Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population: A network analysis study
Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health has been widely reported. Yet, little remains known about the psychological mechanisms associated with changes in mental well-being during the currently ongoing pandemic. Methods: Here, we use a network analysis to unravel complex rela...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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Series: | Journal of Affective Disorders Reports |
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Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915323001567 |
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author | Stella D. Voulgaropoulou Wolfgang Viechtbauer Sjacko Sobczak Thérèse van Amelsvoort Dennis Hernaus |
author_facet | Stella D. Voulgaropoulou Wolfgang Viechtbauer Sjacko Sobczak Thérèse van Amelsvoort Dennis Hernaus |
author_sort | Stella D. Voulgaropoulou |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health has been widely reported. Yet, little remains known about the psychological mechanisms associated with changes in mental well-being during the currently ongoing pandemic. Methods: Here, we use a network analysis to unravel complex relationships between COVID-19 related stressors and emotional states during the initial phase of the COVID-19 (April 2020). Adults living in the Netherlands and Belgium (N = 1145, age 16 and older) (repeatedly) completed an online survey (approximate survey completion rate = 66.2%) about COVID-19 (over a 5-day maximum sampling period). Results: Partial correlations and contemporaneous networks illustrated that worries about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic were primarily associated with distress and mood ratings, which were subsequently associated with other indicators of well-being. Temporal network analysis revealed that COVID-19 worries were selectively associated with the reciprocal interplay between high distress and low positive mood (https://osf.io/vtdkr/). Limitations: Short-term temporal intervals were evaluated. A small percentage of participants completed the survey repeatedly (35.63% of the total sample), yielding to a relatively small sample size for repeated measures online research. The sample was self-selected. Conclusion: These results may point to potential mechanisms by which initial worries about the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted psychological well-being. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:26:54Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-b48af27a6dbc44f09f12152a73a19c7d |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2666-9153 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:26:54Z |
publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
publisher | Elsevier |
record_format | Article |
series | Journal of Affective Disorders Reports |
spelling | doaj.art-b48af27a6dbc44f09f12152a73a19c7d2023-11-22T04:48:55ZengElsevierJournal of Affective Disorders Reports2666-91532023-12-0114100618Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population: A network analysis studyStella D. Voulgaropoulou0Wolfgang Viechtbauer1Sjacko Sobczak2Thérèse van Amelsvoort3Dennis Hernaus4Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK Maastricht, The Netherlands; Corresponding author at: Stella Voulgaropoulou, Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK Maastricht, The Netherlands.Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK Maastricht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK Maastricht, The Netherlands; Mondriaan Mental Health Center, Vijverdalseweg 1, 6226 NB Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK Maastricht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK Maastricht, The NetherlandsBackground: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health has been widely reported. Yet, little remains known about the psychological mechanisms associated with changes in mental well-being during the currently ongoing pandemic. Methods: Here, we use a network analysis to unravel complex relationships between COVID-19 related stressors and emotional states during the initial phase of the COVID-19 (April 2020). Adults living in the Netherlands and Belgium (N = 1145, age 16 and older) (repeatedly) completed an online survey (approximate survey completion rate = 66.2%) about COVID-19 (over a 5-day maximum sampling period). Results: Partial correlations and contemporaneous networks illustrated that worries about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic were primarily associated with distress and mood ratings, which were subsequently associated with other indicators of well-being. Temporal network analysis revealed that COVID-19 worries were selectively associated with the reciprocal interplay between high distress and low positive mood (https://osf.io/vtdkr/). Limitations: Short-term temporal intervals were evaluated. A small percentage of participants completed the survey repeatedly (35.63% of the total sample), yielding to a relatively small sample size for repeated measures online research. The sample was self-selected. Conclusion: These results may point to potential mechanisms by which initial worries about the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted psychological well-being.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915323001567COVID-19DistressMoodEmotional statesNetwork analyses |
spellingShingle | Stella D. Voulgaropoulou Wolfgang Viechtbauer Sjacko Sobczak Thérèse van Amelsvoort Dennis Hernaus Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population: A network analysis study Journal of Affective Disorders Reports COVID-19 Distress Mood Emotional states Network analyses |
title | Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population: A network analysis study |
title_full | Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population: A network analysis study |
title_fullStr | Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population: A network analysis study |
title_full_unstemmed | Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population: A network analysis study |
title_short | Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population: A network analysis study |
title_sort | worries about the covid 19 pandemic and the dynamic regulation of emotions in the general population a network analysis study |
topic | COVID-19 Distress Mood Emotional states Network analyses |
url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915323001567 |
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