Location
Philadelphia, PA
Start Date
10-5-2021 12:00 AM
End Date
13-5-2021 12:00 AM
Description
The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first recognized in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The World Health Organization Emergency Committee declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a global health emergency and a pandemic in early 2020. Due to the lack of unequivocally effective methods of treatment for the coronavirus disease, governments enforced nonpharmacological interventions to decrease the transmission of the coronavirus including social distancing, isolation, and shelter in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. The scale of the pandemic, the speed of the spread, and high mortality rate created a sense of panic, stress, and helplessness among individuals worldwide. COVID-19 has been described as a killer virus, which has created a sense of danger and anxiety. This stressful unpredicted event prevented people from going to work, being active, and performing their daily tasks. This, combined with conflicted messages from authorities, caused worsening of mental health in individuals with a previous history of psychological illness. The use of mental health and suicide prevention helplines increased drastically during the current pandemic (Armour et al., 2020). The purpose of this study is to assess the link between anxiety and obsession over COVID-19 among individuals with a previous history of mental health conditions. It is hypothesized that anxiety, anxious thoughts, and coronavirus reassurance-seeking behaviors may be significantly higher among individuals with a history of previous trauma than individuals without a history of trauma. It is also hypothesized that individuals with prior trauma experienced trauma-related stress due to anxiety over the coronavirus more significantly than individuals without a history of trauma exposure. In addition, potential factors, such as age and gender that may contribute to or mitigate mental health burden's effects will be explored. The sample will consist of participants with and without a history of a mental health condition. They will be asked to complete online the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale, the Obsession with COVID-19 Scale, and the Coronavirus Reassurance Seeking- Behaviors Scale. Mental health professionals and policy makers should be aware of the adverse effects of enforced nonpharmacological interventions to stop the pandemic on society. Results from this study will contribute to the research toward creating new interventions that would include awareness of challenging experiences and facilitate the acceptance of unpleasant pandemic memories and adaptation to a “new normal” life.
Embargo Period
6-14-2021
Psychological impact of COVID-19 on individuals with prior trauma
Philadelphia, PA
The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first recognized in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The World Health Organization Emergency Committee declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a global health emergency and a pandemic in early 2020. Due to the lack of unequivocally effective methods of treatment for the coronavirus disease, governments enforced nonpharmacological interventions to decrease the transmission of the coronavirus including social distancing, isolation, and shelter in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. The scale of the pandemic, the speed of the spread, and high mortality rate created a sense of panic, stress, and helplessness among individuals worldwide. COVID-19 has been described as a killer virus, which has created a sense of danger and anxiety. This stressful unpredicted event prevented people from going to work, being active, and performing their daily tasks. This, combined with conflicted messages from authorities, caused worsening of mental health in individuals with a previous history of psychological illness. The use of mental health and suicide prevention helplines increased drastically during the current pandemic (Armour et al., 2020). The purpose of this study is to assess the link between anxiety and obsession over COVID-19 among individuals with a previous history of mental health conditions. It is hypothesized that anxiety, anxious thoughts, and coronavirus reassurance-seeking behaviors may be significantly higher among individuals with a history of previous trauma than individuals without a history of trauma. It is also hypothesized that individuals with prior trauma experienced trauma-related stress due to anxiety over the coronavirus more significantly than individuals without a history of trauma exposure. In addition, potential factors, such as age and gender that may contribute to or mitigate mental health burden's effects will be explored. The sample will consist of participants with and without a history of a mental health condition. They will be asked to complete online the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale, the Obsession with COVID-19 Scale, and the Coronavirus Reassurance Seeking- Behaviors Scale. Mental health professionals and policy makers should be aware of the adverse effects of enforced nonpharmacological interventions to stop the pandemic on society. Results from this study will contribute to the research toward creating new interventions that would include awareness of challenging experiences and facilitate the acceptance of unpleasant pandemic memories and adaptation to a “new normal” life.