Prevalence and risk factors for acute posttraumatic stress disorder during the COVID-19 outbreak

Sun, Luna; Sun, Zhuoer; Wu, Lili; Zhu, Zhenwen; Zhang, Fan; Shang, Zhilei; Jia, Yanpu; Gu, Jun; Zhou, Yaoguang; Wang, Yan; Liu, Nianqi; Liu, Weizhi

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.01.050

Cited by 136 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Finally, no confidence or uncertainty about the suitability of the Italian Government's measures negatively impacted psychological well-being, probably also as a consequence of the changes in the lifestyles, as suggested by our results. These findings agree with previous studies (5,6,18,26). The risk of infection generates fear in people, and above all, the COVID-19-related stressors, which include economic, daily life, social, and relational stressors, appear to be associated with worse psychological well-being.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…According to the results of this study, just a few weeks after the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Italy and a few days after the declaration of the restrictive measures, 5.1% of the respondents reported PTSD symptomatology linked to the COVID-19 diffusion, and 48.2% evidenced lower psychological well-being, characterized by anxiety and depressive symptoms, negative wellbeing, perception of loss control, less vitality, and lower general perceived health. These data are in line with those found by Sun and colleagues (18). The authors reported a percentage of 4.6 of PTSD symptoms in a large sample of the Chinese population (n = 2.091) with ages ranging from 30 to 60 years, and with some Italian studies that focused on COVID-19-related psychological distress in the Italian population (12,13,19,20).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Our findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be an influential risk factor for the development of psychological diseases in the Italian population, as reported by other studies (5,6,18,26) also on Italian samples (12,19,20), and accordingly with other studies on epidemic and quarantine conditions (7,21,34). The COVID-19 outbreak has substantially changed lifestyles, social perception, and institutions' confidence in the Italian and worldwide population, and it appears to have significant psychological consequences.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…As expected, the comparison between our data with normative ones (15) on an Italian sample of healthy people suggested lower levels of general psychological well-being in Italians living this extraordinary emergency condition. These results would confirm that the stressful impact of the COVID-19 condition on psychological well-being is similar to the psychological burden caused by SARS and other virus outbreaks reported by studies in different countries (18,(21)(22)(23). These studies reported high levels of distress, anxiety, and mood disorders.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

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The Italians in the Time of Coronavirus: Psychosocial Aspects of the Unexpected COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide public health emergency that forced the Italian Government to deliberate unprecedented actions, including quarantine, with a relevant impact on the population. The present study is one of the first Italian nationwide survey within the first period of the COVID-19 outbreak aimed to understand the social and psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods: An online survey collected information on sociodemographic data, history of direct or indirect contact with COVID-19, and other information concerning the COVID-19 emergency. The General Psychological Well-Being Index and a modified version of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, focused on the COVID-19 experience, assessed the respondents' general psychological condition.Results: Of 1,639 respondents equally distributed in the Italian territory, 5.1% reported PTSD symptomatology, and 48.2% evidenced lower psychological well-being linked to COVID-19 diffusion. Lower psychological well-being was significantly higher in women, younger than 50 years, and with health risk factors. Lower psychological well-being was also detected in individuals who did not know if they were infected, who have had direct exposure or were uncertain about their exposure to COVID-19, or who knew infected people. Regarding the social and behavioral consequences, respondents perceived worsening in demographic, economic, social, and relational conditions. Moreover, they reported increased film viewing, cookhouse time, social media use, and decreased physical activity.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a risk factor for psychological diseases in the Italian population, as previously reported in the Chinese people. About half of the respondents reported a significant psychological impact. Moreover, we confirmed the role of restraining measures that led to modify lifestyles, social perception, and confidence in the institutions. These results underline the need for further studies aimed to develop psychological interventions to minimize the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Italians in the Time of Coronavirus: Psychosocial Aspects of the Unexpected COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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“…Both the restrictive measures adopted by governments and the spread of the virus itself were associated with lower levels of life satisfaction and wellbeing [11,12] and with higher levels of anxiety [13][14][15][16], depression [17], anger [18], fear, and worry [18][19][20], resulting in fertile ground for the development of distress and chronic psychological symptoms in some people [21]. In fact, previous research has consistently identified symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [14,[22][23][24][25], which could last beyond the course of the pandemic. PTSD, in turn, was associated with poorer physical health, suicide attempts, and impairment in different areas of life [26,27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which personality traits can mitigate the impact of the pandemic? Assessment of the relationship between personality traits and traumatic events in the COVID-19 pandemic as mediated by defense mechanisms

