Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
J Affect Disord. 2023 May 1;328:341-344. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.02.050. Epub 2023 Feb 20.
It has been observed that people become gradually exhausted by receiving COVID-19-related information and adhering to the corresponding preventive measures as the pandemic unfolds. This phenomenon is known as pandemic burnout. Emerging evidence shows that pandemic burnout is related to poor mental health. This study extended the trendy topic by examining the idea that moral obligation, a crucial motivation driving people to follow the preventive measures, would amplify the mental health cost of pandemic burnout.
Participants were 937 Hong Kong citizens (88 % females, 62.4 % aged 31-40 years). They participated in a cross-sectional online survey reporting on pandemic burnout, moral obligation, and mental health problems (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress).
Findings of moderation model analyses showed that higher levels of pandemic burnout and moral obligation were related to more mental health problems. Importantly, the "pandemic burnout-mental health problems" links were moderated by moral obligation, with those who felt more morally obliged to follow the measures reporting poorer mental health than those who felt less morally obliged to do so.
The cross-sectional design of the study may constrain the evidence about the directions and causality of the relationships. Participants were only recruited from Hong Kong and females were over-represented, thus limiting the generalizability of the findings.
People who experience pandemic burnout while feeling more morally obliged to follow the anti-COVID-19 measures are at greater risk of mental health problems. They might need more mental health support from medical professionals.
随着疫情的发展，人们接收到与新冠疫情相关的信息并坚持采取相应的预防措施，逐渐感到疲惫不堪。这种现象被称为“大流行倦怠”。新出现的证据表明，大流行倦怠与心理健康状况不佳有关。本研究通过考察道德义务（推动人们遵守预防措施的重要动机）会放大大流行倦怠的心理健康成本这一观点，扩展了这一热门话题。
参与者为 937 名香港市民（88%为女性，62.4%年龄在 31-40 岁之间）。他们参加了一项横断面在线调查，报告大流行倦怠、道德义务和心理健康问题（即抑郁症状、焦虑和压力）。
调节模型分析的结果表明，较高水平的大流行倦怠和道德义务与更多的心理健康问题有关。重要的是，道德义务调节了“大流行倦怠与心理健康问题”之间的关系，那些感到更有道德义务遵守这些措施的人比那些感到没有那么有道德义务的人报告了更差的心理健康。
研究的横断面设计可能限制了关于这些关系的方向和因果关系的证据。参与者仅从香港招募，且女性人数过多，因此限制了研究结果的普遍性。
那些在感到更有道德义务遵守抗新冠病毒措施的同时经历大流行倦怠的人患心理健康问题的风险更大。他们可能需要更多来自医疗专业人员的心理健康支持。
