Posttraumatic stress disorder and adjustment disorder  during the coronavirus pandemic: the effects of coping  behavior and health fear.

The current coronavirus pandemic is related to psychological problems, such as health fear. Health fear is the anxiety of getting ill and is related to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder. People use coping behavior to manage psychological demands. Positive coping behavior, such as using humor and planning, was related to less symptoms of PTSD and adjustment disorder in nurses during the current pandemic and the SARS epidemic. The aim of this study was to investigate whether positive coping behavior significantly moderated the relationship between health fear and symptoms of PTSD and adjustment disorder during the current coronavirus pandemic. This study was part of an international longitudinal study. A total of 2141 inhabitants of the Netherlands were included. Health fear was measured using a questionnaire that was developed for this study. Furthermore, the “Adjustment Disorder – New Module 8”, the “Primary Care PTSD screen for DSM-5” and the ...Show moreThe current coronavirus pandemic is related to psychological problems, such as health fear. Health fear is the anxiety of getting ill and is related to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder. People use coping behavior to manage psychological demands. Positive coping behavior, such as using humor and planning, was related to less symptoms of PTSD and adjustment disorder in nurses during the current pandemic and the SARS epidemic. The aim of this study was to investigate whether positive coping behavior significantly moderated the relationship between health fear and symptoms of PTSD and adjustment disorder during the current coronavirus pandemic. This study was part of an international longitudinal study. A total of 2141 inhabitants of the Netherlands were included. Health fear was measured using a questionnaire that was developed for this study. Furthermore, the “Adjustment Disorder – New Module 8”, the “Primary Care PTSD screen for DSM-5” and the “Pandemic Coping Scale” were used. The results were analyzed using linear regressions. The results showed that more health fear was related to more symptoms of PTSD and adjustment disorder. No significant effect was found for the relation between coping behavior and symptoms of PTSD and adjustment disorder. Positive coping behavior did not significantly moderate the relationship between health fear and symptoms of PTSD and adjustment disorder. Interventions that reduce fear, including yoga and mindfulness, could be helpful to the population. Future studies could investigate whether health fear is a predictive factor for symptoms of PTSD and adjustment disorder.Show less

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Posttraumatic stress disorder and adjustment disorder during the coronavirus pandemic: the effects of coping behavior and health fear.