Across the COVID-19 Waves; Assessing Temporal Fluctuations in Perceived Stress, Post-Traumatic Symptoms, Worry, Anxiety and Civic Moral Disengagement over One Year of Pandemic

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the psychological effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy by analysing the trends of perceived stress, post-traumatic symptoms, state anxiety, worry, and civic moral disengagement in four different moments from March 2020 to March 2021. The study involved a total of 1827 Italian participants (30% men and 70% women; Mage = 34.72; SD = 12.40) divided into four groups to which an online survey was administered. The first group completed the survey in March 2020, the second one in August 2020, the third one in November 2020, and the fourth one in March 2021. Results highlighted significant decreases in post-traumatic symptoms and a significant increase in civic moral disengagement over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The levels of perceived stress, worry, and state anxiety remained constant. The correlations between the variables at different times were also explored, as well as gender differences over the year. The COVID-19 emergency has had significant effects on the mental state of the population, with important repercussions for individual and collective well-being during but probably also after the pandemic. This study offers a clear snapshot of the psychological outcomes over one COVID-19 pandemic year, providing important information that may contribute to tailor more effective interventions for mental health.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Personality: Agreeable People Are More Stressed by the Feeling of Missing

“…However, large interindividual differences between participants did occur: while some participants reported a large increase in the level of perceived stress, most respondents showed little change, and some respondents even reported a decrease in perceived stress. This finding is consistent with results from previous studies (e.g., [14][15][16]). A recent longitudinal study that surveyed students in Germany before and during the pandemic also found no changes in perceived stress overall, but differences among participants [34].…”

“…However, previous research results on the COVID-19 pandemic provide a mixed picture on the relationship between the consequences of the pandemic and the increase in perceived stress. While some studies indicated a high prevalence of COVID-related stress (for metaanalyses, [12,13]), other did not found a consistent increase in stress levels (e.g., [14,15], and also no significant changes in perceived stress over the course of the pandemic [16]. However, a recent longitudinal study revealed that large interindividual variance in dealing with threatening and stressful events in general also seems to be evident in COVID-19 pandemic: While some individuals showed a significant increase in perceived stress, the majority of participants reacted rather calmly to the pandemic [17].…”

The Interplay Between Problematic Online Pornography Use, Psychological Stress, Emotion Dysregulation and Insomnia Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mediation Analysis

“…As for the relationship between investigated variables and age, in line with the literature, we found that younger age was significantly and positively associated with higher psychological stress 42 and emotion dysregulation. 50 Indeed, the pandemic had a significant influence on mental health 51 , 52 with particularly marked consequences for some subcategories of the population, including young adults. 53 Among young adults, in fact, an increase in both internalizing (eg, withdrawal, somatic complaints, anxiety, and depression) and externalizing (eg, aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors) problems were found.…”

The impact of COVID‐19 lockdown on perceived stress: The role of defence mechanisms and coping strategies

“…The COVID‐19 pandemic is a global emergency that may have pervasive and long‐lasting consequences, with potential significant direct and indirect impact on public health, including mental health (World Health Organization, 2020b ; Xiang et al, 2020 ). Several studies have reported an increase in psychological problems in association with pandemic and lockdown (Gori & Topino, 2021 ); among these, sustained high levels of anxiety and mental stress acquire particular relevance in light of their potential for triggering common mental and physical disorders (Bao et al, 2020 ; Holmes et al, 2020 ). In this framework, the study of subjective responses to facing these conditions and the analysis of their protective or dysfunctional effects in this peculiar circumstance seems very useful.…”

“…In this regard, early studies on immediate psychological responses to lockdown in China found moderate to severe psychological impact in more than half of respondents (Wang et al, 2020 ). Subsequent research further highlighted the negative effects of lockdown on mental health, with a particular focus on high levels of fear, posttraumatic symptoms (Gori & Topino, 2021 ), sleep disorders (Kokou‐Kpolou et al, 2020 ), perception of powerlessness (Kunzler et al, 2021 ), depression and suicidal thoughts (Fountoulakis et al, 2021 ), loneliness, psychosocial distress and lower levels of life‐satisfaction (Benke et al, 2020 ). Furthermore, numerous studies reported that all these factors linked to COVID‐19 are associated with high levels of anxiety, closely related to the sense of isolation, fear, uncertainty, as well as misinformation or excessive exposure to death reports (e.g., Gori, Topino, Craparo, et al, 2021 ; Odriozola‐González et al, 2020 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ; Ren et al, 2020 ; Rosen et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ).…”