Cabin Fever and Psychological Problems during a COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

Cabin fever has been reported to have a deleterious impact on mental health in the COVID-19 literature. In this COVID-19 lockdown Survey Monkey study, as many as 75% of 260 respondents reported feeling cabin fever. Demographic correlations suggested that cabin fever occurred more frequently in non-Hispanic white participants. The significant correlations for the scales suggested that those experiencing feelings of cabin fever engaged in fewer health activities like self-care, feeling spiritual, and liking being at home; they spent more time on the internet including receiving and sending messages about the virus; they scored higher on the Stress Scale including worrying about the virus and their finances; they reported feeling more isolated, lonely, bored, and touch deprived; and they presented with higher scores on anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and PTSD scales. A regression analysis suggested that 44% of the variance in the cabin fever scores was explained by the stress and fatigue scale scores. The generalizability of these results is limited by the homogeneity of the sample (predominantly non-Hispanic white females). Nevertheless, they highlight the negative effects of feelings of cabin fever during a COVID-19 lockdown.