Citation

Knowles KA, Olatunji BO. J. Anxiety Disord. 2020; 77: e102323.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102323

PMID

33137593

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has broadly increased anxiety and changed individual behavior. However, there is limited research examining predictors of pandemic-related changes, and the majority of existing research is cross-sectional in nature, which limits causal inference. Given functional links with disease avoidance processes, individual differences in contamination fear may be especially relevant in predicting responses to COVID-19.

Accordingly, the present study prospectively examines contamination fear and obsessive-compulsive washing symptoms as predictors of anxiety and safety behaviors in response to COVID-19 in a student sample (N = 108). To examine specificity, anxiety and safety behaviors in response to seasonal influenza are also examined. In the early stages of the pandemic (March 2020), coronavirus-related anxiety was higher than flu-related anxiety (d = 1.38). Obsessive-compulsive washing symptoms also increased from before the pandemic (d = 0.4). Although baseline contamination fear and obsessive-compulsive washing symptoms did not significantly predict coronavirus-related anxiety, contamination fear did significantly predict safety behavior usage in response to both COVID-19 and influenza.

The specificity of the prospective association between contamination fear and the use of safety behaviors are discussed in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the broader literature on the role of safety behaviors in anxiety.

Language: en

Keywords

Anxiety; COVID-19; Contamination fear; Safety behavior