COVID-19 anxiety and its relation to anxiety-related disorder symptoms and mechanisms
Author
Faculty Advisor
Date
2024
Keywords
health anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, anxiety sensitivity, disgust, intolerance of uncertainty
Abstract (summary)
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the mental health of individuals, particularly in the area of anxiety-related disorders. Anxiety regarding COVID-19 has been associated with health anxiety, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms. Additionally, COVID-19 anxiety has been associated with anxiety sensitivity, disgust, maladaptive metacognitions, and intolerance of uncertainty. While researchers have established that anxiety disorders and anxiety-related mechanisms were associated with COVID-19 anxiety, which specific anxiety-related symptoms and mechanisms are primarily associated with COVID-19 anxiety needs to be more extensively explored. The current study sought to further this area by examining which particular anxiety related disorder symptoms and mechanisms were uniquely associated with COVID-19 anxiety. A non-clinical sample of 593 Canadian undergraduate participants (Mage = 21.13 years; 67.7 % female) completed this cross-sectional study between September 2020 and February 2021. Participants completed online questionaries assessing anxiety-related disorder symptoms and mechanisms in addition to multiple scales of COVID-19 anxiety. When examining symptoms, health anxiety (prs = 0.17–0.29) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (prs = 0.16–0.35) symptoms had the strongest unique associations with COVID-19 anxiety. Among the anxiety-related mechanisms, disgust sensitivity (prs = 0.14–0.16) and health anxiety-specific intolerance of uncertainty (prs = 0.12–0.30) had the strongest unique associations with COVID-19 anxiety. Individuals experiencing these disorders and anxiety-related mechanisms may be at a heightened vulnerability to experiencing heightened anxiety during future pandemics. Mental health professionals should discuss COVID-19 anxiety with individuals experiencing health anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms. Lastly, the study highlights the significance of considering a variety of specific anxiety-related disorder symptoms and mechanisms when working to understand pandemic anxiety.
Publication Information
Byam, L. J., & Penney, A. M. (2024). COVID-19 anxiety and its relation to anxiety-related disorder symptoms and mechanisms. Acta Psychologica, 244, Article 104179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104179
Notes
Item Type
Article
Language
Rights
Attribution (CC BY)
