Moderation Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and General Distress: A Pilot Case Study in Arabic Countries
AimsThis study aimed to investigate the effects of the fear of COVID-19, level of physical activity, and gender on negative stress (distress) in an Arab population by means of structural equations based on partial least squares.Materials and MethodsThe sample population comprised of 459 participants...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.570085/full |
| _version_ | 1819105505038041088 |
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| author | Tareq A. Alsalhe Sulaiman O. Aljaloud Nasr Chalghaf Nasr Chalghaf Noomen Guelmami Dallal W. Alhazza Fairouz Azaiez Fairouz Azaiez Nicola Luigi Bragazzi Nicola Luigi Bragazzi |
| author_facet | Tareq A. Alsalhe Sulaiman O. Aljaloud Nasr Chalghaf Nasr Chalghaf Noomen Guelmami Dallal W. Alhazza Fairouz Azaiez Fairouz Azaiez Nicola Luigi Bragazzi Nicola Luigi Bragazzi |
| author_sort | Tareq A. Alsalhe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AimsThis study aimed to investigate the effects of the fear of COVID-19, level of physical activity, and gender on negative stress (distress) in an Arab population by means of structural equations based on partial least squares.Materials and MethodsThe sample population comprised of 459 participants from four Arab countries (age M = 33.02, SD = 8.46; n = 237 women and n = 222 men). The level of education was basic (<9 years of study; n = 144), secondary/vocational (between 9 and 12; n = 178), and university (n = 137). The “Fear of COVID-19” Scale, the short form of the “International Physical Activity Questionnaire,” and the “Perceived Stress Scale” questionnaires were disseminated by emails and social networks via Google Forms. SMARTPLS software version 3.2.9 was used to model the relationships between the variables under study.ResultsResults confirmed the links between level of physical activity, fear of COVID-19, and gender, showing a significant mediating effect of the fear of COVID-19 on the relationship between gender and general distress. The level of physical activity was also found to influence the fear of COVID-19, varying depending on gender. In addition, the model highlighted the presence of a moderation effect of the level of physical activity.ConclusionBased on the model presented in the present study, we can conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic has a profound impact on psychological distress in the target populations. The impact of the level of physical activity on psychological distress is shown to be very important during the pandemic phase. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:23:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-782cc27e2eb7437fbef73746d00ea2bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T02:23:18Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-782cc27e2eb7437fbef73746d00ea2bf2022-12-21T18:42:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-09-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.570085570085Moderation Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and General Distress: A Pilot Case Study in Arabic CountriesTareq A. Alsalhe0Sulaiman O. Aljaloud1Nasr Chalghaf2Nasr Chalghaf3Noomen Guelmami4Dallal W. Alhazza5Fairouz Azaiez6Fairouz Azaiez7Nicola Luigi Bragazzi8Nicola Luigi Bragazzi9College of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaGroup for the Study of Development and Social Environment (GEDES), Faculty of Human and Social Science of Sfax, Sfax, TunisiaHigher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, TunisiaGroup for the Study of Development and Social Environment (GEDES), Faculty of Human and Social Science of Sfax, Sfax, TunisiaCollege of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaGroup for the Study of Development and Social Environment (GEDES), Faculty of Human and Social Science of Sfax, Sfax, TunisiaHigher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, TunisiaDepartment of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), Genoa University, Genoa, ItalyLaboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (LIAM), Department of Mathematics, York University, Toronto, ON, CanadaAimsThis study aimed to investigate the effects of the fear of COVID-19, level of physical activity, and gender on negative stress (distress) in an Arab population by means of structural equations based on partial least squares.Materials and MethodsThe sample population comprised of 459 participants from four Arab countries (age M = 33.02, SD = 8.46; n = 237 women and n = 222 men). The level of education was basic (<9 years of study; n = 144), secondary/vocational (between 9 and 12; n = 178), and university (n = 137). The “Fear of COVID-19” Scale, the short form of the “International Physical Activity Questionnaire,” and the “Perceived Stress Scale” questionnaires were disseminated by emails and social networks via Google Forms. SMARTPLS software version 3.2.9 was used to model the relationships between the variables under study.ResultsResults confirmed the links between level of physical activity, fear of COVID-19, and gender, showing a significant mediating effect of the fear of COVID-19 on the relationship between gender and general distress. The level of physical activity was also found to influence the fear of COVID-19, varying depending on gender. In addition, the model highlighted the presence of a moderation effect of the level of physical activity.ConclusionBased on the model presented in the present study, we can conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic has a profound impact on psychological distress in the target populations. The impact of the level of physical activity on psychological distress is shown to be very important during the pandemic phase.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.570085/fullCOVID-19feargendergeneral distressphysical activitypartial least square modeling |
| spellingShingle | Tareq A. Alsalhe Sulaiman O. Aljaloud Nasr Chalghaf Nasr Chalghaf Noomen Guelmami Dallal W. Alhazza Fairouz Azaiez Fairouz Azaiez Nicola Luigi Bragazzi Nicola Luigi Bragazzi Moderation Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and General Distress: A Pilot Case Study in Arabic Countries Frontiers in Psychology COVID-19 fear gender general distress physical activity partial least square modeling |
| title | Moderation Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and General Distress: A Pilot Case Study in Arabic Countries |
| title_full | Moderation Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and General Distress: A Pilot Case Study in Arabic Countries |
| title_fullStr | Moderation Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and General Distress: A Pilot Case Study in Arabic Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moderation Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and General Distress: A Pilot Case Study in Arabic Countries |
| title_short | Moderation Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and General Distress: A Pilot Case Study in Arabic Countries |
| title_sort | moderation effect of physical activity on the relationship between fear of covid 19 and general distress a pilot case study in arabic countries |
| topic | COVID-19 fear gender general distress physical activity partial least square modeling |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.570085/full |
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