Favieri Francesca, Forte Giuseppe, Tambelli Renata, Casagrande Maria
Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Front Psychiatry. 2021 Mar 29;12:551924. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.551924. eCollection 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide public health emergency that forced the Italian Government to deliberate unprecedented actions, including quarantine, with a relevant impact on the population. The present study is one of the first Italian nationwide survey within the first period of the COVID-19 outbreak aimed to understand the social and psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. An online survey collected information on sociodemographic data, history of direct or indirect contact with COVID-19, and other information concerning the COVID-19 emergency. The General Psychological Well-Being Index and a modified version of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, focused on the COVID-19 experience, assessed the respondents' general psychological condition. Of 1,639 respondents equally distributed in the Italian territory, 5.1% reported PTSD symptomatology, and 48.2% evidenced lower psychological well-being linked to COVID-19 diffusion. Lower psychological well-being was significantly higher in women, younger than 50 years, and with health risk factors. Lower psychological well-being was also detected in individuals who did not know if they were infected, who have had direct exposure or were uncertain about their exposure to COVID-19, or who knew infected people. Regarding the social and behavioral consequences, respondents perceived worsening in demographic, economic, social, and relational conditions. Moreover, they reported increased film viewing, cookhouse time, social media use, and decreased physical activity. The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a risk factor for psychological diseases in the Italian population, as previously reported in the Chinese people. About half of the respondents reported a significant psychological impact. Moreover, we confirmed the role of restraining measures that led to modify lifestyles, social perception, and confidence in the institutions. These results underline the need for further studies aimed to develop psychological interventions to minimize the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
新冠疫情是一场全球公共卫生突发事件，迫使意大利政府采取了前所未有的行动，包括实施隔离，这对民众产生了重大影响。本研究是意大利在新冠疫情爆发初期开展的首批全国性调查之一，旨在了解新冠疫情爆发的社会和心理影响。一项在线调查收集了社会人口统计学数据、与新冠病毒直接或间接接触史以及其他与新冠疫情相关的信息。采用一般心理健康指数和针对新冠疫情经历进行修改的《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第5版创伤后应激障碍检查表，评估受访者的总体心理状况。在意大利各地均匀分布的1639名受访者中，5.1%报告有创伤后应激障碍症状，48.2%表明心理健康水平较低与新冠病毒传播有关。心理健康水平较低在女性、50岁以下人群以及有健康风险因素的人群中显著更高。在不知道自己是否感染、有过直接接触或不确定是否接触过新冠病毒，或者认识感染者的个体中，也检测到了较低的心理健康水平。关于社会和行为后果，受访者认为人口、经济、社会和人际关系状况恶化。此外，他们报告观影时间增加、在厨房的时间增加、社交媒体使用增加以及身体活动减少。正如之前在中国人群中所报道的那样，新冠疫情似乎是意大利人群心理疾病的一个风险因素。约一半的受访者报告有重大心理影响。此外，我们证实了限制措施在改变生活方式、社会认知以及对机构的信任方面所起的作用。这些结果强调了开展进一步研究以制定心理干预措施以尽量减少新冠疫情后果的必要性。
