Cheng Cecilia, Wang Hsin-Yi, Chan Linus
Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR.
Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR.
J Affect Disord. 2021 Aug 1;291:338-343. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.05.034. Epub 2021 May 27.
Heightened public anxiety was observed at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study enriches scholarly understanding of this mass response by investigating both generic and pandemic-specific anxiety that explain preventive health behavior.
In our two-phase, mixed-methods study, pandemic-specific anxiety items elicited during the qualitative phase from March 2-8, 2020 were then tested in the quantitative phase from March 16-22, 2020. Eligible participants were U.S. or U.K. residents aged 18-65.
Of the 1,400 participants, 52% met the criteria for moderate to severe anxiety. In addition to anxiety over possible personal COVID-19 infection, participants were also anxious about others' health, others' reactions (e.g., panic-buying, discrimination), societal problems (e.g., economic slowdown, healthcare system breakdown), and personal finances. The positive association between generic anxiety and hygiene practice frequency was explained by two interpersonal-oriented forms of pandemic-specific anxiety: anxiety over others' health (b = 0•0040, 95% CI: 0•0031-0•0050) and others' reactions (0•0031, 0•0021-0•0042).
The study was conducted with participants from developed countries at an early stage of the pandemic, and the results were not necessarily generalizable to developing countries or other stages of the pandemic. Also, hygiene practices was the sole behavior of interest, and the findings may differ for other behaviors.
The new findings indicate the importance of adopting a nuanced approach that unveils the multifaceted nature of anxiety using a mixed-methods design. Individuals from COVID-19-affected regions experience pandemic-specific anxiety due to concerns related to not only personal but also interpersonal-oriented issues.
在新冠疫情大流行的早期阶段，公众焦虑情绪加剧。我们的研究通过调查解释预防性健康行为的一般焦虑和特定于疫情的焦虑，丰富了对这种群体反应的学术理解。
在我们的两阶段混合方法研究中，2020年3月2日至8日定性阶段引出的特定于疫情的焦虑项目，随后在2020年3月16日至22日的定量阶段进行测试。符合条件的参与者为年龄在18至65岁之间的美国或英国居民。
在1400名参与者中，52%符合中度至重度焦虑的标准。除了对个人可能感染新冠病毒的焦虑外，参与者还担心他人的健康、他人的反应（如抢购、歧视）、社会问题（如经济放缓、医疗系统崩溃）以及个人财务状况。一般焦虑与卫生习惯频率之间的正相关关系，由两种人际导向型的特定于疫情的焦虑形式所解释：对他人健康的焦虑（b = 0.0040，95%置信区间：0.0031 - 0.0050）和对他人反应的焦虑（0.0031，0.0021 - 0.0042）。
该研究是在疫情大流行早期对来自发达国家的参与者进行的，其结果不一定能推广到发展中国家或疫情的其他阶段。此外，卫生习惯是唯一感兴趣的行为，其他行为的研究结果可能会有所不同。
新的研究结果表明，采用细致入微的方法很重要，该方法通过混合方法设计揭示焦虑的多面性。来自新冠疫情影响地区的个人会经历特定于疫情的焦虑，这不仅是由于对个人问题的担忧，还包括对人际导向问题的担忧。
