Psychological Factors Related to Fear of COVID-19 in the General Salvadoran Population

Abstract

The objective of this article is to determine the psychological factors which are associated with the fear toward COVID-19 as experienced by the Salvadoran population in general. Method:This study is exploratory, with a cross-sectional design. For data collection a digital survey in Google Forms was used. There was a non-probabilistic sample of 328 Salvadorans. The mean age in general was 27.90 years-old, with a standard deviation (SD) of 9.10; the mean age for men was 29.05 years-old (SD = 9.94), and the mean age for woman was 27.42 years-old (SD = 8.70). Results:The results reveal the existence of small and medium correlations between anxiety, depression, instrumental support and positive social interaction with the variables of fear to COVID-19; the regression model predicted that the fear to COVID-19 depends on anxiety and affective support, predicting a 23% of fear to COVID-19, with medium effect. Conclusion:This research suggests anxiety and affective support are explanation of the 23% of fear towards COVID-19 in Salvadoran population in general, findings provide useful information for future researches which perform a follow up or intervention in Salvadoran population in general.

Pandemic grief in El Salvador: factors that predict dysfunctional grief due to a COVID-19 death among Salvadoran adults

“…In the case of anxiety about COVID-19 and obsession about COVID-19, the finding is explanatory, as the death of a loved one can generate symptoms of anxiety and recurrent thoughts that, in turn, lead a person to experience a more prolonged mourning, even more so, when the death has been difficult, as when dealing with COVID-19 (Milman et al, 2020;Shear et al, 2012;Zisook et al, 1990). Given that anxiety is one of the most commonly identified disorders in the Salvadoran population (Chacón-Andrade et al, 2020;Gutiérrez-Quintanilla et al, 2020;Lobos-Rivera et al, 2022), the connection between pandemic grief and coronavirus anxiety makes sense. Regarding the relationships between pandemic grief and depressive symptoms, they can be explained due to the restrictions in social interaction that were present.…”

Psychological impact of coronavirus‐related social isolation in Colombia after a year of lockdown

“…Since then, more than 600 million cases of infection and six million deaths have been reported worldwide. Several repercussions of the pandemic and its subsequent isolation period have been observed around the world, including recurrent fear of death, fear of separation from family, tension, irritability, loss of appetite, fatigue, insomnia, nightmares, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression, post‐traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive behaviors such as frequent hand washing and cleaning of objects of personal use (e.g., Anderson et al., 2020; Broche et al., 2021; Lobos et al., 2022; Mendoza et al., 2020).…”

“…These reactions to the COVID‐19 pandemic have been particularly tough for females; younger, single, or disabled people; health and essential workers; population having low levels of education, or only one child (compared with not having or having 2 or more), or living alone or in crowded households, or suffering from mental illness (Anderson et al., 2020; Broche et al., 2021; Lobos et al., 2022; Mendoza et al., 2020). On the other hand, several circumstances served as protective factors during the pandemic, including living in urban zones, living with parents, having some family financial stability, having a high‐income level, working outside home, and regularly chatting online with friends (Cao et al., 2020; Idowu et al., 2020; Sandín et al., 2020).…”

“…and obsessive behaviors such as frequent hand washing and cleaning of objects of personal use (e.g., Anderson et al, 2020;Broche et al, 2021;Lobos et al, 2022;Mendoza et al, 2020).…”