Objective: The current COVID-19 pandemic is associated with numerous psychological issues, such as anxiety and distress as a result of individual, health-related, social, and economic issues. This study aims to assess the general population in Iran for the negative impacts of the current pandemic on psychological well-being and to find possible protective and risk factors when facing such situations in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A total of 317 people participated in an online survey in Iran from August 3, 2020, to September 20, 2020. Anxiety, depression, fear of COVID-19, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, illness perception, neuroticism, social support, and self-efficacy were evaluated.
Results: The results showed that measures that assess anxiety, depression, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, illness perception, neuroticism, social support, and self-efficacy were significantly related to fear of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the results of regression analysis demonstrated that neuroticism, intolerance of uncertainty, and illness perception could predict fear of COVID-19 beyond and above anxiety and depression.
Conclusion: Some factors, including neuroticism, illness perception, and intolerance of uncertainty are considered risk factors for mental health during this pandemic.
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• Assessing fear of COVID-19 in general Iranian population.
• The primary protective factors regarding fear of COVID-19 are; self-efficacy and emotional regulation.
• The main risk factors of fear of COVID-19 are; neuroticism, illness perception, and intolerance of uncertainty.
Plain Language Summary
The current COVID-19 pandemic is associated with numerous psychological issues such as anxiety and stress as a result of individual, health-related, social, and economic, issues. This study aimed to assess the general population in Iran for negative impacts of the current pandemic on psychological well-being and to find possible protective and risk factors when facing such situations as the current COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that anxiety, depression, being able to understand the emotions the individual experiences and being able to express them efficiently, intolerance of uncertainty, being pessimistic, having social support, and being able to take care of self were significantly important for experiencing the fear of COVID-19. Among all the mentioned factors, being able to understand the emotions the individual experiences and being able to express them efficiently, and having efficient social support are the most significant factors to protect one’s mental health against the fear of COVID-19. On the other hand, intolerance of uncertainty, being pessimistic could be considered as the main risk factors of having fear of COVID-19.
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
Psychiatry Received: 2022/07/27 | Accepted: 2022/09/24 | Published: 2023/04/1