Anxiety at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations between Health Anxiety, COVID-19 Anxiety, and Preventative Behaviors

Author

Lauren ElmoreFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-8-2022

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Laura Dixon

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Following the emergence of COVID-19, there was a significant increase in mental health issues (Shahyad & Mohammadi, 2020). Anxiety was of note (Salari et al., 2020), and preventative behaviors typical of health anxiety were prevalent. Health anxiety is the phenomenon of interpreting benign bodily sensations as symptoms of a more serious disease and is often accompanied with disproportionate thoughts of anxiety. Little work has examined the association between COVID-19 anxiety and health anxiety. The aims of this study were to: 1) characterize COVID-related anxiety symptoms, and 2) examine the bivariate associations of COVID-19 anxiety, health anxiety, and COVID-19 preventative behaviors among college students. We predicted higher health anxiety would be positively associated with COVID-19 anxiety and engagement in preventative behaviors. The sample included 263 participants (19.57 M_age; 63.9% Female; 75.7% White) who were recruited through the psychology research pool at the University of Mississippi. Individuals participated in an online study and responded to self-report measures in the initial phase of the pandemic. In this sample, 6.5% reported clinical levels of health anxiety symptoms. Results indicated a significant positive correlation between COVID-19 anxiety and health anxiety symptoms. COVID-19 anxiety also showed a significant positive correlation with preventive behaviors. However, there was no significant association detected between COVID-19 preventative behaviors and health anxiety symptoms. Results suggest that while associated, COVID-19 anxiety and health anxiety appear to be measuring different attributes of anxiety. Understanding these distinctions is important for treatment purposes, as the behavioral presentation of these two constructs may not align fully and should be carefully assessed. Additionally, though generally adaptive, engagement in preventative behaviors for a prolonged period along with subsequent prolonged anxiety may contribute to long-term distress.

Recommended Citation

Elmore, Lauren, "Anxiety at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations between Health Anxiety, COVID-19 Anxiety, and Preventative Behaviors" (2022). Honors Theses. 2660.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2660

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.