The Persian COVID stress scales (Persian-CSS) and COVID-19-related stress reactions in patients with obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders

Khosravani, Vahid; Asmundson, Gordon J.G.; Taylor, Steven; Bastan, Farangis Sharifi; Ardestani, Seyed Mehdi Samimi

doi:10.1016/j.jocrd.2020.100615

Cited by 58 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…In addition to health anxiety, the present study suggests that individuals with obsessive-compulsive symptoms related to washing and contamination may also be sensitive and vulnerable to COVID-19 fears. This finding is consistent with the literature and suggests that these individuals may be at risk of exacerbation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms during COVID-19 [ 52 , 53 ]. Importantly, this vulnerability appears independent from health anxiety, given that our regression analyses elucidated the unique contributions of each variable of interest to perceptions of COVID-19 dangerousness.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Health Anxiety Predicts the Perceived Dangerousness of COVID-19 over and above Intrusive Illness-Related Thoughts, Contamination Symptoms, and State and Trait Negative Affect

Sica

Caudek

Cerea

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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This study sought to evaluate the specificity of health anxiety, relative to other forms of psychopathology, in perceptions of COVID-19 as dangerous. Measures of health anxiety, COVID-19 perceived dangerousness, negative affect, anxiety, depression, stress, contamination-related obsessions and compulsions, and intrusive illness-related thoughts were administered online to 742 community individuals during the Italian national lockdown. Results showed that, after controlling for demographic variables and other internalizing problems, health anxiety was the single most important factor associated with the perceived dangerousness of COVID-19. Moreover, a comparison between the current sample’s scores on various symptom measures and scores from prepandemic Italian samples revealed that, whereas other internalizing symptoms increased by a large or very large magnitude during the pandemic, levels of health anxiety and negative affect increased by a medium amount. This result may indicate that health anxiety is relatively trait-like, increasing the likelihood that our correlational data support the model of health anxiety as a vulnerability rather than an outcome. Together, these results indicate that health anxiety may be a specific risk factor for COVID-related maladjustment and support the distinction of health anxiety from other psychological problems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Health Anxiety Predicts the Perceived Dangerousness of COVID-19 over and above Intrusive Illness-Related Thoughts, Contamination Symptoms, and State and Trait Negative Affect

Sica

Caudek

Cerea

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The COVID Stress Scales were derived on the basis of previous theory and research [ 1 •], which indicated that several domains of pandemic-related distress were important to assess the following: (a) Fear of becoming infected with the novel coronavirus; (b) fear of coming into contact with fomites (objects or surfaces) possibly contaminated with the coronavirus; (c) fear of coming into contact with foreigners for fear that they might be carrying the infection (i.e., disease-related xenophobia); (d) fear of the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic (e.g., job loss); (e) compulsive checking and reassurance-seeking regarding possible pandemic-related threats; and (f) traumatic stress symptoms about the pandemic (e.g., nightmares, intrusive thoughts). Replicated factor analytic analyses, based on responses from samples totaling over 7000 people, showed that these six domains loaded on five factors, with the first and second domains (fear of infection and fear of fomites) loading on a common factor [ 10 ••, 11 ].…”

Section: Covid Stress Syndrome: Structure and Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The five COVID Stress Scales have shown good-to-excellent performance on various indices of reliability and validity [ 10 ••, 11 ], and have been translated into over a dozen different languages for research purposes (available at www.coronaphobia.org ). The study on developing the COVID Stress Scales [ 10 ••] was conceived in January and February, 2020, with data collection taking place during March and April, 2020.…”

Section: Covid Stress Syndrome: Structure and Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Infection was largely restricted to China. Although it is possible that the time of data collection may have had some impact on the scores on the scales (e.g., the xenophobia scale), the patterns of correlates and factor restructure were replicated in studies in which data was collected at later times during the pandemic and in other countries [e.g., 11 ].…”

Section: Covid Stress Syndrome: Structure and Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID Stress Syndrome: Clinical and Nosological Considerations

