ORIGINAL PAPER
Fear of COVID-19 and future anxiety among Polish university students during a pandemic
1
Faculty of Rehabilitation, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education, Warsaw, Poland
2
Faculty of Physical Education and Health in Biala Podlaska, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education
in Warsaw, Poland
Submission date: 2023-01-26
Final revision date: 2023-04-19
Acceptance date: 2023-05-03
Online publication date: 2023-06-26
Publication date: 2023-08-22
Corresponding author
Monika Guszkowska
Faculty of Rehabilitation, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education, Warsaw, Poland
Faculty of Rehabilitation, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education, Warsaw, Poland
Health Psychology Report 2023;11(3):252–261
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
The pandemic poses a threat to human health and life, and anxiety is the most common psychological problem occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to establish the differences in the fear of COVID-19 infection and the future anxiety experienced by students during the pandemic by gender, field of study, place of study and paid em-ployment, and their relationships to psychological well-being.
Participants and procedure:
The study involved 1294 university students aged 18-30. The Future Anxiety Scale and short version of the Psychological General Well-Being Index were used. In addition, students stated whether they were concerned about the possibility of con-tracting the coronavirus and falling ill with COVID-19.
Results:
One-third of respondents stated that they felt fear of contracting the coronavirus. Women experienced a significantly stronger fear of COVID-19 and future anxiety than men. The observed interaction effects show that female students of medical faculties experienced a higher fear of COVID-19 than women studying fields of study related to physical activity and working students experienced a slightly higher future anxiety. A positive, but weak correlation between fear of COVID-19 and future anxiety was found. Psychological well-being correlated poorly with fear of COVID-19 and moderately with future anxiety.
Conclusions:
Because future anxiety was stronger in women, medical students, some master’s students and working people, preventive measures should be taken to prevent excessive anxiety and to promote mental health in these groups.
The pandemic poses a threat to human health and life, and anxiety is the most common psychological problem occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to establish the differences in the fear of COVID-19 infection and the future anxiety experienced by students during the pandemic by gender, field of study, place of study and paid em-ployment, and their relationships to psychological well-being.
Participants and procedure:
The study involved 1294 university students aged 18-30. The Future Anxiety Scale and short version of the Psychological General Well-Being Index were used. In addition, students stated whether they were concerned about the possibility of con-tracting the coronavirus and falling ill with COVID-19.
Results:
One-third of respondents stated that they felt fear of contracting the coronavirus. Women experienced a significantly stronger fear of COVID-19 and future anxiety than men. The observed interaction effects show that female students of medical faculties experienced a higher fear of COVID-19 than women studying fields of study related to physical activity and working students experienced a slightly higher future anxiety. A positive, but weak correlation between fear of COVID-19 and future anxiety was found. Psychological well-being correlated poorly with fear of COVID-19 and moderately with future anxiety.
Conclusions:
Because future anxiety was stronger in women, medical students, some master’s students and working people, preventive measures should be taken to prevent excessive anxiety and to promote mental health in these groups.
REFERENCES (53)
1.
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). APA Pub-lishing.
2.
American Psychiatric Association (2020, March 25). New poll: COVID-19 impacting mental well-being: Americans feeling anxious, especially for loved ones; older adults are less anxious. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/new....
3.
Apgar, D., & Cadmus, T. (2022). Using mixed methods to assess coping and self-regulation skills of undergraduate social work students impacted by COVID-19. Clinical Social Work Journal, 50, 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615....
4.
Asanov, I., Flores, F., McKenzie, D., Mensmann, M., & Schulte, M. (2021). Remote-learning, time-use, and mental health of Ecuadorian high-school students during the COVID19 quarantine. World Development, 138, 105225. https://doi.org/j.worlddev.202....
5.
Aslan, I., Ochnik, D., & Ҫınar, O. (2020). Exploring perceived stress among students in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 8961. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph....
6.
Auerbach, R. P., Alonso, J., Axinn, W. G., Cuijpers, P., Ebert, D. D., Green, J. G., Hwang, I., Kessler, R. C., Liu, H., Mortier, P., Nock, M. K., Pinder-Amaker, S., Sampson, N. A., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., Andrade, L. H., Benjet, C., Caldas-de-Almeida, J. M., Demyttenaere, K., Florescu, S., … Bruffaerts, R. (2016). Mental disor-ders among college students in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. Psychological Medicine, 46, 2955–2970. https://doi.org/10.1017/S00332....
7.
Bakioğlu, F., Korkmaz, O., & Ercan, H. (2021). Fear of COVID-19 and positivity: Mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19, 2369–2382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469....
8.
Bourion-Bédès, S., Tarquinio, C., Batt, M., Tarquinio, P., Lebreuilly, R., Sorsana, C., Legrand, K., Rousseau, H., & Baumann, C. (2021). Stress and associated factors among French university students under the COVID-19 lockdown: The results of the PIMS-CoV 19 study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 283, 108–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.....
9.
