Psychological Reactions during and after a Lockdown: Self-Efficacy as a Protective Factor of Mental Health

Francesco Ruotolo (), Gennaro Ruggiero, Zaira Cattaneo, Maria Arioli, Michela Candini, Francesca Frassinetti, Francesca Pazzaglia, Ferdinando Fornara, Andrea Bosco and Tina Iachini
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Francesco Ruotolo: Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi della Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Gennaro Ruggiero: Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi della Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Zaira Cattaneo: Department of Social and Human Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy
Maria Arioli: Department of Social and Human Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy
Michela Candini: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Francesca Frassinetti: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Francesca Pazzaglia: Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy
Ferdinando Fornara: Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
Andrea Bosco: Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70121 Bari, Italy
Tina Iachini: Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi della Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of home confinement/social isolation (i.e., lockdown), imposed to reduce large-scale spread of a disease in the population, on the mental health of individuals. Through an online survey during the lockdown ( DL ) related to COVID-19 (1085 respondents, 627 females, age range : 18–82) (Italy, 23 April–2 May 2020), we revealed that situational factors, i.e., the presence of children at home and female gender, and psychological factors, i.e., a greater sense of isolation, lower perception of safety outside the home and higher trait anxiety, predicted higher levels of state anxiety (R 2 = 0.58). The same factors, but with young age instead of the presence of children, predicted higher levels of perceived stress (R 2 = 0.63). Then, these data were compared with those collected after the lockdown ( AL ) (174 respondents, 128 females, age range : 19–78) (Italy, 1 July–31 October 2021). The results showed that along with a reduced sense of isolation ( DL = 2.90 vs. AL = 2.10) and an increased perception of safety outside the home ( DL = 2.63 vs. AL = 3.05), a reduction in state anxiety ( DL = 45.76 vs. AL = 40.88) and stress appeared ( DL = 18.84 vs. AL = 17.63). However, the situation was better for men than for women. Perceived self-efficacy emerged as a protective factor for mental health (R 2 range : 0.03–0.27). The results are discussed in light of the evidence on the effects of lockdown on individuals worldwide. These results may be used to make more educated decisions on targeted help for individuals who may be most adversely affected by the adoption of lockdowns in the future.

Keywords: lockdown; mental health; anxiety; stress; self-efficacy; isolation; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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