Maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in a vulnerable population predict increased anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic: a pseudo-prospective study

Background The Covid-19 pandemic has led to drastic public health measures with a substantial impact on the individual. Previous studies reported elevated levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in the general population as a consequence of pandemic-related public health measures. In vulnerable individuals, exposure to an uncontrolled global stressor like the Covid-19 pandemic might be felt as particularly threatening. Methods A population of 127 healthy individuals that expressed increased trait anxiety (HADS ≥ 8) already before the outbreak of the pandemic were tested on state and trait anxiety, stress and depression before and four weeks after the outbreak of the pandemic in the Netherlands. Online questionnaires were administered between April 16 and April 23, 2020. Results We observed an increase in state anxiety (STAI) during the pandemic but no change in depression. Yet, trait anxiety (STAI) before the pandemic did not predict the increase in state anxiety during the pandemic. Further, state anxiety during the pandemic was not associated with being in contact with an infected person, having symptoms of Covid-19, protective behavior, or degree of social isolation when controlling for state anxiety before the outbreak of the pandemic. However, maladaptive emotion regulation strategies measured before the pandemic predicted state anxiety and perceived stress during the pandemic, while adaptive strategies had no association with anxiety during the pandemic. Conclusion Reducing learned helplessness and self-blaming to prevent maladaptive emotion regulation strategies like giving up and self-devaluation might be more beneficial than training adaptive strategies. Limitations Time variation in baseline measurements

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general Chinese population: Changes, predictors and psychosocial correlates.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is not only a threat to physical health, but also brings a burden to mental health in the general Chinese population. However, the temporal change of mental health status due to pandemic-related stress in relation to protective and risk factors to hostility is less known. This study was implemented at two timepoints, i.e., during the peak and the remission of the COVID-19 pandemic. 3233 Chinese individuals participated in the first wave, and among them 1390 participants were followed in a second wave. The result showed that fear significantly decreased over time, while depression level significantly increased during the second wave compared to the first wave of the survey. Younger age, lower-income, increased level of perceived stress, and current quarantine experience were significant predictors of depression escalation. Younger people and individuals who had a higher initial stress response tended to show more hostility. Furthermore, the use of negative coping strategy plays a potential intermediating role in the stress-related increase in hostility, while social support acts as a buffer in hostility in the general population under high stress. As the whole world is facing the same pandemic, this research provides several implications for public mental health intervention.