Chen, Y., Zhou, H., Zhou, Y., & Zhoua, F. (2020). Prevalence of self-reported depression and anxiety among pedi-atric staff members during the COVID-19 outbreak in Giyang, China. Psychiatry Research, 288, 113005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyc....
10.
Debowska, A., Horeczy, B., Boduszek, D., & Dolinski, D. (2022). A repeated cross-sectional survey assessing uni-versity students’ stress, depression, anxiety, and suicidality in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. Psychological Medicine, 52, 3744–3747. https://doi.org/10.1017/S00332....
11.
De Oliveira Araújo, F. J., de Lima, L. S. A., Cidade, P. I. M., Nobre, C. B., & Neto, M. L. R. (2020). Impact of Sars-Cov-2 and its reverberation in global higher education and mental health. Psychiatry Research, 288, 112977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyc....
12.
Dupuy, H. J. (1990). The psychological general well-being (PGWB) index. In N. K. Wenger, M. E. C. Mattson, D. Furburg, & J. Elinson (Eds.). Assessment of quality of life in clinical trials of cardiovascular therapies (pp. 170–183). Le Jacq Publishing.
13.
Giallonardo, V., Sampogna, G., Del Vecchio, V., Luciano, M., Albert, U., Carmassi, C., Carrà, G., Cirulli, F., Dell’Osso, B., Nanni, M. G., Pompili, M., Sani, G., Tortorella, A., Volpe, U., & Fiorillo, A. (2020). The impact of quarantine and physical distancing following COVID-19 on mental health: Study protocol of a multicentric Italian population trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 533. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.....
14.
Hoover, E. (2020). Distanced learning. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/arti....
15.
Huang, L., Lei, W., Xu, F., Liu, H., & Yu, L. (2020). Emotional responses and coping strategies in nurses and nursing students during COVID-19 outbreak: a comparative study. PLoS One, 15, e0237303. https://doi.org/10.1371/journa....
16.
Huang, Y., & Zhao, N. (2020). Generalized anxiety disorder, depressive symptoms and sleep quality during COVID-19 outbreak in China: a web-based cross-sectional survey. Psychiatry Research, 288, 112954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyc....
17.
Lee, S. A. (2020). Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: a brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety. Death Study, 44, 393–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/074811....
18.
Lee, S. A., Jobe, M. C., & Mathis, A. A. (2021). Mental health characteristics associated with dysfunctional corona-virus anxiety. Psychological Medicine, 51, 1403–1404. https://doi.org/10.1017/S00332....
19.
Lee, S. A., Mathis, A. A., Jobe, M. C., & Pappalardo, E. A. (2020). Clinically significant fear and anxiety of COVID-19: a psychometric examination of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale. Psychiatry Research, 290, 113112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyc....
20.
Li, X., Lv, S., Liu, L., Chen, R., Chen, J., Liang, S., Tang, S., & Zhao, J. (2020). COVID-19 in Guangdong: Immediate perceptions and psychological impact on 304,167 college students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.....
21.
Lippold, J. V., Laske, J. I., Hogeterp, S. A., Duke, É., Grünhage, T., & Reuter, M. (2020). The role of personality, political attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics in explaining individual differences in fear of corona-virus: a comparison over time and across countries. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 552305. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.....
22.
Liu, C. H., Zhang, E., Wong, G. T. F., Hyun, S., & Hahm, H. (2020). Factors associated with depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptomatology during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical implications for U.S. young adult mental health. Psychiatry Research, 290, 113172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyc....
23.
Luo, F., Ghanei Gheshlagh, R., Dalvand, S., Saedmoucheshi, S., & Li, Q. (2021). Systematic review and meta-analysis of fear of COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 661078. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.....
24.
Lyons, Z., Wilcox, H., Leung, L., & Dearsley, O. (2020). COVID-19 and the mental well-being of Australian medical students: Impact, concerns and coping strategies used. Australasian Psychiatry, 28, 649–652. https://doi.org/10.1177/103985....
25.
McElroy, E., Patalay, P., Moltrecht, B., Shevlin, M., Shum, A., Creswell, C., & Waite, P. (2020). Demographic and health factors associated with pandemic anxiety in the context of COVID-19. British Journal of Health Psychol-ogy, 25, 934–944. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.1....
26.
McKibbin, W. J., & Fernando, R. (2020). Macroeconomic impacts of COVID-19: Seven scenarios. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3....
27.
Meda, N., Pardini, S., Slongo, I., Bodini, L., Rigobello, P., Visioli, F., & Novara, C. (2020). COVID-19 and depressive symptoms in students before and during lockdown. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.0....
28.
Mertens, G., Gerritsen, L., Duijndam, S., Salemink, E., & Engelhard, I. M. (2020). Fear of the coronavirus (COVID-19): Predictors in an online study conducted in March 2020. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 74, 102258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janx....
29.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2012). Emotion regulation and psychopathology: The role of gender. Annual Review of Clini-cal Psychology, 8, 161–187. https://doi.org/10.1146/annure....
30.
Odriozola-González, P., Planchuelo-Gómez, A., Irurtia, M. J., & de Luis-García, R. (2020). Psychological effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown among students and workers of a Spanish university. Psychiatry Re-search, 290, 113108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyc....
