The First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic Strengthened the “Strong” and Weakened the “Weak” Ones

Albertas Skurvydas, Ausra Lisinskiene, Daiva Majauskiene (), Dovile Valanciene, Ruta Dadeliene, Natalja Istomina, Ieva Egle Jamontaite and Asta Sarkauskiene
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Albertas Skurvydas: Department of Rehabilitation, Physical and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health Scences, Vilnius University, 21/27 M.K. Čiurlionio St., 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Ausra Lisinskiene: Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Str. 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
Daiva Majauskiene: Department of Rehabilitation, Physical and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health Scences, Vilnius University, 21/27 M.K. Čiurlionio St., 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Dovile Valanciene: Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Str. 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
Ruta Dadeliene: Department of Rehabilitation, Physical and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health Scences, Vilnius University, 21/27 M.K. Čiurlionio St., 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Natalja Istomina: Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, 21/27 M.K. Čiurlionio St., 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Ieva Egle Jamontaite: Department of Rehabilitation, Physical and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health Scences, Vilnius University, 21/27 M.K. Čiurlionio St., 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Asta Sarkauskiene: Department of Sports Recreation and Tourism, Klaipėda University, HerkausMantost. 84, 92294 Klaipėda, Lithuania

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore how the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which contact communication was severely restricted, changed psychological health indicators, such as subjective assessment of health and depression, impulsivity, stress and emotional intelligence (EI) and how that depended on age, gender, physical activity (PA), sports specificity and body mass index (BMI).We surveyed 6369 before and 2392 people during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were aged 18–74 years. Participants completed the Danish Physical Activity Questionnaire (DPAQ), the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSREIT), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 11 (BIS-11), subjective depression and health self-assessments. One-way and two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were performed to assess the effect of independent variables on the dependent variables of MVPA (METs). Statistical analysis showed that restrictions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic did not alter moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), except for a significant decrease in MVPA in women aged 18–25 years, or body mass index in women and men of different ages. An increase in depression and impulsivity was observed, especially an increase in unplanned or spontaneous activity. The restrictions during the first wave increased stress in women of all ages and, rather unexpectedly, improved health self-assessment in men.The study showed that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic affected people’s subjective assessment of health, depression, stress and impulsivity in two ways: it “weakened the weak ones” and “strengthened the strong ones”.

Keywords: physical activity; MVPA; BMI; health; depression; stress; impulsivity; adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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