Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Jun 8, 2021
Date Accepted: Aug 16, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: Sep 3, 2021
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Associations Between the Perceived Severity of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Cyberchondria, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Lockdown Experience: Cross-sectional Survey Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused great panic among the public, with many people suffering from adverse stress reactions. To control the spread of the pandemic, governments in many countries have imposed lockdown policies. In this unique pandemic context, people could obtain information on the pandemic dynamics over time on the Internet. However, searching for health-related information from the Internet frequently will increase public’s possibility of being troubled by online information and experiencing symptoms of cyberchondria.
Objective:
This study aimed to examine the relationships between people’s perceived severity of the COVID-19 pandemic (PSCP) and their depression, anxiety, and stress and to explore the role of cyberchondria, which is closely related to the Internet, in these relationship mechanisms. In addition, we also examine the moderating role of lockdown experience.
Methods:
In February 2020, a total of 486 participants were recruited from pandemic areas in China via an online platform. We used questionnaires to measure participants’ PSCP, the severity of cyberchondria, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and lockdown experience. SPSS 24.0 software was used to test for common method bias and perform the descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis Moderated mediation models were examined using SPSS PROCESS Version 3.5 software.
Results:
The results showed a positive association between PSCP and depression(β = 0.36, t = 8.51, p < 0.001), anxiety(β = 0.41, t = 9.84, p < 0.001), and stress(β = 0.46, t = 11.45, p < 0.001), which were mediated by cyberchondria(β = 0.36, t = 8.59, p < 0.001). The direct effects of PSCP on anxiety(β = 0.07, t = 2.01, p = 0.045) and stress(β = 0.09, t = 2.75, p = 0.006) and the indirect effects of cyberchondria on depression(β = 0.10, t = 2.59, p = 0.009) and anxiety(β = 0.10, t = 2.50, p = 0.01) were moderated by lockdown experience.
Conclusions:
The higher individuals’ PSCP, the more serious the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, and the associations were partially mediated by cyberchondria, Individuals with higher PSCP were more likely to develop cyberchondria, which aggravates individuals’ depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Negative lockdown experience exacerbated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.
Citation
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