COVID-19

Abstract

This study explored the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived health behaviors; physical activity, sleep, and diet behaviors, alongside associations with wellbeing. Participants were 1,140 individuals residing in the United Kingdom (n = 230), South Korea (n = 204), Finland (n = 171), Philippines (n = 132), Latin America (n = 124), Spain (n = 112), North America (n = 87), and Italy (n = 80). They completed an online survey reporting possible changes in the targeted behaviors as well as perceived changes in their physical and mental health. Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) on the final sample (n = 1,131) revealed significant mean differences regarding perceived physical and mental health “over the last week,” as well as changes in health behaviors during the pandemic by levels of physical activity and country of residence. Follow up analyses indicated that individuals with highest decrease in physical activity reported significantly lower physical and mental health, while those with highest increase in physical activity reported significantly higher increase in sleep and lower weight gain. United Kingdom participants reported lowest levels of physical health and highest increase in weight while Latin American participants reported being most affected by emotional problems. Finnish participants reported significantly higher ratings for physical health. The physical activity by country interaction was significant for wellbeing. MANCOVA also revealed significant differences across physical activity levels and four established age categories. Participants in the oldest category reported being significantly least affected by personal and emotional problems; youngest participants reported significantly more sleep. The age by physical activity interaction was significant for eating. Discussed in light of Hobfoll (1998) conservation of resources theory, findings endorse the policy of advocating physical activity as a means of generating and maintaining resources combative of stress and protective of health.

Social Isolation During COVID-19 Pandemic. Perceived Stress and Containment Measures Compliance Among Polish and Italian Residents

“…Increased stress with fear of contagion may prevent people from leaving home. On the other hand, imposed restrictions, closures of workplaces, recreation grounds, and forced social isolation are known to increase stress levels, for instance, as a result of deprivation of physical closeness (Stueck, 2021) or by limiting physical activity (López-Valenciano et al, 2021;Ruiz et al, 2021). With possible varying personality traits between residents of both countries (McCrae et al, 2005;Schmitt et al, 2007) and, consequently, different attitudes toward pandemic and lockdown policies (Schaller and Murray, 2008;Barceló, 2017), this may be one of the reasons behind perceived stress-level differences between the two discussed countries, although the actually imposed restrictions were similar in Poland and Italy at that time (Supplementary Tables 1, 2).…”

“…The lowest PSS scores were observed in older, less educated respondents, in those who resided with only one other person, and in people who continued with their jobs on-site without shifting to remote work. Age seems to be a general protective factor for stress during pandemic (Bidzan-Bluma et al, 2020;Ruiz et al, 2021), as may be the lack of education in a new situation that requires analytical and interpretational skills to assess potential threats, although dominating evidence is to the contrary (Heanoy et al, 2021). Keeping one's job intact while maintaining social contacts at work is also suggested to be protective against stress (Heanoy et al, 2021).…”

The COVID-19-Related Lockdown in Qatar: Associations Among Demographics, Social Distancing, Mood Changes, and Quality of Life

“…In Kuwait, 53.7% and 59.6% of participants experienced anxiety and depression, respectively (Alsharji, 2020 ). Therefore, considering cross-cultural differences in the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health (e.g., see Dean et al, 2021 ; Ruiz et al, 2021 ) and the paucity of studies conducted in Arabic-speaking countries, additional research is needed to enhance our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic globally.…”

Different Responses to Stress, Health Practices and Self-care during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Stratified Analysis

“…In fact, during the current pandemic, it has been widely advised to engage in self-care activities to reduce stress, along with maintaining a healthy lifestyle as a protective factor against the virus complications [12,13]. In the same vein, people who suffered a higher impact of quarantine on their physical activities tend to have higher prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms and keeping active can play a very important protective factor of mental and physical health [14,15].…”