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Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures: An empirical model of stress

Epidemics such as COVID-19 and corresponding containment measures are assumed to cause psychological stress. In a survey during the lockdown in Switzerland (n = 1565), we found substantially increased levels of stress in the population. In particular, individuals who did not agree with the containme...

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Autores principales: Wissmath, Bartholomäus, Mast, Fred W., Kraus, Fabian, Weibel, David
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8320973/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34324498
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254883
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author Wissmath, Bartholomäus
Mast, Fred W.
Kraus, Fabian
Weibel, David
author_facet Wissmath, Bartholomäus
Mast, Fred W.
Kraus, Fabian
Weibel, David
author_sort Wissmath, Bartholomäus
collection PubMed
description Epidemics such as COVID-19 and corresponding containment measures are assumed to cause psychological stress. In a survey during the lockdown in Switzerland (n = 1565), we found substantially increased levels of stress in the population. In particular, individuals who did not agree with the containment measures, as well as those who saw nothing positive in the crisis, experienced high levels of stress. In contrast, individuals who are part of a risk group or who are working in healthcare or in essential shops experienced similar stress levels as the general public. The psychological mechanisms that determine stress, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures, are not yet clear. Thus, we conducted a path analysis to gain a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms that lead to stress. Experiencing fear of the disease is a key driver for being worried. Our model further shows that worries about the individual, social, and economic consequences of the crisis, strongly boost stress. The infection rate in the canton (i.e., state) of residence also contributes to stress. Positive thinking and perceived social, organizational, and governmental support mitigate worries and stress. Our findings indicate that containment measures increase worries and stress, especially for those who feel that these measures either are not sufficient or go too far. Thus, highlighting positive aspects of the crisis and convincing people of the effectiveness and necessity of mitigation measures can, not only promote compliance, but also reduce stress. Our model suggests that people who feel protected by the authorities have fewer worries, which can, in turn, limit the negative impact of the crisis on mental health.
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spelling pubmed-83209732021-07-31 Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures: An empirical model of stress Wissmath, Bartholomäus Mast, Fred W. Kraus, Fabian Weibel, David PLoS One Research Article Epidemics such as COVID-19 and corresponding containment measures are assumed to cause psychological stress. In a survey during the lockdown in Switzerland (n = 1565), we found substantially increased levels of stress in the population. In particular, individuals who did not agree with the containment measures, as well as those who saw nothing positive in the crisis, experienced high levels of stress. In contrast, individuals who are part of a risk group or who are working in healthcare or in essential shops experienced similar stress levels as the general public. The psychological mechanisms that determine stress, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures, are not yet clear. Thus, we conducted a path analysis to gain a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms that lead to stress. Experiencing fear of the disease is a key driver for being worried. Our model further shows that worries about the individual, social, and economic consequences of the crisis, strongly boost stress. The infection rate in the canton (i.e., state) of residence also contributes to stress. Positive thinking and perceived social, organizational, and governmental support mitigate worries and stress. Our findings indicate that containment measures increase worries and stress, especially for those who feel that these measures either are not sufficient or go too far. Thus, highlighting positive aspects of the crisis and convincing people of the effectiveness and necessity of mitigation measures can, not only promote compliance, but also reduce stress. Our model suggests that people who feel protected by the authorities have fewer worries, which can, in turn, limit the negative impact of the crisis on mental health. Public Library of Science 2021-07-29 /pmc/articles/PMC8320973/ /pubmed/34324498 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254883 Text en © 2021 Wissmath et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Wissmath, Bartholomäus
Mast, Fred W.
Kraus, Fabian
Weibel, David
Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures: An empirical model of stress
title Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures: An empirical model of stress
title_full Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures: An empirical model of stress
title_fullStr Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures: An empirical model of stress
title_full_unstemmed Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures: An empirical model of stress
title_short Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures: An empirical model of stress
title_sort understanding the psychological impact of the covid-19 pandemic and containment measures: an empirical model of stress
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8320973/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34324498
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254883
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