Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x24gv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-01T13:23:51.905Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The occurrence of symptoms of fear of COVID-19 among participants of the Polish University of the Third Age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

M. Cybulski ,
U. Cwalina  and
E. Krajewska-Kulak
M. Cybulski*
Affiliation:
Medical University of Bialystok, Department Of Integrated Medical Care, Bialystok, Poland
U. Cwalina
Affiliation:
Medical University of Bialystok, Department Of Statistics And Medical Informatics, Bialystok, Poland
E. Krajewska-Kulak
Affiliation:
Medical University of Bialystok, Department Of Integrated Medical Care, Bialystok, Poland
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

The older adults have been considered one of the groups at highest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and death due to COVID-19. Fear of SARS-CoV-2 infections has become widespread. It’s constantly being enhanced by the media reports and social distancing principle.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to assessment the occurrence of symptoms of fear of COVID-19 among participants of the Polish University of the Third Age (UTA).

Methods

The study included 296 participants of the UTA in Poland, including 258 women and 38 men. The study conducted with the use of the following validated psychometric scales: General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

Results

The mean scores in STAI and SHAI demonstrated mild symptoms indicative of anxiety disorders in the older adults. Women and men did differ significantly in terms of the scores obtained in STAI(X-1) (p=0.002) and STAI(X-2) (p=0.020). There were no statistically significant differences between respondents with higher education and those with a different level of education. The single respondents differed significantly from divorced ones in terms of STAI(X-1) (p=0.046). Moreover, widows/widowers differed significantly from divorced ones in terms of STAI(X-2) (p=0.045) and GAD-7 (p=0.032).

Conclusions

The subjective experience of anxiety symptoms associated with fear of contracting COVID-19 was increased due to the ongoing pandemic, but was not significantly high in the analysed population of older people. COVID-19-related anxiety was significantly more common in lonely individuals. Women and men differed significantly in terms of perceived state anxiety and trait anxiety measured by STAI.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

fearCovid-19Older AdultsAnxiety
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S655
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.