Does awareness of COVID-19 matter? Investigating the effect of fear of COVID-19 and stress on subjective well-being

Abstract This study investigates the effect of fear of COVID-19 on subjective well-being via the mediating role of perceived stress. The moderating role of awareness of COVID-19 on the mediation model is also tested. This study employed a longitudinal correlation design with a three-wave data collection technique. The data were collected using a snowballing sampling technique where participants were recruited through online advertisements. Finally, 345 responses were included in the analysis after dropping participants who did not fully complete the study and failed the attention check items. The measures included fear of COVID-19, perceived stress, subjective well-being and awareness of COVID-19 and were administered using an online survey platform. The results suggested that fear of COVID-19 adversely impacted subjective well-being while perceived stress partially mediated the relationship. Additionally, awareness of COVID-19 moderated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress. The effect of fear of COVID-19 on perceived stress was more positive for those who had high awareness of COVID-19, consequently lowering subjective well-being. This study is among a few studies investigating a mechanism that explains the effect of fear of COVID-19 on subjective well-being.

[1]  B. Penninx,et al.  How COVID-19 shaped mental health: from infection to pandemic effects , 2022, Nature Medicine.

[2]  Michael Y. Ni,et al.  Mental disorders following COVID-19 and other epidemics: a systematic review and meta-analysis , 2022, Translational Psychiatry.

[3]  S. Peeta,et al.  Evaluating the impacts of situational awareness and mental stress on takeover performance under conditional automation , 2021, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour.

[4]  A. Metin,et al.  The Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19 and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress , 2021, European Psychologist.

[5]  Hanjia Lyu,et al.  The Influence of COVID-19 on the Well-Being of People: Big Data Methods for Capturing the Well-Being of Working Adults and Protective Factors Nationwide , 2021, Frontiers in Psychology.

[6]  R. Karasneh,et al.  Impact of social media on public fear, adoption of precautionary behaviors, and compliance with health regulations during COVID-19 pandemic , 2021, International journal of environmental health research.

[7]  Remya Lathabhavan,et al.  Examining the Mediating Effects of Stress on Fear of COVID-19 and Well-being Using Structural Equation Modeling , 2021, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

[8]  A. Hjern,et al.  Impact of lockdown and school closure on children’s health and well-being during the first wave of COVID-19: a narrative review , 2021, BMJ Paediatrics Open.

[9]  Oli Ahmed,et al.  Relationship between the fear of COVID-19 disease and sleep quality: the mediating role of stress , 2021, Heliyon.

[10]  Ruobing Li.  Fear of COVID-19: What Causes Fear and How Individuals Cope with It , 2021, Health communication.

[11]  D. Ivanec,et al.  Predictors of emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic; a Croatian study , 2021, Personality and Individual Differences.

[12]  Kelly-Ann Allen,et al.  Exploring the association between coronavirus stress, meaning in life, psychological flexibility, and subjective well-being  , 2021, Psychology, health & medicine.

[13]  L. Labrague,et al.  The impact of fear of COVID-19 on job stress, and turnover intentions of frontline nurses in the community: A cross-sectional study in the Philippines. , 2021 .

[14]  Ö. Özer,et al.  Investigation of COVID-19 Fear, Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in Turkish Society , 2021, Social work in public health.

[15]  B. Zarzycka,et al.  Risk of Contracting COVID-19, Personal Resources and Subjective Well-Being among Healthcare Workers: The Mediating Role of Stress and Meaning-Making , 2021, Journal of clinical medicine.

[16]  T. Widyastuti,et al.  Study on awareness of COVID‐19 and compliance with social distancing during COVID‐19 pandemic in Indonesia , 2020, Journal of community psychology.

[17]  H. Tamim,et al.  Media Exposure and Health Behavior during Pandemics: The Mediating Effect of Perceived Knowledge and Fear on Compliance with COVID-19 Prevention Measures , 2020, Health communication.

[18]  L. Miller,et al.  The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s mental health , 2020, Archives of Women's Mental Health.

[19]  Christian U. Krägeloh,et al.  Effects of Fear of COVID-19 on Mental Well-Being and Quality of Life among Saudi Adults: A Path Analysis , 2020, Saudi journal of medicine & medical sciences.

[20]  C. Rousseau,et al.  Protecting Youth Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Challenging Engagement and Learning Process. , 2020, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[21]  Connie R. Wanberg,et al.  Socioeconomic status and well-being during COVID-19: A resource-based examination. , 2020, The Journal of applied psychology.

[22]  A. Blom,et al.  The COVID-19 pandemic and subjective well-being: longitudinal evidence on satisfaction with work and family , 2020 .

[23]  M. Grindle,et al.  A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: implications for supporting psychological well-being , 2020, BMC Public Health.

[24]  M. Sharma,et al.  COVID-19 and Mental Well-Being: Guidance on the Application of Behavioral and Positive Well-Being Strategies , 2020, Healthcare.

[25]  M. Huecker,et al.  The Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Worker Wellness: A Scoping Review , 2020, The western journal of emergency medicine.

[26]  E. Robinson,et al.  Psychological distress and adaptation to the COVID-19 crisis in the United States , 2020, Journal of Psychiatric Research.

[27]  J. Lyne,et al.  Mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic , 2020, Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine.

