TY - JOUR
AU - Kiani, Pantea
AU - Hendriksen, Pauline A.
AU - Dijkgraaf, Dana M.
AU - Merlo, Agnese
AU - Zijlstra, Maureen N.
AU - Garssen, Johan
AU - Scholey, Andrew
AU - Verster, Joris C.
AU - Bruce, Gillian
PY - 2025
DA - November
TI - The impact of fear of COVID-19 on mood and health during the first COVID-19 lockdown period in The Netherlands
JO - COVID
VL - 5
IS - 11
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/covid5110186
AB - Background: Fear of COVID-19 has been associated with adverse mental and physical health outcomes, yet evidence from The Netherlands is limited. This study investigated associations between fear of COVID-19, mood, quality of life, immune fitness, and related health variables during the first Dutch national lockdown and identified key predictors of fear.  Methods: In June–July 2020, n = 1020 Dutch adults completed an online survey assessing demographics, personality, mental resilience, pain sensitivity, pain catastrophizing, alcohol use, immune fitness, and mood. Retrospective ratings were provided for the pre-pandemic period (January–March 2020) and the first lockdown (March–May 2020). Fear of COVID-19 was measured using a modified Fear of COVID-19 Scale.  Results: Overall, 13.2% of participants reported significant fear of COVID-19, which was associated with poorer mood, reduced quality of life, lower immune fitness, more severe COVID-19 symptoms, greater pain sensitivity, and higher levels of pain catastrophizing. Regression analysis explained 19.6% of the variance, with pre-pandemic anxiety (8.7%) and poorer immune fitness (3.4%) as the strongest predictors of fear of COVID-19, followed by lower psychoticism, lower mental resilience, older age, greater helplessness, and greater extraversion.  Discussion: These findings suggest that a minority experienced high levels of fear of COVID-19 with substantial consequences, including negative effects on mood, immune fitness, and quality of life. The strong association with pre-existing anxiety and immune fitness highlights the need for early identification and targeted interventions for vulnerable groups to reduce psychological and physical health impacts in future public health crises.
PB - MDPI
UR - https://research-portal.uws.ac.uk/en/publications/74da35fd-a77d-490b-a9cf-9c6de68b6156
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Mental health and wellbeing
ER