The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical Students
ObjectivesHealthcare workers experienced great psychological burden due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, medical healthcare workers experienced greater instances of insomnia, anxiety, depression, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general popul...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.899266/full |
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| author | Hyun Sub Kim Junseok Ahn Jukab Lee Youjin Hong Changnam Kim Jangho Park Seockhoon Chung |
| author_facet | Hyun Sub Kim Junseok Ahn Jukab Lee Youjin Hong Changnam Kim Jangho Park Seockhoon Chung |
| author_sort | Hyun Sub Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivesHealthcare workers experienced great psychological burden due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, medical healthcare workers experienced greater instances of insomnia, anxiety, depression, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general population. This study aimed to explore the association between viral anxiety and obsession with COVID-19 among medical students with reassurance-seeking behavior as a mediator.MethodsIn October 2021, an online survey was conducted among medical students at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine. The clinical characteristics of 162 participants and their responses to rating scales, including stress and anxiety to viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6), Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale (CRBS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9), and Obsession with COVID-19 scale were collected.ResultsMedical students' obsession with COVID-19 was based on the PHQ-9 (β = 0.15, p = 0.01), SAVE-6 (β = 0.43, p < 0.001), and CRBS (β = 0.38, p < 0.001) scores (adjusted R2 = 0.49, F = 39.9, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis showed that medical students' viral anxiety and depression directly influenced their obsession with COVID-19, and their reassurance-seeking behavior partially mediated the effects of depression or viral anxiety on obsession with COVID-19.ConclusionsMedical students' viral anxiety and depression may affect their obsession with COVID-19, and reassurance-seeking behaviors may mediate this. Therefore, medical students should adopt adaptive coping strategies to prevent high levels of viral anxiety and recurrent reassurance-seeking behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:40:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8924f5a62ef84759bb44a3771bf543d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T05:40:59Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-8924f5a62ef84759bb44a3771bf543d62022-12-22T00:35:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402022-06-011310.3389/fpsyt.2022.899266899266The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical StudentsHyun Sub Kim0Junseok Ahn1Jukab Lee2Youjin Hong3Changnam Kim4Jangho Park5Seockhoon Chung6Department of Psychiatry, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, GangNeung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University of Medicine, Changwon, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South KoreaObjectivesHealthcare workers experienced great psychological burden due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, medical healthcare workers experienced greater instances of insomnia, anxiety, depression, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general population. This study aimed to explore the association between viral anxiety and obsession with COVID-19 among medical students with reassurance-seeking behavior as a mediator.MethodsIn October 2021, an online survey was conducted among medical students at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine. The clinical characteristics of 162 participants and their responses to rating scales, including stress and anxiety to viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6), Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale (CRBS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9), and Obsession with COVID-19 scale were collected.ResultsMedical students' obsession with COVID-19 was based on the PHQ-9 (β = 0.15, p = 0.01), SAVE-6 (β = 0.43, p < 0.001), and CRBS (β = 0.38, p < 0.001) scores (adjusted R2 = 0.49, F = 39.9, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis showed that medical students' viral anxiety and depression directly influenced their obsession with COVID-19, and their reassurance-seeking behavior partially mediated the effects of depression or viral anxiety on obsession with COVID-19.ConclusionsMedical students' viral anxiety and depression may affect their obsession with COVID-19, and reassurance-seeking behaviors may mediate this. Therefore, medical students should adopt adaptive coping strategies to prevent high levels of viral anxiety and recurrent reassurance-seeking behavior.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.899266/fullCOVID-19medical studentsobsessionreassurance-seeking behaviorSAVE-6 |
| spellingShingle | Hyun Sub Kim Junseok Ahn Jukab Lee Youjin Hong Changnam Kim Jangho Park Seockhoon Chung The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical Students Frontiers in Psychiatry COVID-19 medical students obsession reassurance-seeking behavior SAVE-6 |
| title | The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical Students |
| title_full | The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical Students |
| title_fullStr | The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical Students |
| title_short | The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical Students |
| title_sort | mediating effect of reassurance seeking behavior on the influence of viral anxiety and depression on covid 19 obsession among medical students |
| topic | COVID-19 medical students obsession reassurance-seeking behavior SAVE-6 |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.899266/full |
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