[28]  M. Benros,et al.  COVID-19 pandemic and mental health consequences: Systematic review of the current evidence , 2020, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

[29]  Kyoo-Man Ha.  A Lesson Learned from the Outbreak of COVID-19 in Korea , 2020, Indian Journal of Microbiology.

[30]  K. R. Nayar,et al.  COVID 19 and its mental health consequences , 2020, Journal of mental health.

[31]  L. Delaney,et al.  Daily emotional well‐being during the COVID‐19 pandemic , 2020, British journal of health psychology.

[32]  J. Lantos,et al.  Lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic , 2020, Acta paediatrica.

[33]  B. Pfefferbaum,et al.  Mental Health and the Covid-19 Pandemic. , 2020, The New England journal of medicine.

[34]  B. Kelly,et al.  Mental health in the Covid-19 pandemic , 2020, QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians.

[35]  A. Pakpour,et al.  The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and Initial Validation , 2020, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

[36]  G. Fernando,et al.  Development and Initial Validation of a Multidimensional Scale Assessing Subjective Well-Being: The Well-Being Scale (WeBS) , 2018, Psychological reports.

[37]  J. Halbesleben,et al.  Conservation of Resources in the Organizational Context: The Reality of Resources and Their Consequences , 2018 .

[38]  Dimity A. Crisp,et al.  Examining coping style and the relationship between stress and subjective well‐being in Australia's ‘sandwich generation’ , 2017, Australasian journal on ageing.

[39]  A. Macaskill,et al.  Stress and Subjective Well-Being Among First Year UK Undergraduate Students , 2017 .

[40]  Richard E. Lucas,et al.  National accounts of subjective well-being. , 2015, The American psychologist.

[41]  Mica R. Endsley,et al.  Final Reflections , 2015 .

[42]  A. Hayes.  Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach , 2013 .

[43]  Elizabeth M. Poposki,et al.  Detecting and Deterring Insufficient Effort Responding to Surveys , 2012 .

[44]  Prashanth Ak,et al.  Toward an Economy of Well-Being , 2010, Science.

[45]  E. Erdfelder,et al.  Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses , 2009, Behavior research methods.

[46]  Gene L. Theodori,et al.  Examining the Effects of Community Satisfaction and Attachment on Individual Well‐Being* , 2009 .

[47]  G. Pappas,et al.  Psychosocial consequences of infectious diseases , 2009, Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

[48]  Benjamin Radcliff,et al.  Welfare Policy and Subjective Well-Being Across Nations: An Individual-Level Assessment , 2008 .

[49]  Edgar Erdfelder,et al.  G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences , 2007, Behavior research methods.

[50]  R. Dybdahl,et al.  The possible benefits of difficulty: how stress can increase and decrease subjective well-being. , 2006, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[51]  D. Reddihough,et al.  Perceived stress, perceived social support, and wellbeing among mothers of school‐aged children with cerebral palsy , 2006, Journal of intellectual & developmental disability.

[52]  Stevan E. Hobfoll,et al.  ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS THROUGH THE LENS OF CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES (COR) THEORY , 2004 .

[53]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[54]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Situation Awareness and Workload in Aviation , 2002 .

[55]  S. Hobfoll.  The Influence of Culture, Community, and the Nested-Self in the Stress Process: Advancing Conservation of Resources Theory , 2001 .

[56]  E. Diener,et al.  Factors predicting the subjective well-being of nations. , 1995, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[57]  C. Keyes,et al.  The structure of psychological well-being revisited. , 1995, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[58]  Mica R. Endsley,et al.  Toward a Theory of Situation Awareness in Dynamic Systems , 1995, Hum. Factors.

[59]  D. Carroll,et al.  Stress, social support, and psychological and physical wellbeing in secondary school teachers , 1994 .

[60]  A. Waterman.  Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. , 1993 .

[61]  Shelley E. Taylor,et al.  Asymmetrical effects of positive and negative events: the mobilization-minimization hypothesis. , 1991, Psychological bulletin.

[62]  S. Hobfoll.  Conservation of resources. A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. , 1989, The American psychologist.

[63]  E. Diener,et al.  Subjective well-being. , 1984, Psychological bulletin.

[64]  T. Kamarck,et al.  A global measure of perceived stress. , 1983, Journal of health and social behavior.

[65]  P. Warr.  A study of psychological well-being. , 1978, British journal of psychology.

[66]  R. Brislin.  Back-Translation for Cross-Cultural Research , 1970 .

[67]  Situational Awareness and Patient Safety. , 2017, AORN journal.

[68]  M. Endsley.  PROCEEDINGS OF THE HUMAN FACTORS SOCIETY-32nd ANNUAL MEETING1988 DESIGN AND EVALUATION FOR SITUATION AWARENESS ENHANCEMENT , 2011 .

[69]  William Tov,et al.  The Well-Being of Nations: Linking Together Trust, Cooperation, and Democracy , 2009 .

[70]  Michael Eid,et al.  The science of subjective well-being , 2008 .

[71]  Richard E. Lucas,et al.  Beyond the hedonic treadmill: revising the adaptation theory of well-being. , 2006, The American psychologist.

[72]  C. Ryff.  Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. , 1989 .