Pandemic fatigue and depressive symptoms among college students in the COVID-19 context: indirect effects through sense of control and intolerance of uncertainty
Open accessAbstract
Pandemic fatigue, the state of weariness, exhaustion, and demotivation to engage in protective behaviors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, have been linked with depressive symptoms. However, the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear. Based on the stress process model, the present study examined the indirect effects of pandemic fatigue on depressive symptoms through the indirect roles of sense of control and intolerance of uncertainty. Data were collected from 1,162 Chinese undergraduate and postgraduate students (Mage = 21.61 years old, SD = 2.81, 64.29% women) through electronic questionnaires. The pandemic fatigue scale, the personal mastery scale, the short version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, and the Depression subscale of the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scales were employed. Indirect effects were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results revealed that pandemic fatigue related to COVID-19 was positively associated with depressive symptoms through (a) sense of control; (b) intolerance of uncertainty; and (c) a sequential pathway from sense of control to intolerance of uncertainty. The findings expand the application of the stress process model to the context of COVID-19 and deepen the understanding of pandemic fatigue—depressive symptoms link with considering the indirect roles of sense of control and intolerance of uncertainty. Psychological distress in the context of COVID-19 could be alleviated by the interventions on strengthening sense of control and tolerance of uncertainty and lessening the adverse effects of pandemic fatigue.
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IU mediated the effect of fatigue related to COVID-19 on depressive symptoms.
“IU also mediated the effect of fatigue related to COVID-19 on depressive symptoms [101]”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [101]
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- Authors
- Wu, Q., Zhang, T.-M., Wang, X., & Zhang, Y.
- Affiliations
- Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai (CN)
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- Shenzhen University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zhang, Yan
- Venue
- BMC Psychology
- Published
- 2024-01-11
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 21-21
- ISSN
- 2050-7283 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10785367
- OpenAlex
- W4390755224
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 5.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- BMC Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- the Guangdong Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science (GD22YXL01)
- Start-Up Fund of Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai (310432101)
- the National Social Science Fund of China (20CSH028, 21CSH090)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- pandemic fatigue, depressive symptoms, perceived control, intolerance of uncertainty, stress process model, university students, COVID-19 pandemic, psychological distress, protective behavior, Chinese university students
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Anxiety, Depression, Fatigue, Female, Humans, Internal-External Control, Male, Students, Uncertainty, Young Adult, Pandemics
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