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Fear of the coronavirus (COVID-19): Predictors in an online study conducted in March 2020
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Abstract
Fear is an adaptive response in the presence of danger. However, when threat is uncertain and continuous, as in the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, fear can become chronic and burdensome. To identify predictors of fear of the coronavirus, we conducted an online survey (N = 439) three days after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic (i.e., between March 14 and 17, 2020). Fear of the coronavirus was assessed with the newly developed Fear of the Coronavirus Questionnaire (FCQ) consisting of eight questions pertaining to different dimensions of fear (e.g., subjective worry, safety behaviors, preferential attention), and an open-ended question. The predictors included psychological vulnerability factors (i.e., intolerance of uncertainty, worry, and health anxiety), media exposure, and personal relevance (i.e., personal health, risk for loved ones, and risk control). We found four predictors for the FCQ in a simultaneous regression analysis: health anxiety, regular media use, social media use, and risks for loved ones (R2 = .37). Furthermore, 16 different topics of concern were identified based participants’ open-ended responses, including the health of loved ones, health care systems overload, and economic consequences. We discuss the relevance of our findings for managing people’s fear of the coronavirus.
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“In addition, individual differences exist in the level of COVID-19 related concerns and therefore in the vulnerability to the psychosocial effects of the pandemic (Mertens, Gerritsen, et al., 2020; Taylor et al., 2021; Vos et al., 2021).”
From The association between facets of mindfulness and COVID-19 related distress: A cross-sectional study (2023) · cites this paper as Mertens, Gerritsen, et al., 2020
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“Children with chronic illnesses appear especially vulnerable to IU’s adverse effects (Mertens et al., 2020).”
From Intolerance of Uncertainty and Health-Related Anxiety in Youth amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Understanding and Weathering the Continuing Storm (2022) · cites this paper as Mertens et al., 2020
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“A potential risk factor for the mental health consequences of COVID-19 could be enhanced fear related to the virus (Mertens, Gerritsen, et al., 2020; Taylor et al., 2020b).”
From The association between facets of mindfulness and COVID-19 related distress: A cross-sectional study (2023) · cites this paper as Mertens, Gerritsen, et al., 2020
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“Most of these studies also detected a link between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety (Mertens et al., 2020) and, to a lesser extent, depression, using both the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Ahorsu et al., 2020; Alyami et al., 2020) and the Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21).”
From Fear of COVID-19, Stress, and Anxiety in University Undergraduate Students: A Predictive Model for Depression (2020) · cites this paper as Mertens et al., 2020
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“…placed focus on the impact of the pandemic on individuals (Fernandez-Aranda et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020; Qiu et al., 2020; Pierce et al., 2020; Mertens et al., 2020; Mazza et al., 2020; Young Minds, 2020; Mind, 2020; RCPsych, 2020; Cheung, Fong & Bressington, 2020), with less focus on how it…”
BackgroundLatent profile analysis of COVID-19 fear, depression, anxiety, stress, mindfulness, and resilience
Yalçın, İ., Can, N., Çalışır, Ö. M., Yalçın, S., & Çolak, B. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01667-x · Cited by 103
Validation of the Impact of Event Scale With Modifications for COVID-19 (IES-COVID19)
Vanaken, L., Scheveneels, S., Belmans, E., & Hermans, D. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00738 · Cited by 100
“Mertens and colleagues (2020) conducted an online study three days after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic (15).”
BackgroundFactors Related to COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors: A Structural Equation Model
Šuriņa, S., Mārtinsone, K., Perepjolkina, V., Koļesņikova, J., Vainik, U., Ruža, A., Vrubļevska, J., Smirnova, D. A., Fountoulakis, K. Ν., & Rancāns, E. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.676521 · Cited by 113
“Consequently, the results of other studies (Al-Rasheed, 2020; Gerritsenb, 2020; Harper et al., 2020; Mertens et al., 2020) and the results of our study also emphasize the importance of fear as a threat assessment and a contributing factor to preventive behavior.”
ResultChen, X., Rahman, M. K., Rana, M. S., Gazi, M. A. I., Rahaman, M. A., & Nawi, N. C. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.760051 · Cited by 89
Assessing the Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 in Undergraduate Medical Students
Guo, A. A., Crum, M., & Fowler, L. A. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18062952 · Cited by 84
Korkmaz, H., & Güloğlu, B. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110952 · Cited by 98
“The uncertain and continuous threat during the COVID-19 outbreak can cause the fear to become chronic and severe (Mertens et al., 2020).”
BackgroundMindfulness practice for protecting mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Zhu, J. L., Schülke, R., Vatansever, D., Xi, D., Yan, J., Zhao, H., Xie, X., Feng, J., Chen, M. Y., Sahakian, B. J., et al. (2021) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-021-01459-8 · Cited by 83
The Impact of Scarcity on Consumers’ Impulse Buying Based on the S-O-R Theory
Zhang, J., Jiang, N., Turner, J. J., & Pahlevansharif, S. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.792419 · Cited by 170
Radwan, E., Radwan, A., & Radwan, W. (2020) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05807 · Cited by 111
Lee, Y., Malcein, L. A., & Kim, S. C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18073571 · Cited by 90
“An online study conducted in mid-March 2020 investigated the relationships among fear of COVID-19, intolerance of uncertainty, worry, anxiety, personal relevance of the threat, and media exposure (sources of COVID-19 information); results indicated that media exposure through regular and social media, tendency to worr…”
BackgroundPak, H., Süsen, Y., Nazlıgül, M. D., & Griffiths, M. D. (2021) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-021-00489-z · Cited by 83
Huerta, C. M., & Utomo, A. (2021) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102606 · Cited by 80
“For example, Mertens et al. (2020) have conducted an online survey (N = 439) to identify predictors of fear of the coronavirus across cross-country respondents recruited through targeted advertisements on Facebook.”
