Fear of COVID-19 and emotional dysfunction problems: Intrusive, avoidance and hyperarousal stress as key mediators

  1. Falcó, Raquel 1
  2. Vidal-Arenas, Verónica 2
  3. Ortet-Walker, Jordi 2
  4. Marzo, Juan C 1
  5. Piqueras, José A 1
  6. PSICO-RECURSOS COVID-19 Study Group 1
  1. 1 Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
    info

    Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

    Elche, España

    ROR https://ror.org/01azzms13

  2. 2 Universitat Jaume I
    info

    Universitat Jaume I

    Castelló de la Plana, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02ws1xc11

Revista:
World Journal of Psychiatry

ISSN: 2220-3206

Año de publicación: 2022

Volumen: 12

Número: 8

Páginas: 1088-1101

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.5498/WJP.V12.I8.1088 GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: World Journal of Psychiatry

Objetivos de desarrollo sostenible

Resumen

BACKGROUND There is mounting empirical evidence of the detrimental effects of the coronavirusdisease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on mental health. Previous research hasunderscored the effects of similar destabilizing situations such as war, naturaldisasters or other pandemics on acute stress levels which have been shown toexacerbate current and future psychopathological symptoms.AIM To explore the role of acute stress responses (intrusive, avoidance and hyper-arousal) as mediators in the association between fear of COVID-19 and emotionaldysfunction-related problems: Depression, agoraphobia, panic, obsessive-compulsive, generalized anxiety, social anxiety and health anxiety symptoms. METHODS A sample of 439 participants from a university community in Spain (age: mean ±SD: 36.64 ± 13.37; 73.1% females) completed several measures assessing their fearof COVID-19, acute stress responses and emotional dysfunction syndromesthrough an online survey. Data collection was carried out from the start of homeconfinement in Spain until May 4, 2020, coinciding with initial de-escalationmeasures. Processing of the dataset included descriptive and frequency analyses,Mann-Whitney U Test of intergroup comparisons and path analysis for direct andindirect effects. This is an observational, descriptive-correlational and cross-sectional study.RESULTS The prevalence of clinical symptoms in our sample, reported since the beginning of the pandemic,reached 31.44%. The female group presented higher scores although the effect size was small.Overall, the participants who exceeded the clinical cut-off points in emotional problems showedhigher levels of fear of COVID-19 and of cognitive, motor and psychophysiological responses ofacute stress, unlike the group with normative scores. In addition, the results show significantmediated effects of hyperarousal stress among fear of COVID-19 and emotional dysfunctionpsychopathology. However, the clinical syndromes most related to the consequences of thepandemic (e.g., social contact avoidance or frequent hand washing), such as agoraphobia andobsessive-compulsive symptoms, were in fact predicted directly by fear of COVID-19 and/or theacute stress response associated with the pandemic and had a greater predictive power.CONCLUSION The present study illustrates a clearer picture of the role of acute stress on several forms of psycho-pathology during the COVID-19 crisis and home confinement.

Referencias bibliográficas

  • 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1
  • 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i2.576
  • 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30090-0
  • 10.3390/ijerph17051729
  • 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102066
  • 10.5944/rppc.27569
  • 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i25.7433
  • 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102196
  • 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8
  • American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed. Arlington (VA), 2013
  • 10.1016/j.jad.2018.07.027
  • 10.2147/NDT.S98525
  • 10.1192/bjp.2018.210
  • 10.1176/ajp.155.5.625
  • 10.5498/wjp.v11.i6.232
  • Taylor S. The psychology of pandemics: Preparing for the next global outbreak of infectious disease. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019
  • 10.1017/S0033291720000999
  • 10.5498/wjp.v11.i7.337
  • 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.03.007
  • 10.5498/wjp.v12.i2.338
  • 10.1038/npp.2015.224
  • Brady KT, Killeen TK, Brewerton T, Lucerini S. Comorbidity of psychiatric disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. J Clin Psychiatry 2000; 61 Suppl 7: 22-32
  • 10.1037/0033-295x.105.2.325
  • 10.1177/0956797619852027
  • 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00024
  • 10.1177/1529100610387086
  • 10.1016/j.cpr.2007.07.008
  • Slavich GM. Psychopathology and stress. In: Miller HL. The SAGE encyclopedia of theory in psychology. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2016: 762-764
  • 10.1037/0278-6133.9.6.653
  • 10.1037/0021-843X.115.3.624
  • 10.1037/0021-843X.113.2.189
  • 10.1016/j.brat.2006.03.015
  • 10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8
  • Báguena MJ, Villarroya E, Beleña A, Díaz A, Roldán C, Reig R. Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Análisis y Modificación de Conducta 2001; 27: 581-604
  • 10.5944/rppc.vol.23.num.3.2018.22976
  • 10.1177/1359105320967086
  • Muthén LK, Muthén BO. Mplus user’s guide. 8th ed. Los Ángeles (CA), 2017
  • Efron B, Tibshirani R. An introduction to the bootstrap. CRC Monographs on Statistics and Applied Probability 1993; In press
  • 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01882.x
  • 10.1037/0003-066X.63.7.591
  • 10.1590/0102-311X00054020
  • 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.586246
  • 10.17116/jnevro2021121052122
  • 10.1001/jama.288.10.1235
  • 10.5944/rppc.vol.17.num.3.2012.11839
  • 10.1371/journal.pone.0231924
  • 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102083
  • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (UK). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Management of PTSD in Adults and Children in Primary and Secondary Care. Leicester (UK): Gaskell; 2005
  • 10.1001/archpsyc.62.10.1097
  • 10.4088/pcc.v03n0609
  • 10.1037/int0000156
  • 10.1111/acps.13036
  • 10.1037/ccp0000452
  • 10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104038