Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy.
Psychogeriatrics. 2021 Jul;21(4):540-551. doi: 10.1111/psyg.12703. Epub 2021 May 6.
The elderly are more vulnerable to COVID-19 and therefore need to adopt long-term social distancing measures. The duration of quarantine impacts the psychological status of the general population. However, until now no study has explored the psychological impact of the pandemic and quarantine together with longitudinal changes in the mental health status of Italian elderly.
An online questionnaire including an assessment of depression, anxiety, anger, post-traumatic stress, subjective cognitive failures, resilience, coping style, and other dimensions related to the pandemic was completed by participants during (T0) and two months after the end (T1) of the quarantine.
The sample recruited at T0 included 334 elderly participants. About 45% of the participants experienced depression, anxiety, or anger. Moreover, more fear of getting infected was related to more severe depression, anxiety, and anger, but resilience was found to mediate these relationships. More severe depressive and anger symptoms were related to more severe cognitive failures. No significant difference was observed in mental health scores between T0 and T1. Finally, more severe depression at T0 was associated with the development of post-traumatic stress symptoms at T1.
The fear of getting infected, probably due to perceived vulnerability to disease, seems to play a crucial role in the development of psychological symptoms in the elderly, but resilience seems to mediate the impact of fear. The presence of long-term psychological consequences and the possible risk of developing PTS symptoms in the elderly suggest the need for targeted interventions to reduce possible long-term psychological and cognitive consequences.
老年人更容易感染 COVID-19，因此需要采取长期的社交隔离措施。隔离的持续时间会影响一般人群的心理状态。然而，到目前为止，还没有研究探讨大流行和隔离对意大利老年人心理健康状况的共同影响，以及心理健康状况的纵向变化。
参与者在（T0）和隔离结束后两个月（T1）通过在线问卷评估抑郁、焦虑、愤怒、创伤后应激、主观认知失败、适应力、应对方式和与大流行相关的其他方面。
T0 招募的样本包括 334 名老年参与者。约 45%的参与者经历过抑郁、焦虑或愤怒。此外，对感染的恐惧与更严重的抑郁、焦虑和愤怒有关，但适应力被发现可以调节这些关系。更严重的抑郁和愤怒症状与更严重的认知失败有关。T0 和 T1 之间的心理健康评分没有显著差异。最后，T0 时更严重的抑郁与 T1 时创伤后应激症状的发展有关。
对感染的恐惧，可能是由于对疾病的易感性感知，似乎在老年人心理症状的发展中起着至关重要的作用，但适应力似乎可以调节恐惧的影响。老年人存在长期的心理后果和可能发展 PTS 症状的风险，这表明需要采取有针对性的干预措施，以减少可能的长期心理和认知后果。