Schweda, A., Weismüller, B., Bäuerle, A., Dörrie, N., Musche, V., Fink, M., Dinse, H., Teufel, M., & Skoda, E. (2020) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2020.152218 · Cited by 80
Krampe, H., Danbolt, L. J., Haver, A., Stålsett, G., & Schnell, T. (2021) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03418-5 · Cited by 87
Chiu, W., Oh, G., & Cho, H. (2021) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.1998 · Cited by 83
“Among various emotional responses that this pandemic situation evokes, fear is studied as a major emotional outcome of the current pandemic situation (Mertens et al., 2020; Schimmenti et al., 2020) or for its role in preventive health behaviors (Harper et al.”
BackgroundInfluentialSharma, M., Kaushal, D., & Joshi, S. (2023) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103256 · Cited by 115
Millroth, P., & Frey, R. (2021) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102454 · Cited by 88
Mertens, G., Duijndam, S., Smeets, T., & Lodder, P. (2021) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102415 · Cited by 78
Self-citationOchnik, D., Rogowska, A. M., Kuśnierz, C., Jakubiak, M., Schütz, A., Held, M. J., Arzenšek, A., Benatov, J., Berger, R., Korchagina, E. V., et al. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm10132882 · Cited by 80
“Regular searching for additional information concerning the coronavirus turned out to be a risk factor related to the fear of the coronavirus [51].”
BackgroundMajeed, M., Irshad, M., Fatima, T., Khan, J., & Hassan, M. M. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.557987 · Cited by 73
Lee, D., Kim, Y.-J., Lee, D., Hwang, H.-H., Nam, S.-K., & Kim, J.-Y. (2020) · THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY · doi:10.23844/kjcp.2020.11.32.4.2119 · Cited by 75
Factors associated with preventive behaviors for COVID-19 among adolescents in South Korea
Park, S., & Oh, S. (2021) · Journal of Pediatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2021.07.006 · Cited by 76
The Negative Impact of Social Media during COVID-19 Pandemic
Lelisho, M. E., Pandey, D., Alemu, B. D., Pandey, B. K., & Tareke, S. A. (2022) · Trends in Psychology · doi:10.1007/s43076-022-00192-5 · Cited by 83
Stănculescu, E. (2021) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00428-4 · Cited by 77
“…to the cognitive aspects, studies have examined various psychological correlates such as personality characteristics, namely, intolerance of uncertainty (Mertens et al. 2020; Satici et al. 2020b), nervousness (Sakib et al. 2020) and behaviour change and political beliefs (Winter et al. 2020).”
BackgroundAhmed, R. R., Štreimikienė, D., & Štreimikis, J. (2021) · Journal of Business Economics and Management · doi:10.3846/jbem.2021.15664 · Cited by 71
Giesbrecht, G. F., Rojas, L., Patel, S., Kuret, V., MacKinnon, A., Tomfohr‐Madsen, L. M., & Lebel, C. A. (2021) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.057 · Cited by 71
Riva, G., Bernardelli, L., Browning, M. H. E. M., Castelnuovo, G., Cavedoni, S., Chirico, A., Cipresso, P., de Paula, D. M. B., Di Lernia, D., Fernández-Álvarez, J., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.563319 · Cited by 72
Wang, S., Cheah, J.-H., Lim, X.-J., Leong, Y. C., & Choo, W. C. (2022) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102843 · Cited by 70
Intolerance of uncertainty over COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on anxiety and depressive symptoms
del Valle, M. V., Andrés, M. L., Urquijo, S., Avincetto, M. M. Y., López‐Morales, H., & Juric, L. C. (2020) · Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology · doi:10.30849/ripijp.v54i2.1335 · Cited by 74
Cori, L., Curzio, O., Adorni, F., Prinelli, F., Noale, M., Trevisan, C., Fortunato, L., Giacomelli, A., & Bianchi, F. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18063248 · Cited by 72
“Other studies revealed that fear is an adaptive response in the presence of danger and can become chronic and burdensome when the threat is uncertain and continuous, as in the case of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic [14].”
BackgroundBenke, C., Autenrieth, L. K., Asselmann, E., & Pané-Farré, C. A. (2023) · European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.1007/s00406-022-01400-0 · Cited by 69
“Moreover, financial and job insecurities as well as worries about people’s own health and the health of loved ones might have led to increased distress [4, 5].”
BackgroundUsing Fear and Anxiety Related to COVID-19 to Predict Cyberchondria: Cross-sectional Survey Study
Wu, X., Nazari, N., & Griffiths, M. D. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/26285 · Cited by 74
“In addition, individuals with a higher level of intolerance of uncertainty exhibit prospective anxiety due to dispositional fear of unknown future events [31,32].”
Metadata
- Authors
- Mertens, G., Gerritsen, L., Duijndam, S., Salemink, E., & Engelhard, I. M.
- Affiliations
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Tilburg University (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Mertens, Gaëtan
- Venue
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-08
- Volume
- 74
- Pages
- 102258
- ISSN
- 0887-6185 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7286280
- OpenAlex
- W3020284447
- Cited by
- 1,264
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 120 · 2023: 209 · 2022: 350 · 2021: 410 · 2020: 100
- FWCI
- 106.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research portal (Tilburg University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
- Keywords
- fear of COVID-19, COVID-19 pandemic, predictors of fear, health anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, worry, media exposure, social media use, personal relevance, safety behavior, economic impact
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pneumonia, Viral, Surveys and Questionnaires, Stress, Psychological, Coronavirus Infections, Internet, Uncertainty, Young Adult, Pandemics, Social Media
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