Anxiety as a mediator of relationships between perceptions of the threat of COVID-19 and coping behaviors during the onset of the pandemic in Poland

Abstract

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (10–14 March, 2020) we conducted a survey (n = 1028) of a nationally representative sample (age, sex, and locale) in Poland. Respondents indicated how strong they thought the threat was to themselves, to Poland, and the world. They also described their emotional reactions to the pandemic, which we used to calculate three scores: Anxiety , Hopelessness , and Panic . Respondents also indicated how often they engaged in various coping behaviors and how much they supported different types of economic sacrifice. We used these responses to calculate measures that we labelled as Spread Prevention (e.g., social distancing), Self-preservation (food stockpiling), and Economic Sacrifice (e.g., fighting COVID-19 regardless of the cost). Multiple regression analyses found that perceived threat to self was the most reliable predictor (positive) of emotional reactions and of coping behaviors, and that Anxiety was the most reliable predictor (positive) of Spread prevention and Economic sacrifice . Panic predicted (positively) Self-preservation . A series of mediation analyses found that Anxiety mediated relationships between threat and coping behaviors, and that Panic mediated the relationship between perceived threats and Self-preservation . In addition, we found that scores on all measures, except Panic , increased following the announcement of the first COVID-19 related fatality in Poland, which occurred on the third (middle) day of the study. The mediational relationships we found did not vary as a function of whether the data were collected before or after this announcement. The present results suggest that emotional reactions to perceived threats can serve an instrumental function by providing the motivation to engage in coping behaviors. Such a mechanism complements much research on stress that has focused on how coping mediates threat-emotion relationships.

Pandemic buying: Testing a psychological model of over-purchasing and panic buying using data from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The predictor variables included in our models were selected in light of the theoretical account of over-purchasing that we outlined in our introduction. However many were also consistent with previous speculation about the psychological factors involved in this phenomenon, such as personality and anxiety towards COVID-19 [12,74,75], but some had never before been considered in this context, for example death anxiety and analytical reasoning.…”

When we are worried, what are we thinking? Anxiety, lack of control, and conspiracy beliefs amidst the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Sorokowski et al (2020) showed that mere exposure to information about COVID-19 was associated with higher anxiety levels. In a Polish study, it has been documented that the levels of perceived threat, anxiety, and hopelessness did significantly increase right after the first fatalities were reported (Cyprya nska & Nezlek, 2020). A survey conducted in March 2020 showed that nearly half of American people felt anxious about the coronavirus, becoming seriously ill, or about their relatives getting COVID-19 (American Psychiatric Association, 2020).…”

The Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Comfort Food Consumption over Time: The Mediational Role of Emotional Distress

“…In particular, we hypothesized that the threat-emotion-coping sequence proposed by Lazarus and Folkman might be more robust at the beginning of the pandemic. At this time, the threat and impact of COVID-19 on people's lives were greater, leading people to experience more emotional distress, and therefore, develop coping mechanisms [39]; in this case, eating more comfort food. Accordingly, we expect that this mediation effect decreased over time, due to chronic exposure to the pandemic and the development of emotion regulation processes [34].…”