et al. 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant influence on the lives of people around the world and could be a risk factor for mental health diseases. This study aimed to explore the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by identifying patterns related to post-traumatic symptoms by considering personality and defensive styles. Specifically, it was hypothesized that neuroticism was negatively associated with impact of event, as opposed to extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness traits. The mediation role of mature, neurotic, and immature defenses in these relationships was also investigated. This study involved 557 Italian individuals (71.3% women, 28.7% men; Mage = 34.65, SD = 12.05), who completed an online survey including the Impact of Event Scale—Revised, Forty Item Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) and Ten Item Personality Inventory. Results showed a nonsignificant effect for extraversion and openness on impact of event. The negative influence of neuroticism was instead confirmed in a partial parallel mediation involving significant effects from immature and neurotic defenses in the indirect path. Finally, agreeableness and conscientiousness delineated two protective pathways regarding impact of event, determining two total parallel mediation models in which both these personality traits were negatively associated with immature defensive styles, and conscientiousness was also positively related to mature defenses. These findings provide an exploration post-traumatic symptom patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic, involving the big five personality traits and defense mechanisms. These results may be useful for developing interventions, treatments, and prevention activities.

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Women's body dissatisfaction, physical appearance comparisons, and Instagram use throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic: A longitudinal study

Vall‐Roqué

Andrés

González‐Pacheco

et al. 2022

Intl J Eating Disorders

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Objective This study aimed to determine the evolution of Instagram use, body dissatisfaction and physical appearance comparisons throughout the coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, and to explore whether there was a relationship between the changes in Instagram use throughout the pandemic and body dissatisfaction and physical appearance comparisons. Method A total of 272 Spanish women (16–70 years old) were followed‐up across four waves of assessment between November 2019 (before the pandemic started) and July 2021. Body dissatisfaction, social appearance comparisons, and Instagram use were assessed using the Eating Disorders Inventory‐3, the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale‐Revised, and an ad hoc questionnaire for Instagram use, respectively. Results No statistically significant changes were found in the frequency of Instagram use, nor on the proportion of women following appearance‐focused accounts on Instagram, among the data collection periods. Body dissatisfaction significantly increased from T1 to T4, and physical appearance comparisons significantly increased from T1 to T2, T3, and T4. These increases were not found to be significant for those with eating disorder risk. No significant differences were found in body dissatisfaction and physical appearance comparisons depending on whether participants' frequency of Instagram use had changed or remained the same, or whether they had started/stopped/continued following appearance‐focused accounts on Instagram during the pandemic. Discussion Women's body dissatisfaction and physical appearance comparisons seem to have increased throughout the pandemic. The experiences of individuals with eating disorder risk throughout the pandemic, and the relationship between the pandemic and Instagram use, might be complex and need further research. Public Significance This study suggests that women's body dissatisfaction and physical appearance comparisons have increased throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, this increase might not be as clear for those who had eating disorder risk before the pandemic. Instagram frequency of use, and the percentage of women following appearance‐focused accounts on Instagram, do not seem to have significantly increased. More research is needed to explore the impact of the pandemic.

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Prevalence and risk factors for acute posttraumatic stress disorder during the COVID-19 outbreak

Cited by 136 publications

References 32 publications

The Italians in the Time of Coronavirus: Psychosocial Aspects of the Unexpected COVID-19 Pandemic

The Italians in the Time of Coronavirus: Psychosocial Aspects of the Unexpected COVID-19 Pandemic

Which personality traits can mitigate the impact of the pandemic? Assessment of the relationship between personality traits and traumatic events in the COVID-19 pandemic as mediated by defense mechanisms

Women's body dissatisfaction, physical appearance comparisons, and Instagram use throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic: A longitudinal study

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