Taylor

2021

Curr Psychiatry Rep

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Purpose of Review To review the current state of knowledge on the newly proposed COVID Stress Syndrome. Recent Findings The syndrome consists of five inter-correlated elements: (a) fear of SARSCoV2 infection and fear of coming into contact with objects or surfaces contaminated with the coronavirus; (b) fear of socio-economic impacts of the pandemic; (c) fear of foreigners for fear that they are infected; (d) pandemic-related compulsive checking and reassurance-seeking; and (e) pandemic-related traumatic stress symptoms. A severe form of the syndrome, characterized by clinically significant distress and impairment in functioning, is the COVID Stress Disorder, which is regarded as a pandemic-related adjustment disorder. Several treatment options exist but further research is needed. Summary Research during the COVID-19 pandemic has identified a pandemic-related adjustment disorder. The diagnosis of COVID Stress Syndrome should be made only after ruling out other disorders that could potentially account for the pattern of symptoms, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Further studies are needed to investigate the long-term course of the syndrome. Similar adjustment disorders may arise in future pandemics. Accordingly, understanding the COVID Stress Syndrome may facilitate efforts to understand and treat psychopathology in future pandemics.

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“…It may increase the prevalence of anxiety disorders (Shanmugam et al, 2020 ), especially GAD and PD (Abba-Aji et al, 2020 ; Frohman, Cruz, et al, 2020 ; Frohman, Melamed, et al, 2020 ; Huang & Zhao, 2020 ; Islam et al, 2020 ; Javelot & Weiner, 2020 ; Kaba & Sari, 2020 ; Li et al, 2020 ). The COVID-19 pandemic also increases stress reactions in patients with anxiety disorders (Khosravani, Asmundson, et al, 2021 ) leading them to experience more anxiety (Kujawa et al, 2020 ). A study has shown that patients with anxiety disorders, especially those with GAD and PD, are more likely to show distressing reactions to COVID-19 (Khosravani, Asmundson, et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Persian Version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (Persian-C19P-S) and the Differences in COVID-19-Related Phobic Reactions in Patients with Anxiety Disorders

Ardestani

Khosravani

Bastan

et al. 2021

Int J Ment Health Addiction

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic outbreak increasing several psychological distress, such as anxiety and phobia, and may affect patients with anxiety disorders. A scale has been recently designed to assess COVID-19-related phobic reactions named the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S). The present study aimed to evaluate factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Persian version of the C19P-S (Persian-C19P-S) in patients with anxiety disorders and to compare COVID-19-related phobia among these patients. Three hundred patients with anxiety disorders completed the Persian-C19P-S and other scales assessing anxiety traits (e.g., the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI), the Health Concerns Questionnaire-54 (HCQ-54), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4)) and COVID-19-related distress (e.g., the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19)). The results showed that the Persian-C19P-S replicated the four-factor structure of the original C19P-S. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients evidenced the reliability of the scale. The validity of the scale (convergent and discriminant validity) was confirmed. Patients who had generalized anxiety and panic disorders showed higher phobic reactions related to COVID-19 than those with social anxiety disorder and specific phobia. This study indicates that the Persian version of the C19P-S is a valid scale to be used in Iranian patients with anxiety disorders to evaluate COVID-19-related phobia. Moreover, COVID-19-related phobic reactions are higher in some specific types of anxiety disorders.

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The Persian COVID stress scales (Persian-CSS) and COVID-19-related stress reactions in patients with obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders

Cited by 58 publications

References 62 publications

Health Anxiety Predicts the Perceived Dangerousness of COVID-19 over and above Intrusive Illness-Related Thoughts, Contamination Symptoms, and State and Trait Negative Affect

Health Anxiety Predicts the Perceived Dangerousness of COVID-19 over and above Intrusive Illness-Related Thoughts, Contamination Symptoms, and State and Trait Negative Affect

COVID Stress Syndrome: Clinical and Nosological Considerations

The Persian Version of the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (Persian-C19P-S) and the Differences in COVID-19-Related Phobic Reactions in Patients with Anxiety Disorders

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