Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 Emergency
On January 30th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Italy has been one of the most affected countries in the world. To contain further spread of the virus, the Italian government has imposed an unprecede...
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doaj-f619ef738d254126ac1473f75fd552f92020-11-25T02:53:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-09-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.567367567367Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 EmergencyAdolfo Di Crosta0Rocco Palumbo1Daniela Marchetti2Irene Ceccato3Pasquale La Malva4Roberta Maiella5Mario Cipi6Paolo Roma7Nicola Mammarella8Maria Cristina Verrocchio9Alberto Di Domenico10Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Business Studies, Grenon School of Business, Assumption University, Worcester, MA, United StatesDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyOn January 30th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Italy has been one of the most affected countries in the world. To contain further spread of the virus, the Italian government has imposed an unprecedented long-period lockdown for the entire country. This dramatic scenario may have caused a strong psychological distress, with potential negative long-term mental health consequences. The aim of the present study is to report the prevalence of high psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population, especially considering that this aspect is consistently associated with PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the present study aims to identify the risk factors for high PTSD symptoms, including individual differences and subjective perception of both economic and psychological aspects. We administered an online survey to 1253 participants during the peak period of the contagion in Italy. A logistic regression on the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) scores was used to test the risk factors that predict the possibility to develop PTSD symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender (female), lower perceived economic stability, higher neuroticism, and fear and consequences of contagion were predictors of high PTSD symptomatology. The results, highlighted in the present study, extend our understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the population’s mental health, by identifying individuals at high-risk of developing PTSD. This may help with the implementation of specific protocols to prevent the possibility of developing symptoms of PTSD in target populations.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.567367/fullCOVID-19PTSDIES-Rdistressneuroticismeconomic stability |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Adolfo Di Crosta Rocco Palumbo Daniela Marchetti Irene Ceccato Pasquale La Malva Roberta Maiella Mario Cipi Paolo Roma Nicola Mammarella Maria Cristina Verrocchio Alberto Di Domenico |
spellingShingle |
Adolfo Di Crosta Rocco Palumbo Daniela Marchetti Irene Ceccato Pasquale La Malva Roberta Maiella Mario Cipi Paolo Roma Nicola Mammarella Maria Cristina Verrocchio Alberto Di Domenico Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 Emergency Frontiers in Psychology COVID-19 PTSD IES-R distress neuroticism economic stability |
author_facet |
Adolfo Di Crosta Rocco Palumbo Daniela Marchetti Irene Ceccato Pasquale La Malva Roberta Maiella Mario Cipi Paolo Roma Nicola Mammarella Maria Cristina Verrocchio Alberto Di Domenico |
author_sort |
Adolfo Di Crosta |
title |
Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 Emergency |
title_short |
Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 Emergency |
title_full |
Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 Emergency |
title_fullStr |
Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 Emergency |
title_full_unstemmed |
Individual Differences, Economic Stability, and Fear of Contagion as Risk Factors for PTSD Symptoms in the COVID-19 Emergency |
title_sort |
individual differences, economic stability, and fear of contagion as risk factors for ptsd symptoms in the covid-19 emergency |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
On January 30th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Italy has been one of the most affected countries in the world. To contain further spread of the virus, the Italian government has imposed an unprecedented long-period lockdown for the entire country. This dramatic scenario may have caused a strong psychological distress, with potential negative long-term mental health consequences. The aim of the present study is to report the prevalence of high psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population, especially considering that this aspect is consistently associated with PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the present study aims to identify the risk factors for high PTSD symptoms, including individual differences and subjective perception of both economic and psychological aspects. We administered an online survey to 1253 participants during the peak period of the contagion in Italy. A logistic regression on the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) scores was used to test the risk factors that predict the possibility to develop PTSD symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender (female), lower perceived economic stability, higher neuroticism, and fear and consequences of contagion were predictors of high PTSD symptomatology. The results, highlighted in the present study, extend our understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the population’s mental health, by identifying individuals at high-risk of developing PTSD. This may help with the implementation of specific protocols to prevent the possibility of developing symptoms of PTSD in target populations. |
topic |
COVID-19 PTSD IES-R distress neuroticism economic stability |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.567367/full |
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