Journal of affective disorders
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Recent psychological research into the effects of COVID-19 has focused largely on understanding excessive fear reactions ("over-responses"). Equally important, but neglected phenomena concern "under-responses", in which people downplay the significance of COVID-19. People who do not take the pandemic seriously may be less likely to adhere to social distancing policies. The present study is, to our knowledge, the first to investigate the differential predictors of over- and under-responses to COVID-19. ⋯ This study relied on self-reported cross-sectional data and focused on extreme forms of disregard for social distancing guidelines, CONCLUSION: : It is important to understand under-responses to COVID-19 and how these relate to distress, excessive avoidance, and nonadherence to social distancing. Implications for addressing the problems of over- and under-response are discussed.
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We aimed to estimate the population prevalence of people with changes in their usual patterns of alcohol use during the early stages of the novel coronavirus pandemic of 2020 (COVID-19) pandemic in Australia; assess the association between mental health status and changes in alcohol use during the pandemic; and examine if the associations were modified by gender and age. ⋯ These data indicate that there is a need for public policies focused on alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic and the strategies should include specific consideration of the needs of people with mental health problems.
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The mental health status caused by major epidemics is serious and lasting. At present, there are few studies about the lasting mental health effects of COVID-19 outbreak. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mental health of the Chinese public during the long-term COVID-19 outbreak. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the prevalence rate of mental disorders in the Chinese public is relatively low in the second month of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, people's mental state is affected by the geographical and temporal distributions.
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As a major virus outbreak in the 21st century, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented hazards to mental health globally. While psychological support is being provided to patients and healthcare workers, the general public's mental health requires significant attention as well. This systematic review aims to synthesize extant literature that reports on the effects of COVID-19 on psychological outcomes of the general population and its associated risk factors. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with highly significant levels of psychological distress that, in many cases, would meet the threshold for clinical relevance. Mitigating the hazardous effects of COVID-19 on mental health is an international public health priority.
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The precise relationships among depression, risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and incident CVD remain uncertain. This study examined the joint effect of depression and other CVD risk factors on the incidence of CVD. ⋯ As depression could be a significant predictor of incident CVD independently with other CVD risk factors, professionals should recognize and manage depression as a major CVD risk factor.