Worry and perceived risk of contagion during the COVID-19 quarantine in the Jalisco population: Preliminary Study

Introduction. Preventive measures taken during periods of health crisis, specifically in pandemics, have consistently been associated with detrimental effects on mental health. Isolation and loneliness are indirect effects of these preventive measures. Given these premises, monitoring the behavior of the population in the face of these eventualities becomes important. Worry as an indirect measure of anxiety and stress enables one to recognize subjects who are vulnerable to phenomena of high uncertainty, since measures taken to avoid excessive contagion can have high costs for this population. This phenomenon has been consistently observed in other pandemics such as H1/N1 influenza. Objective. To determine the prevalence of worry and perceived risk of contagion in the Guadalajara population during the COVID-19 quarantine and to identify differentiating effects. Method. A total of 255 people from western Mexico (Guadalajara, Jalisco) voluntarily participated by answering the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) adapted to Mexican population. The average age of the respondents, aged between 18 and 70 years, was 31.71 (± 5.19). A total of 170 women and 85 men participated in the study. Results. 40.12% of the population scored high levels of worry, making them vulnerable to mental health conditions. Subjects favored the prevention of a contagion regardless of whether they were self-isolated. The only variable that had a differential effect was sex (p < .05), and there were no differences in educational attainment, occupational demandingness, and isolation between the groups. Discussion and conclusion. A preventive attitude was observed among the participants, and so it is important to implement strategies that will prevent mental health costs in those who express excessive worry to avoid saturating mental health services.

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The Impacts of Propensity to Worry and Fear of COVID-19 on Mental Health of University Students

International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies ◽

10.52380/ijpes.2021.8.4.591 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 57-66

Author(s):

Hacer BELEN

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

University Students ◽

Emotional Stability ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

Health Issues ◽

Penn State Worry Questionnaire ◽

Penn State ◽

State Worry ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Epidemics and pandemics are difficult periods for the affected community, specifically in the proliferation of mental health issues. In such adverse times, factors of psychological vulnerability such as propensity to worry and low emotional stability might have a detrimental effect on the mental health of the individuals. To investigate the impact of such factors on mental health, this study examined the impacts of propensity to worry and fear of COVID-19 on anxiety depending on the individuals’ levels of emotional stability. As a means of such investigation, this study was conducted based on quantitative data, and the research sample was selected using a convenient sampling method. Participants included 304 university students (71.6% were women and 28.4% were men; MAge = 22.37 ± 3.04) and responded to the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Symptom Checklist-90 Revised, and 10-Item Personality Inventory. The moderated mediation analysis using PROCESS macro (Model 14) was performed to examine the study hypotheses. Results revealed that propensity to worry was associated with anxiety symptoms. Fear of COVID-19 mediated this link and emotional stability moderated the relationship between propensity to worry and anxiety. The findings showed that trait worry, trait emotional stability, and fear of COVID-19 are determinants of anxiety symptoms, suggesting that such factors are important in understanding these issues.

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A Preliminary Investigation into Worry about Mental Health: Development of the Mental Health Anxiety Inventory

Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy ◽

10.1017/s1352465815000454 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 347-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Della Commons ◽

Kenneth Mark Greenwood ◽

Rebecca A. Anderson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Physical Health ◽

