COVID-19 distress and worries: The role of attitudes, social support, and positive coping during social isolation.

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101135751 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2044-8341 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14760835 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Psychol Psychother Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2011- : West Sussex, England : Wiley-Blackwell
Original Publication: Leicester, UK : British Psychological Society, c2002-

Adaptation, Psychological* ; COVID-19*/prevention & control ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice* ; Physical Distancing* ; Psychological Distress* ; Social Support*; Anxiety/*psychology; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates, one public health response has been for governments to impose quarantine 'lockdowns' which require people to socially isolate. In this study, we explored the level of psychological distress that people experienced in social isolation and the factors which might ameliorate or exacerbate it. Two hundred and thirteen participants (69% female) with a mean age of 37.82 years participated in an online study. They completed a series of questions designed as part of a larger cross-national study. A positive attitude towards social isolation introduced by government as a strategy to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 was predictive of positive coping strategies, and both attitude and coping predicted reduced psychological distress. Participants' worries about contagion of COVID-19, their financial status, and the economic and political impact of the COVID-19 pandemic predicted increases in their psychological distress. Social support from family and work colleagues was not significant in reducing worries or psychological distress but it did positively predict engagement in coping. The findings and recommendations are discussed. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Fostering a positive attitude towards social isolation in clients: reduces psychological distress, fosters engagement in positive coping behaviours. Enhancing clients' level of social support received will serve to increase positive coping and indirectly reduce psychological distress during social isolation. Strategies to reduce clients' COVID-19 worries are important as worry contributes to their overall level of psychological distress.
(© 2020 The British Psychological Society.)

Am J Community Psychol. 2000 Aug;28(4):545-81. (PMID: 10965390)
Aust J Rural Health. 2012 Jun;20(3):119-25. (PMID: 22620475)
BMC Public Health. 2008 Oct 03;8:347. (PMID: 18831770)
Emerg Infect Dis. 2004 Jul;10(7):1206-12. (PMID: 15324539)
Int Rev Neurobiol. 2005;67:73-94. (PMID: 16291020)
Health Promot Int. 2020 Dec 1;35(6):1302-1311. (PMID: 31986198)
Psychol Aging. 2010 Jun;25(2):453-63. (PMID: 20545429)

Keywords: COVID-19; attitude; coping; psychological distress; social support; worries

Date Created: 20200927 Date Completed: 20210517 Latest Revision: 20220727

20231215

PMC7537287

10.1111/papt.12308

32981116