ORIGINAL ARTICLES

The Impact of COVID-19 Fear on Psychological Distress Among Residents: The Mediating Role of Risk Perception

  • DONG Wenli ,
  • ZHANG Xinyun ,
  • MU Shoukuan
Expand
  • School of Educational Science, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou 363000, China

Online published: 2024-06-13

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) fear and psychological distress in Shanghai residents, and the mediating role of risk perception in it.
Methods: From the beginning in May, 2022, a total of 283 Shanghai residents, who were recruited by snowball sampling, completed online questionnaires including the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Risk Perception Scale, and Psychological Distress Scale.
Results: COVID-19 fear, risk perception, and psychological distress were significantly correlated (COVID-19 fear and psychological distress r=0.251, p<0.001; COVID-19 fear and risk perception r=0.422, p<0.001; risk perception and psychological distress r=0.297, p<0.001). Both COVID-19 fear and risk perception had a significant positive predictive effect on psychological distress (β=0.151, p=0.015; β=0.263, p<0.001). Risk perception partially mediated the relationship between COVID-19 fear and psychological distress (β=0.097, 95% CI 0.047 to 0.166), that accounted for 39.3% of the total effect.
Conclusion: Fear of COVID-19 can affect the level of psychological distress of individuals, and it can also indirectly affect the level of psychological distress of individuals through risk perception.

Cite this article

DONG Wenli , ZHANG Xinyun , MU Shoukuan . The Impact of COVID-19 Fear on Psychological Distress Among Residents: The Mediating Role of Risk Perception[J]. Psychological Communications, 2023 , 6(1) : 3 -8 . DOI: 10.12100/j.issn.2096-5494.223002

