Mass hysteria revisited

Balaratnasingam, Sivasankaran; Janča, Aleksandar

doi:10.1097/01.yco.0000214343.59872.7a

Cited by 93 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(14 reference statements)

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“…High intolerance of uncertainty has been found to exacerbate the relation between daily stressors and increased anxiety (Chen & Hong, ), and not unexpectedly, increased intolerance of uncertainty as well as the desire to reduce uncertainty was found to predict increased information seeking and monitoring of a situation (Rosen et al ., ). In the context of broad health threats, practical and realistic information provided by a government organization may diminish the perceived threat and prevent the worry and hysteria related to illness contraction (Balaratnasingam & Janca, ). In contrast, obtaining information that only provides uncertain estimates related to viral threats may serve to increase perceptions of uncertainty and thus increase anxiety.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intolerance of uncertainty, appraisals, coping, and anxiety: The case of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic

Taha

Matheson

Cronin

et al. 2013

British J Health Psychol

301

280

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What is already known on this subject? It has been established that the public is often confused by the threat that a potential pandemic virus poses and that they are unsure of what information related to the disease they can trust. Government health agencies often walk the line of minimizing the threat to prevent panic, but simultaneously emphasize the importance of action (vaccination) to prevent a worldwide pandemic. What does this study add? Beyond the physical threat of a pandemic, a significant psychological toll may occur for certain individuals. Anxiety regarding H1N1 is heightened amongst those who cannot tolerate uncertainty. Appraisals of threat, control, and the use of emotion-focused coping mediate the above relationship.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intolerance of uncertainty, appraisals, coping, and anxiety: The case of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic

Taha

Matheson

Cronin

et al. 2013

British J Health Psychol

301

280

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPI) is described [33]–[35] as a constellation of somatic symptoms, suggestive of an environmental cause or trigger (but with symptoms without typical features of the contaminant, varying between individuals, and not related to proximity or strength of exposure) which occurs between two or more people who share beliefs related to those symptoms and experience epidemic spread of symptoms between socially connected individuals. The rapid development of fear and anxiety is key to the transmission of disease by disruption of behaviour and activities of those involved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pattern of Complaints about Australian Wind Farms Does Not Match the Establishment and Distribution of Turbines: Support for the Psychogenic, ‘Communicated Disease’ Hypothesis

et al. 2013

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Background and ObjectivesWith often florid allegations about health problems arising from wind turbine exposure now widespread, nocebo effects potentially confound any future investigation of turbine health impact. Historical audits of health complaints are therefore important. We test 4 hypotheses relevant to psychogenic explanations of the variable timing and distribution of health and noise complaints about wind farms in Australia.SettingAll Australian wind farms (51 with 1634 turbines) operating 1993–2012.MethodsRecords of complaints about noise or health from residents living near 51 Australian wind farms were obtained from all wind farm companies, and corroborated with complaints in submissions to 3 government public enquiries and news media records and court affidavits. These are expressed as proportions of estimated populations residing within 5 km of wind farms.ResultsThere are large historical and geographical variations in wind farm complaints. 33/51 (64.7%) of Australian wind farms including 18/34 (52.9%) with turbine size >1 MW have never been subject to noise or health complaints. These 33 farms have an estimated 21,633 residents within 5 km and have operated complaint-free for a cumulative 267 years. Western Australia and Tasmania have seen no complaints. 129 individuals across Australia (1 in 254 residents) appear to have ever complained, with 94 (73%) being residents near 6 wind farms targeted by anti wind farm groups. The large majority 116/129(90%) of complainants made their first complaint after 2009 when anti wind farm groups began to add health concerns to their wider opposition. In the preceding years, health or noise complaints were rare despite large and small-turbine wind farms having operated for many years.ConclusionsThe reported historical and geographical variations in complaints are consistent with psychogenic hypotheses that expressed health problems are “communicated diseases” with nocebo effects likely to play an important role in the aetiology of complaints.

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“…Although there has been substantial attention to measures to identify people with the coronavirus infection, identifying the mental health care needs of people impacted by this pandemic have been relatively neglected . This is surprising given that mass tragedies, particularly ones that involve infectious diseases, often trigger waves of heightened fear and anxiety that are known to cause massive disruptions to the behavior and psychological well-being of many in the population (Balaratnasingam & Janca, 2006). For instance, in a recent, large survey of people highly susceptible to the coronavirus infection (i.e., Chinese medical workers), the prevalence rate of traumatic stress was at an alarming 73.4%, depression was at 50.7%, generalized anxiety was at 44.7%, and insomnia was at 36.1% (Liu et al, 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: A brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety

2020

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Mental health concerns of people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic have not been adequately addressed. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the properties of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), which is a brief mental health screener to identify probable cases of dysfunctional anxiety associated with the COVID-19 crisis. This 5-item scale, which was based on 775 adults with anxiety over the coronavirus, demonstrated solid reliability and validity. Elevated CAS scores were found to be associated with coronavirus diagnosis, impairment, alcohol/drug coping, negative religious coping, extreme hopelessness, suicidal ideation, as well as attitudes toward President Trump and Chinese products. The CAS discriminates well between persons with and without dysfunctional anxiety using an optimized cut score of ! 9 (90% sensitivity and 85% specificity). These results support the CAS as an efficient and valid tool for clinical research and practice.

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Mass hysteria revisited

Cited by 93 publications

References 9 publications

Intolerance of uncertainty, appraisals, coping, and anxiety: The case of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic

Intolerance of uncertainty, appraisals, coping, and anxiety: The case of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic

The Pattern of Complaints about Australian Wind Farms Does Not Match the Establishment and Distribution of Turbines: Support for the Psychogenic, ‘Communicated Disease’ Hypothesis

Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: A brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety

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