Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine.
Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine.
Psychol Trauma. 2023 Jul;15(5):800-807. doi: 10.1037/tra0001326. Epub 2022 Aug 4.
During the protracted collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, lay of distorted perceptions of time (e.g., time slowing, days blurring together, uncertainty about the future) have been widespread. Known as "temporal disintegration" in psychiatric literature, these distortions are associated with negative mental health consequences. However, the prevalence and predictors of temporal disintegration are poorly understood. We examined perceptions of time passing and their associations with lifetime stress and trauma and pandemic-related secondary stress as COVID-19 spread across the United States.
A probability-based national sample ( = 5,661) from the NORC AmeriSpeak online panel, which had completed a mental and physical health survey prior to the pandemic, completed two surveys online during March 18-April 18, 2020, and September 26-October 16, 2020. Distorted time perceptions and other pandemic-related experiences were assessed.
Present focus, blurring weekdays and weekdays together, and uncertainty about the future were common experiences reported by over 65% of the sample 6 months into the pandemic. Half of the sample reported time speeding up or slowing down. Predictors of temporal disintegration include prepandemic mental health diagnoses, daily pandemic-related media exposure and secondary stress (e.g., school closures, lockdown), financial stress, and lifetime stress and trauma exposure.
During the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, distortions in time perception were very common and associated with prepandemic mental health, lifetime stress and trauma exposure, and pandemic-related media exposure and stressors. Given that temporal disintegration is a risk factor for mental health challenges, these findings have potential implications for public mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
在 COVID-19 大流行期间漫长的集体创伤中，人们普遍存在扭曲的时间感知（例如，时间变慢、日子混在一起、对未来的不确定）。这种扭曲在精神病学文献中被称为“时间解体”，与负面的心理健康后果有关。然而，时间解体的患病率和预测因素还知之甚少。我们研究了时间流逝的感知及其与终生压力和创伤以及 COVID-19 在美国传播期间与大流行相关的继发性压力的关系。
NORC 美国在线民意调查 AmeriSpeak 的一项基于概率的全国样本（n=5661），该样本在大流行前完成了一项心理健康和身体健康调查，于 2020 年 3 月 18 日至 4 月 18 日和 9 月 26 日至 10 月 16 日期间两次在线完成调查。评估了扭曲的时间感知和其他与大流行相关的经历。
超过 65%的样本在大流行 6 个月后报告了常见的经历，如当下的关注点、工作日和工作日之间的模糊性以及对未来的不确定性。一半的样本报告时间加速或减速。时间解体的预测因素包括大流行前的心理健康诊断、日常与大流行相关的媒体暴露和继发性压力（例如，学校关闭、封锁）、经济压力以及终生的压力和创伤暴露。
在 COVID-19 大流行的头 6 个月，时间感知扭曲非常普遍，与大流行前的心理健康、终生的压力和创伤暴露以及与大流行相关的媒体暴露和压力源有关。鉴于时间解体是心理健康挑战的一个风险因素，这些发现可能对公共心理健康有影响。
