Patterns of Psychological Responses among the Public during the Early Phase of COVID-19: A Cross-Regional Analysis

Yuen Yu Chong, Wai Tong Chien, Ho Yu Cheng, Demetris Lamnisos, Jeļena Ļubenko, Giovambattista Presti, Valeria Squatrito, Marios Constantinou, Christiana Nicolaou, Savvas Papacostas, Gökçen Aydin, Francisco J. Ruiz, Maria B. Garcia-Martin, Diana P. Obando-Posada, Miguel A. Segura-Vargas, Vasilis S. Vasiliou, Louise McHugh, Stefan Höfer, Adriana Baban, David Dias Neto, Ana Nunes da Silva, Jean-Louis Monestès, Javier Alvarez-Galvez, Marisa Paez Blarrina, Francisco Montesinos, Sonsoles Valdivia Salas, Dorottya Őri, Bartosz Kleszcz, Raimo Lappalainen, Iva Ivanović, David Gosar, Frederick Dionne, Rhonda M. Merwin, Andrew T. Gloster, Maria Karekla and Angelos P. Kassianos
Additional contact information
Yuen Yu Chong: The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Wai Tong Chien: The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Ho Yu Cheng: The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Demetris Lamnisos: Department of Health Sciences, European University Cyprus, 1516 Nicosia, Cyprus
Jeļena Ļubenko: Psychological Laboratory, Faculty of Public Health and Social Welfare, Riga Stradiņš University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
Giovambattista Presti: Kore University Behavioral Lab (KUBeLab), Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, 94100 Enna, Italy
Valeria Squatrito: Kore University Behavioral Lab (KUBeLab), Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, 94100 Enna, Italy
Marios Constantinou: Department of Social Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, 2417 Nicosia, Cyprus
Christiana Nicolaou: Department of Nursing, Cyprus University of Technology, 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
Savvas Papacostas: Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
Gökçen Aydin: Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Faculty of Education, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep 27010, Turkey
Francisco J. Ruiz: Department of Psychology, Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz, Bogotà 110231, Colombia
Maria B. Garcia-Martin: Faculty of Psychology, University of La Sabana, Chía 53753, Colombia
Diana P. Obando-Posada: Faculty of Psychology, University of La Sabana, Chía 53753, Colombia
Miguel A. Segura-Vargas: Department of Psychology, Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz, Bogotà 110231, Colombia
Vasilis S. Vasiliou: School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, T12 YN60 Cork, Ireland
Louise McHugh: School of Psychology, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Stefan Höfer: Department of Medical Psychology, Innsbruck Medical University, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Adriana Baban: Department of Psychology, Babeş-Bolyai University (UBB), 400095 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
David Dias Neto: ISPA—Instituto Universitário, APPsyCI—Applied Psychology Research Center Capabilities & Inclusion, 1149-041 Lisbon, Portugal
Ana Nunes da Silva: Faculdade de Psicologia, Alameda da Universidade, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-013 Lisbon, Portugal
Jean-Louis Monestès: LIP/PC2S Lab, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, 38040 Grenoble, France
Javier Alvarez-Galvez: Department of Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Public Health, University of Cadiz, 11003 Cadiz, Spain
Marisa Paez Blarrina: Instituto ACT, 28036 Madrid, Spain
Francisco Montesinos: Department of Psychology, European University of Madrid, 28670 Madrid, Spain
Sonsoles Valdivia Salas: Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Dorottya Őri: Heim Pal National Pediatric Institute, Department of Mental Health, 1089 Budapest, Hungary
Bartosz Kleszcz: Bartosz Kleszcz Psychotherapy and Training, ul. Aleja Zwycięstwa 31/8, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
Raimo Lappalainen: Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Iva Ivanović: Clinic for Psychiatry, Clinical Center of Montenegro, 81110 Podgorica, Montenegro
David Gosar: Department of Child, Adolescent and Developmental Neurology, University Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Frederick Dionne: Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G9A 5H7, Canada
Rhonda M. Merwin: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Andrew T. Gloster: Division of Clinical Psychology and Intervention Science, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
Maria Karekla: Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus
Angelos P. Kassianos: Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-19

Abstract: This study aimed to compare the mediation of psychological flexibility, prosociality and coping in the impacts of illness perceptions toward COVID-19 on mental health among seven regions. Convenience sampled online survey was conducted between April and June 2020 from 9130 citizens in 21 countries. Illness perceptions toward COVID-19, psychological flexibility, prosociality, coping and mental health, socio-demographics, lockdown-related variables and COVID-19 status were assessed. Results showed that psychological flexibility was the only significant mediator in the relationship between illness perceptions toward COVID-19 and mental health across all regions (all p s = 0.001–0.021). Seeking social support was the significant mediator across subgroups (all p s range = <0.001–0.005) except from the Hong Kong sample ( p = 0.06) and the North and South American sample ( p = 0.53). No mediation was found for problem-solving (except from the Northern European sample, p = 0.009). Prosociality was the significant mediator in the Hong Kong sample ( p = 0.016) and the Eastern European sample ( p = 0.008). These findings indicate that fostering psychological flexibility may help to mitigate the adverse mental impacts of COVID-19 across regions. Roles of seeking social support, problem-solving and prosociality vary across regions.

Keywords: COVID-19; psychological flexibility; mental health; prosociality; survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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