TY - JOUR
T1 - Predictors of anxiety in the COVID-19 pandemic from a global perspective: Data from 23 countries
AU - Burkova, Valentina N.
AU - Butovskaya, Marina L.
AU - Randall, Ashley K.
AU - Fedenok, Julija N.
AU - Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh
AU - Alghraibeh, Ahmad M.
AU - Allami, Fathil Bakir Mutsher
AU - Alpaslan, Fadime Suata
AU - Al-Zu’Bi, Mohammad Ahmad Abdelaziz
AU - Biçer, Derya Fatma
AU - Cetinkaya, Hakan
AU - David, Oana Alexandra
AU - Donato, Silvia
AU - Dural, Seda
AU - Erickson, Paige
AU - Ermakov, Alexey M.
AU - Ertuğrul, Berna
AU - Fayankinnu, Emmanuel Abiodun
AU - Fisher, Maryanne L.
AU - Hocker, Lauren
AU - Hromatko, Ivana
AU - Kasparova, Elena
AU - Kavina, Alexander
AU - Khatatbeh, Yahya M.
AU - Khun-Inkeeree, Hareesol
AU - Kline, Kai M.
AU - Koç, Fırat
AU - Kolodkin, Vladimir
AU - Maceacheron, Melanie
AU - Maruf, Irma Rachmawati
AU - Meskó, Norbert
AU - Mkrtchyan, Ruzan
AU - Nurisnaeny, Poppy Setiawati
AU - Ojedokun, Oluyinka
AU - Omar-Fauzee, Mohd S. B.
AU - Özener, Barış
AU - Ponciano, Edna Lúcia Tinoco
AU - Rizwan, Muhammad
AU - Sabiniewicz, Agnieszka
AU - Spodina, Victoriya I.
AU - Stoyanova, Stanislava
AU - Tripathi, Nachiketa
AU - Upadhyay, Satwik
AU - Weisfeld, Carol
AU - Yaakob, Mohd Faiz Mohd
AU - Yusof, Mat Rahimi
AU - Zinurova, Raushaniia I.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Prior and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have resulted in substantial changes to everyday life. The pandemic and measures of its control affect mental health negatively. Self-reported data from 15,375 participants from 23 countries were collected from May to August 2020 during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two questionnaires measuring anxiety level were used in this study—the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). The associations between a set of social indicators on anxiety during COVID-19 (e.g., sex, age, country, live alone) were tested as well. Self-reported anxiety during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic varied across countries, with the maximum levels reported for Brazil, Canada, Italy, Iraq and the USA. Sex differences of anxiety levels during COVID-19 were also examined, and results showed women reported higher levels of anxiety compared to men. Overall, our results demonstrated that the self-reported symptoms of anxiety were higher compared to those reported in general before pandemic. We conclude that such cultural dimensions as individualism/collectivism, power distance and looseness/tightness may function as protective adaptive mechanisms against the development of anxiety disorders in a pandemic situation.
AB - Prior and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have resulted in substantial changes to everyday life. The pandemic and measures of its control affect mental health negatively. Self-reported data from 15,375 participants from 23 countries were collected from May to August 2020 during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two questionnaires measuring anxiety level were used in this study—the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). The associations between a set of social indicators on anxiety during COVID-19 (e.g., sex, age, country, live alone) were tested as well. Self-reported anxiety during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic varied across countries, with the maximum levels reported for Brazil, Canada, Italy, Iraq and the USA. Sex differences of anxiety levels during COVID-19 were also examined, and results showed women reported higher levels of anxiety compared to men. Overall, our results demonstrated that the self-reported symptoms of anxiety were higher compared to those reported in general before pandemic. We conclude that such cultural dimensions as individualism/collectivism, power distance and looseness/tightness may function as protective adaptive mechanisms against the development of anxiety disorders in a pandemic situation.
KW - Anxiety
KW - COVID-19 pandemic
KW - Collectivism
KW - Cross-cultural
KW - Individualism
KW - Looseness
KW - Power distance
KW - SARS-CoV-2 infection
KW - Stress
KW - Tightness
KW - Anxiety
KW - COVID-19 pandemic
KW - Collectivism
KW - Cross-cultural
KW - Individualism
KW - Looseness
KW - Power distance
KW - SARS-CoV-2 infection
KW - Stress
KW - Tightness
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/178692
U2 - 10.3390/su13074017
DO - 10.3390/su13074017
M3 - Article
SN - 2071-1050
VL - 13
SP - 1
EP - 23
JO - Sustainability
JF - Sustainability
ER -