Reactions to COVID-19: Differential predictors of distress, avoidance, and disregard for social distancing

Abstract

Highlights Psychological reactions to COVID-19 include over-response and under-response. Over-response is characterized by strong beliefs about dangerousness of COVID-19. Over-response is associated with disproportionate distress and excessive avoidance. Under-response occurs when people downplay the significance of the pandemic. Under-response is associated with disregard for social distancing.

Worry, avoidance, and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comprehensive network analysis

“…Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and stockpiling and panic buying were assessed by a scale developed in a previous study on the COVID Stress Syndrome ( Taylor et al, 2020c ). Belief that the dangerousness of COVID-19 is exaggerated, disregard for social distancing, belief that one has robust personal health against infection, and use of PPE were assessed with scales developed in a previous study on adherence to social distancing ( Taylor et al, 2020a ). The practice of hand and cough hygiene was assessed by a scale devised for the present study, as was the measure of pandemic-related altruistic behaviors.…”

“…The foundational work on COVID Stress Syndrome and other studies (e.g., Taylor et al, 2020a , d ) suggest that several other variables are relevant to understanding the psychology of COVID-19. These variables, and their corresponding measures, are presented in Table 1 .…”

“…In contrast, research and clinical observations from previous pandemics and other outbreaks suggest that the scope of relevant variables is much broader, including seemingly contradictory elements (e.g., fear of infection along with beliefs that the seriousness of the outbreak has been exaggerated), combined with various, possibly interacting variables such as numerous types of worry, avoidance, and coping responses ( Taylor, 2019 ). Similarly, a growing body of research reveals that the psychological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are complex, with numerous interconnected factors at work (e.g., Taylor, Landry, Paluszek, & Asmundson, 2020 , 2020b , 2020c , Taylor, Landry, Rachor, Paluszek, & Asmundson, 2020 ).…”

“…This is not an exhaustive list of relevant factors, but rather is a list of variables that have appeared promising in understanding the psychology of COVID-19 based on extant research. Previous research has been primarily piecemeal and preliminary in nature, investigating how small sets of variables are related to one another (e.g., Taylor et al, 2020a , d ). The purpose of the present study was to extend this work by investigating how all 16 of the variables in Table 1 are related to one another.…”

An overview of current mental health in the general population of Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the COLLATE project

“…Student status, being female and poor self-rated health were reported as risk factors for negative emotions. Further studies have been published at a rapid rate internationally, including for example the USA and Canada ( Klaiber et al., 2020 ; McGinty et al., 2020 ; Taylor et al., 2020 ), Europe ( Perez et al., 2020 ) and Japan ( Kikuchi et al., 2020 ).…”