Across the COVID-19 Waves; Assessing Temporal Fluctuations in Perceived Stress, Post-Traumatic Symptoms, Worry, Anxiety and Civic-Moral Disengagement Over One Year of Pandemic

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the psychological effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, by analysing the trends of Perceives stress, Post-traumatic symptoms, State anxiety, Worry, and Civic moral disengagement during four times, from March 2020, to March 2021.Methods: The study involved total of 1827 Italian participants (30% Men and 70% Women; Mage = 34·72; SD = 12·40), divided in four groups, to which an online survey including several self-report measures was administered. The first group (N = 814; Men and 68% Women; Mage = 35·85; SD = 12·38) completed the survey in March 2020; the second one (N = 523; % Men and 74% Women; Mage = 32·87; SD = 10·55) in August 2020, the third one (N = 250; % Men and 61% Women; Mage = 36·57; SD = 14·57) in November 2020; the fourth one (N = 240; 23% Men and 77% Women; Mage = 33·00; SD = 13·80) in March 2021.Outcomes: Results highlighted significant decreases in Post-traumatic symptoms, State anxiety, Worry, and a significant increase in Civic moral disengagement over first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The levels of Perceived stress remained constant.Interpretation: The COVID-19 emergency has significant effects on the mental state of the population, with important repercussions for individual and collective well-being during, but also after, the pandemic. This study offers a clear snapshot of the psychological outcomes over a COVID-19 pandemic year, providing important information that may contribute to tailor more effective intervention for mental health.Funding Statement: This research received no external funding.Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.Ethics Approval Statement: Procedures were carried out according to current ethical guidelines and were approved by the Ethical Committee of the Integrated Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Institute (IPPI; ethical approval number 001/2020).