References

[1] 崔小倩, 郝艳华, 唐思雨, 樊凯盛, 唐雨蓉, 宁宁, 高力军. (2021). 新冠肺炎疫情风险感知量表信效度检验及应用: 基于大数据样本的实证研究. 中国公共卫生,37(7), 1086-1089.
[2] 冯琪云,黄晨玮,贾砚璞,刘涛,贾贺云,王科淳,张帆.(2021).中文版新型冠状病毒肺炎恐惧量表的信度与效度检验.第二军医大学学报, (7), 778-782. doi: 10.16781/j.0258-879x.2021.07.0778
[3] 李小保, 吕厚超. (2021, 10月). 社区居民疫情风险感知、感知压力与心理健康的关系: 未来时间洞察力和社会信心的作用. 第二十三届全国心理学学术会议, 187. doi: 10.26914/c.cnkihy. 2021.041957
[4] 苗秀影, 迟立忠. (2022). 情感启发式对风险选择的影响. 心理与行为研究, 20(3), 325-331.
[5] 时勘, 陆佳芳, 范红霞, 贾建民, 宋照礼, 李文东, .. 胡卫鹏. (2003). SARS危机中17城市民众的理性特征及心理行为预测模型. 科学通报, 48(13), 1378-1383. doi: CNKI:SUN:KXTB. 0.2003-13-003.
[6] 宋红玉. (2021). 公共危机事件风险感知特征研究综述. 心理月刊, 16(21), 223-224, +227. doi: 10.19738/j.cnki.psy.2021.21.079
[7] 尹倩兰, 刘瑛, 邵小琴, 宋相瑞, 蔡文鹏, 邓光辉, 董薇. (2021). 新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情初期一线医护人员负性情绪与风险感知的关系. 第二军医大学学报, 42(12), 1449-1454. doi: 10.16781/j.0258-879x.2021.12.1449
[8] 赵建芳, 马东华, 刘勇, 高腾凤, 刘秀荣. (2022). 新冠肺炎疫情风险感知对囤积行为的影响: 安全感的中介作用和生命史策略的调节作用. 中国临床心理学杂志,30(4), 856-860. doi: 10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2022.04.020
[9] Ahorsu D. K., Lin C. Y., Imani V., Saffari M., Griffiths M. D., & Pakpour A. H. (2020). The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and initial validation.Int J Ment Health Addict, 20(3), 1537-1545. doi: 10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8
[10] Bergman Y. S., Cohen-Fridel S., Shrira A., Bodner E., & Palgi Y. (2020). COVID-19 health worries and anxiety symptoms among older adults: The moderating role of ageism.Int Psychogeriatr, 32(11), 1371-1375. doi: 10.1017/S1041610220001258
[11] Brooks S. K., Webster R. K., Smith L. E., Woodland L., Wessely S., Greenberg N., & Rubin G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence.Lancet, 395(10227), 912-920. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8
[12] Cikrikci O., Cikrikci N., & Griffiths M. (2022). Fear of COVID-19, stress and depression: A meta-analytic test of the mediating role of anxiety.Psychol Psychother, 95(4), 853-874. doi: 10.1111/papt.12406
[13] Coelho C. M., Suttiwan P., Arato N., & Zsido A. N. (2020). On the nature of fear and anxiety triggered by COVID-19.Front Psychol, 11, 581314. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.581314
[14] Dhama K., Sharun K., Tiwari R., Dadar M., Malik Y. S., Singh K. P., & Chaicumpa W. (2020). COVID-19, an emerging coronavirus infection: Advances and prospects in designing and developing vaccines, immunotherapeutics, and therapeutics.Hum Vaccin Immunother, 16(6), 1232-1238. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2020.1735227
[15] Ding Y., Du X., Li Q., Zhang M., Zhang Q., Tan X., & Liu Q. (2020). Risk perception of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its related factors among college students in China during quarantine.PloS one, 15(8), e0237626. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237626
[16] Ding Y., Xu J., Huang S., Li P., Lu C., & Xie S. (2020). Risk perception and depression in public health crises: Evidence from the COVID-19 crisis in China.Int J Environ Res Public Health, 17(16), 5728. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165728
[17] Fukasawa M., Kawakami N., Umeda M., Akiyama T., Horikoshi N., Yasumura S., .. Bromet E. J. (2020). Longitudinal associations of radiation risk perceptions and mental health among non-evacuee residents of Fukushima prefecture seven years after the nuclear power plant disaster.SSM Popul Health, 10, 100523. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100523
[18] Han Q., Zheng B., Agostini M., Belanger J. J., Gutzkow B., Kreienkamp J., .. Leander N. P. (2021). Associations of risk perception of COVID-19 with emotion and mental health during the pandemic.J Affect Disord, 284, 247-255. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.01.049
[19] Holingue C., Badillo-Goicoechea E., Riehm K. E., Veldhuis C. B., Thrul J., Johnson R. M., .. Kalb L. G. (2020). Mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic among US adults without a pre-existing mental health condition: Findings from American trend panel survey.Preventive medicine, 139, 106231. doi: ARTN 10623110.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106231
[20] Knipe D., Evans H., Marchant A., Gunnell D., & John A. (2020). Mapping population mental health concerns related to COVID-19 and the consequences of physical distancing: A Google trends analysis.Wellcome Open Res, 5, 82. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15870.2
[21] Loewenstein G. F., Weber E. U., Hsee C. K., & Welch N. (2001). Risk as feelings.Psychol Bull, 127(2), 267-286. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.267
[22] Qian, D., & Li, O. (2020). The relationship between risk event involvement and risk perception during the COVID‐19 outbreak in China.Appl Psychol Health Well Being, 12(4), 983-999. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12219
[23] Qiu J., Shen B., Zhao M., Wang Z., Xie B., & Xu Y. (2020). A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic: Implications and policy recommendations.General psychiatry, 33(2), e100213. doi: 10.1136/gpsych-2020- 100213
[24] Rodríguez-Rey R., Garrido-Hernansaiz H., & Collado S. (2020). Psychological impact and associated factors during the initial stage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic among the general population in Spain. Front Psychol, 11, 1540. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg. 2020.01540
[25] Scharmer C., Martinez K., Gorrell S., Reilly E. E., Donahue J. M., & Anderson D. A. (2020). Eating disorder pathology and compulsive exercise during the COVID-19 public health emergency: Examining risk associated with COVID-19 anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty.Int J Eat Disord, 53(12), 2049-2054. doi: 10.1002/eat. 23395
[26] Şimşir Z., Koç H., Seki T., & Griffiths, M. D.(????). The relationship between fear of COVID-?? and mental health problems: A meta-analysis.Death studies, 46(3), 515-523. doi: 10.1080/07481187. 2021.1889097
[27] Slovic P., Finucane M. L., Peters E., & MacGregor D. G. (2004). Risk as analysis and risk as feelings: Some thoughts about affect, reason, risk, and rationality.Risk Anal, 24(2), 311-322. doi: 10.1111/j.0272-4332.2004.00433.x
[28] Terraneo M., Lombi L., & Bradby H. (2021). Depressive symptoms and perception of risk during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A web-based cross-country comparative survey.Sociol Health Illn, 43(7), 1660-1681. doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.13350
[29] Västfjäll D., Peters E., & Slovic P. (2014). The affect heuristic, mortality salience, and risk: Domain-specific effects of a natural disaster on risk-benefit perception.Scand J Psychol, 55(6), 527-532. doi: 10.1111/sjop.12166
[30] Voitsidis P., Nikopoulou V. A., Holeva V., Parlapani E., Sereslis K., Tsipropoulou V., .. Diakogiannis I. (2021). The mediating role of fear of COVID‐19 in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and depression.Psychol Psychother, 94(3), 884-893. doi: 10.1111/papt.12315
Outlines

/

〈 〉