Evaluation of the effects of pandemic-related fears on anxiety and depression: the mediating roles of traumatic stress and loneliness.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101627676 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2050-7283 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 20507283 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2013]-

COVID-19*/psychology ; COVID-19*/epidemiology ; Loneliness*/psychology ; Anxiety*/psychology ; Anxiety*/epidemiology ; Depression*/psychology ; Depression*/epidemiology ; Fear*/psychology; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Adult ; Turkey/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Health Personnel/psychology ; Health Personnel/statistics & numerical data ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Pandemics ; SARS-CoV-2

Background: The detrimental mental health effects which emerged from COVID-19 have profoundly affected healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating effects of traumatic stress and loneliness on the fears of contracting and dying from COVID-19, and anxiety and depression of HCWs during the pandemic.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was completed by HCWs in a province of Turkey. The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, Impact of Events Scale-Revised and numerical rating scales (for fears of COVID-19 and loneliness) were used and a bootstrap approach was used in the analyses with SPSS PROCESS macro software.
Results: Of the HCWs evaluated, 150 (34.4%) were doctors, with a mean duration of work experience of 10.6 ± 7.5 years. The results indicated that fear of contracting COVID-19 was directly related to anxiety (β = 0.244, p < 0.001) and depression (β = 0.135, p < 0.01) and that traumatic stress and loneliness mediated the relationships between the fear of contracting COVID-19 and anxiety (β = 0.435, p < 0.001; β = 0.235, p < 0.001, respectively) and depression (β = 0.365, p < 0.001; β = 0.294, p < 0.001, respectively). The fear of dying from COVID-19 was determined to be directly associated with anxiety (β = 0.190, p < 0.001) but not with depression (β = 0.066, p = 0.116), and traumatic stress and loneliness mediated the relationships between the fear of dying from COVID-19 and anxiety (β = 0.476, p < 0.001; β = 0.259, p < 0.001, respectively) and depression (β = 0.400, p < 0.001; β = 0.311, p < 0.001, respectively).
Conclusions: The study results demonstrated the important roles of traumatic stress and loneliness in exacerbating the negative consequences of fears of COVID-19 on anxiety and depression, and provide insights for identifying HCWs at greater risk.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)

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Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19 related fears; Depression; Healthcare workers; Loneliness; Traumatic stress

Date Created: 20240712 Date Completed: 20240713 Latest Revision: 20240715

20240715

PMC11241983

10.1186/s40359-024-01880-w

38997784