31.
Ohman, A. (2000). Fear and anxiety: Evolutionary, cognitive, and clinical perspectives. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed., pp. 573–593). Guilford.
32.
Panza, G. A., Taylor, B. A., Thompson, P. D., White, C. M., & Pescatello, L. S. (2019). Physical activity intensity and subjective well-being in healthy adults. Journal of Health Psychology, 24, 1257–1267. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910....
33.
Paredes, M. R., Apaolaza, V., Fernandez-Robin, C., Hartmann, P., & Yanez-Martinez, D. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on subjective mental well-being: The interplay of perceived threat, future anxiety and re-silience. Personality and Individual Differences, 170, 110455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid....
34.
Prasath, P. R., Mather, P. C., Suniti Bhat, C., & James, J. K. (2021). University student well-being during COVID-19: The role of psychological capital and coping strategies. The Professional Counselor, 11, 46–60. https://doi.org/10.15241/prp.1....
35.
Reznik, A., Gritsenko, V., Konstantinov, V., Khamenka, N., & Isralowitz, R. (2021). COVID-19 fear in Eastern Eu-rope: Validation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19, 1903–1908. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469....
36.
Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A. J., Pantaleón, Y., Dios, I., & Falla, D. (2020). Fear of COVID-19, stress, and anxiety in univer-sity undergraduate students: a predictive model for depression. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 591797. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.....
37.
Rogowska, A. M., Kusnierz, C., & Bokszczanin, A. (2020). Examining anxiety, life satisfaction, general health, stress and coping styles during COVID-19 pandemic in Polish sample of university students. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 13, 797–811. https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s....
38.
Roy, D., Tripathy, S., Kar, S., Sharma, N., Verma, S., & Kaushal, V. (2020). Study of knowledge, attitude, anxiety and perceived mental healthcare need in Indian population during COVID-19 pandemic. Asian Journal of Psy-chiatry, 51, 102083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.....
39.
Salehi, L., Rahimzadeh, M., Molaei, E., Zaheri H., & Esmaelzadeh-Saeieh, S. (2020). The relationship among fear and anxiety of COVID-19, pregnancy experience, and mental health disorder in pregnant women: a structural equation model. Brain and Behavior, 10, e01835. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.1....
40.
Satici, B., Saricali, M., Satici, S. A., & Griffiths, M. (2022). Intolerance of uncertainty and mental wellbeing: Serial mediation by rumination and fear of COVID-19. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 2731–2742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469....
41.
Silva, W. A. D., de Sampaio Brito, T. R., & Pereira, C. R. (2021). Anxiety associated with COVID-19 and concerns about death: Impacts on psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 176, 110772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid....
42.
Skalski, S., Uram, P., Dobrakowski, P., & Kwiatkowska, A. (2020). Thinking too much about the novel corona-virus. The link between persistent thinking about COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 anxiety and trauma effects. Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 8, 169–174. https://doi.org/10.5114/cipp.2....
43.
Szczepańska, A., & Pietrzyka, K. (2023). The COVID-19 epidemic in Poland and its influence on the quality of life of university students (young adults) in the context of restricted access to public spaces. Journal of Public Health, 31, 295–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389....
44.
Tucholska, K., Gulla, B., Grabowska, A., & Major, P. (2022). Time perspective, future anxiety, and hope for suc-cess in individuals awaiting bariatric surgery. Health Psychology Report, 10, 111–121. https://doi.org/10.5114/hpr.20....
45.
Ullah, R., & Amin, S. (2020). The psychological impact of COVID-19 on medical students. Psychiatry Research, 288, 113020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyc....
46.
Usher, K., Durkin, J., & Bhullar, N. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health impacts. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29, 315–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12....
47.
Vagni, M., Maiorano, T., Giostra, V., & Pajardi, D. (2020). Coping with COVID-19: Emergency stress, secondary trauma and self-efficacy in healthcare and emergency workers in Italy. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 566912. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.....
48.
Vindegaard, N., & Benros, M. E. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic and mental health consequences: Systematic review of the current evidence. Behavior and Immunity, 89, 531–542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.....
49.
Wang, C., & Zhao, H. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on anxiety in Chinese university students. Frontiers in Psy-chology, 11, 1168. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.....
50.
Yıldırım, M., & Güler, A. (2021). Coronavirus anxiety, fear of COVID-19, hope and resilience in healthcare work-ers: a moderated mediation model study. Health Psychology Report, 9, 388–397. https://doi.org/10.5114/hpr.20....
51.
Zaleski, Z. (1996). Future anxiety: Concept, measurement, and preliminary research. Personality and Individual Differences, 21, 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8....
52.
Zaleski, Z. (2018). Psychologia lęku przed przyszłością [Psychology of future anxiety]. Difin.
53.
Zaleski, Z., Sobol-Kwapinska, M., Przepiorka, A., & Meisner, M. (2019). Development and validation of the Dark Future scale. Time and Society, 28, 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/096146....
Copyright: © Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.