Facing the “new normal”: How adjusting to the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions exposes mental health inequalities

Fineberg, Naomi; Pellegrini, Luca; Wellsted, David; Hall, Natalie; Corazza, Ornella; Giorgetti, Valentina; Cicconcelli, Dorotea; Theofanous, Elena; Sireau, Nick; Adam, David; Chamberlain, Samuel R.; Laws, Keith R.

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.07.001

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…As per Fineberg et al (2021) , poor-adjusters to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions (n = 124) were defined as those who agreed or completely agreed with the Post-Pandemic Adjustment Questionnaire statement “I am having great difficulty adjusting to the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions” , while good-adjusters (n = 219) were identified as those who disagreed or completely disagreed with the same item. Ninety-five individuals endorsed ‘neither agree nor disagree’ and were designated ‘indeterminate-responders’ and were excluded from the comparative analyses – see Table 2 below).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This secondary analysis interrogates data collected in our published study conducted during the summer of 2020 ( Fineberg et al, 2021 ). The protocol and study objectives were pre-registered on July 15, 2020 (Open Science Framework; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/ GS8J2).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For full methodological details, please see Fineberg et al (2021) . In sum, an online survey including questionnaires about lifestyle, Covid-19 safety behaviors and OC traits was completed by a broad spectrum of the general population aged 18 years or over, recruited via advertisement on the Internet.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Post-Pandemic Adjustment Questionnaire is a 7-item self-rated tool developed by our group specifically for this study as no other template for this purpose exists. The scale is first described in the initial report of this study ( Fineberg et al, 2021 , Table 1 ), where it was shown to significantly correlate with a validated measure of depressive/anxious/stress symptoms (DASS-21), as well as OCD symptoms (OCI-R), OCPD traits (CPAS) and a past history or family history of mental disorder. The scale is currently undergoing further evaluation by our group, including in a replication study (Open Science Framework registration: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XD5WZ ).…”

Section: Measured Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our recently published study ( Fineberg et al, 2021 ) conducted between July and November 2020, as the first wave of easing of restrictions was implemented in the UK, is the only published study to date investigating mental health difficulties experienced by the public in response to the easing of lockdown restrictions. We surveyed a large adult UK population-based sample online, timed to coincide with changes in social-distancing rules (July–Sep 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Individual obsessive-compulsive traits are associated with poorer adjustment to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions

Fineberg

Pellegrini

Burkauskas

et al. 2022

Journal of Psychiatric Research

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Background As COVID-19 restrictions ease, the public are expected to relinquish previously enforced safety behaviors and resume a more normal lifestyle. Despite these aims, our recent survey of 438 adults from the general population, during a temporary release of lockdown in the United Kingdom (July–November 2020), showed that 25% of the public find re-adjustment problematic. This was especially the case in those with a history of mental disorder and obsessive-compulsive (OC) traits and symptoms, including rigidity as measured by a neurocognitive test of attentional flexibility. To aid in identifying those most at risk, we performed a secondary analysis on the data to determine which specific OC traits were related to specific aspects of behavioral adjustment. Methods Correlational and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine associations between the eight individual personality traits constituting DSM-5 Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), as measured by the self-rated Compulsive Personality Assessment Scale (CPAS) and a range of self-rated Post-Pandemic Adjustment Questionnaire items. Results Three items on the Post-Pandemic Adjustment Questionnaire correlated with individual CPAS items: ‘General difficulties adjusting’ correlated with perfectionism, preoccupation with details, over-conscientiousness and need for control; ‘social avoidance’ correlated with perfectionism and preoccupation with details; and ‘disinfecting behaviors’ correlated with preoccupation with details and miserliness (Pearson's r - all p < .001). Intriguingly, none of the adjustment items correlated significantly with self-rated rigidity. Conclusions Several OCPD traits predict post-pandemic adjustment difficulties, but perfectionism and preoccupation-with-details showed the most robust correlations. These traits constitute a platform for the development of new screening and interventional strategies aimed at restoring public mental health and wellbeing. Cognitive rigidity may be more reliably evaluated using an objective form of assessment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Measured Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Individual obsessive-compulsive traits are associated with poorer adjustment to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions

Fineberg

Pellegrini

Burkauskas

et al. 2022

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Self Cite

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Obsessive‐compulsive disorder and men's health. Part 1: Recognition and diagnosis

Conti

Pellegrini

Riaz

et al. 2023

Trends Urol & Men's Health

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Obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) commonly affects males and can manifest with a range of urological symptoms directly linked to the content of the OCD, including urinary urgency, urinary frequency, urinary retention and sexual dysfunction. Accurate recognition of OCD in such cases is fundamental to avoid misdiagnosis, risks to patients associated with untreated OCD (including suicidal behaviour), unnecessary physical health investigations and delayed treatment. In Part 1 here, the authors discuss the recognition and diagnosis of OCD. Part 2 will consider its treatment.

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“The Self” Online

Bauman

Rivers

2023

Mental Health in the Digital Age

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Facing the “new normal”: How adjusting to the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions exposes mental health inequalities

Cited by 21 publications

References 42 publications

Individual obsessive-compulsive traits are associated with poorer adjustment to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions

Individual obsessive-compulsive traits are associated with poorer adjustment to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions

Obsessive‐compulsive disorder and men's health. Part 1: Recognition and diagnosis

“The Self” Online

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