Preliminary Investigation ◽

Health Anxiety ◽

Penn State Worry Questionnaire ◽

Penn State ◽

High Internal Consistency ◽

State Worry ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

Anxiety Depression

Background: Worry about physical health is broadly referred to as health anxiety and can range from mild concern to severe or persistent anxiety such as that found in DSM-IV hypochondriasis. While much is known about anxiety regarding physical health, little is known about anxiety regarding mental health. However, recent conceptualizations of health anxiety propose that individuals can experience severe and problematic worry about mental health in similar ways to how people experience extreme worry about physical health. Aims: Given the paucity of research in this area, the aim of the current study was to explore anxiety regarding mental health through validation of the Mental Health Anxiety Inventory (MHAI), a modified version of the Short Health Anxiety Inventory. Method: The MHAI, and measures of state anxiety (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21), trait worry (Penn State Worry Questionnaire), and health anxiety (Short Health Anxiety Inventory) were administered to 104 adult volunteers from the general community. Results: The MHAI demonstrated high internal consistency, acceptable test-retest reliability, and good construct validity when correlated with other measures of anxiety. Results also indicated that participants worried about their mental health and physical health equally, and that almost 9% of participants reported levels of mental health anxiety that were potentially problematic. Conclusion: Preliminary results suggest that a small proportion of adults in the community may experience high levels of mental health anxiety requiring treatment, and that the MHAI, if validated further, could be a useful tool for assessing this form of anxiety.

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Tendency to Worry and Fear of Mental Health during Italy’s COVID-19 Lockdown

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17165928 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (16) ◽

pp. 5928 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Chiara Baiano ◽

Isa Zappullo ◽

Massimiliano Conson ◽

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Anxiety Sensitivity ◽

Self Report ◽

Sensitivity Index ◽

Present Moment ◽

Trait Mindfulness ◽

Penn State Worry Questionnaire ◽

Penn State ◽

Mindful Attention Awareness Scale ◽

State Worry

Background: We tested whether the tendency to worry could affect psychological responses to quarantine by capitalizing on the opportunity of having collected data before the COVID-19 outbreak on measures of worry, anxiety, and trait mindfulness in a group of university students. Methods: Twenty-five participants completed self-report measures assessing worry (Penn State Worry Questionnaire, PSWQ), anxiety (Anxiety Sensitivity Index, ASI-3), and trait mindfulness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, MAAS) at T0 (pre-lockdown, 4 November 2019–17 February 2020) and T1 (at the end of lockdown, 26 April–30 April 2020). We compared assessments at the two time points in the whole sample and in high and low worriers (defined at T0 by scores on PSWQ respectively above and below 1.5 SD from mean of the Italian normative sample). Outcomes: High worriers showed at T1 a significant increase of anxiety sensitivity and fear of mental health in comparison to low worriers. Moreover, in the whole sample, at T1 trait mindfulness was inversely related to worry and fear of mental health. Interpretation: A valuable approach to support individuals experiencing anxiety related to the COVID-19 outbreak could be represented by mindfulness-based interventions improving the ability to focus attention and awareness on the present moment.

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What’s Worrying Our Students? Increasing Worry Levels over Two Decades and a New Measure of Student Worry Frequency and Domains

Cognitive Therapy and Research ◽

10.1007/s10608-021-10270-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Graham C. L. Davey ◽

Frances Meeten ◽

Andy P. Field

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Intimate Relationships ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

University Student ◽

Steady Increase ◽

The Past ◽

Penn State Worry Questionnaire ◽

Penn State ◽

State Worry ◽

Willingness To Report

Abstract Background The frequency and severity of mental health problems in student populations have been a growing cause for concern worldwide, and studies have identified measures of a number of mental health symptoms that have been steadily increasing in frequency and intensity over the past 20–25 years. Methods In two studies we investigate the levels and domains of pathological worrying in university student participants. Study 1 is a retrospective study of Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) data collected between 2001 and 2019. Study 2 describes the development of the Student Worry Questionnaire, a short and easily delivered measure of student worrying that identifies both frequency of worry as well as the student-relevant domains across which worrying occurs. Results Study 1 revealed a steady increase in student worry scores of around 20% between 2001 and 2019, with a significant positive correlation between year of data collection and mean PSWQ score. The domain scores in Study 2 indicated that academic work was a significantly higher worry than any of the other domains, and worries about intimate relationships and ‘what people think of me’ were also worries that scored higher than either financial or health worries. Conclusions The present studies indicate that pathological worrying can be added to the list of anxiety- and stress-related symptoms that have been shown to be on the increase in student populations in recent decades, and we discuss whether these increases represent a greater willingness to report symptoms or a genuine increase in experienced symptoms over time.

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