Prior and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have resulted in substantial changes to everyday life. The pandemic and measures of its control affect mental health negatively. Self-reported data from 15,375 participants from 23 countries were collected from May to August 2020 during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two questionnaires measuring anxiety level were used in this study—the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). The associations between a set of social indicators on anxiety during COVID-19 (e.g., sex, age, country, live alone) were tested as well. Self-reported anxiety during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic varied across countries, with the maximum levels reported for Brazil, Canada, Italy, Iraq and the USA. Sex differences of anxiety levels during COVID-19 were also examined, and results showed women reported higher levels of anxiety compared to men. Overall, our results demonstrated that the self-reported symptoms of anxiety were higher compared to those reported in general before pandemic. We conclude that such cultural dimensions as individualism/collectivism, power distance and looseness/tightness may function as protective adaptive mechanisms against the development of anxiety disorders in a pandemic situation.
Burkova, V. N., Butovskaya, M. L., Randall, A. K., Fedenok, J. N., Ahmadi, K., Alghraibeh, A. M., Allami, F. B. M., Alpaslan, F. S., Al-Zu'Bi, M. A. A., Bicer, D. F., Cetinkaya, H., David, O. A., Donato, S., Dural, S., Erickson, P., Ermakov, A. M., Ertugrul, B., Fayankinnu, E. A., Fisher, M. L., Hocker, L., Hromatko, I., Kasparova, E., Kavina, A., Khatatbeh, Y. M., Khun-Inkeeree, H., Kline, K. M., Koc, F., Kolodkin, V., Maceacheron, M., Maruf, I. R., Mesko, N., Mkrtchyan, R., Nurisnaeny, P. S., Ojedokun, O., Omar-Fauzee, M. S. B., Ozener, B., Ponciano, E. L. T., Rizwan, M., Sabiniewicz, A., Spodina, V. I., Stoyanova, S., Tripathi, N., Upadhyay, S., Weisfeld, C., Yaakob, M. F. M., Yusof, M. R., Zinurova, R. I., Predictors of anxiety in the COVID-19 pandemic from a global perspective: Data from 23 countries, <<SUSTAINABILITY>>, 2021; 13 (7): 1-23. [doi:10.3390/su13074017] [https://hdl.handle.net/10807/178692]
Predictors of anxiety in the COVID-19 pandemic from a global perspective: Data from 23 countries
Donato, Silvia;
2021
Abstract
Prior and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have resulted in substantial changes to everyday life. The pandemic and measures of its control affect mental health negatively. Self-reported data from 15,375 participants from 23 countries were collected from May to August 2020 during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two questionnaires measuring anxiety level were used in this study—the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). The associations between a set of social indicators on anxiety during COVID-19 (e.g., sex, age, country, live alone) were tested as well. Self-reported anxiety during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic varied across countries, with the maximum levels reported for Brazil, Canada, Italy, Iraq and the USA. Sex differences of anxiety levels during COVID-19 were also examined, and results showed women reported higher levels of anxiety compared to men. Overall, our results demonstrated that the self-reported symptoms of anxiety were higher compared to those reported in general before pandemic. We conclude that such cultural dimensions as individualism/collectivism, power distance and looseness/tightness may function as protective adaptive mechanisms against the development of anxiety disorders in a pandemic situation.
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