Pandemic fatigue and depressive symptoms among college students in the COVID-19 context: indirect effects through sense of control and intolerance of uncertainty

Abstract

Pandemic fatigue, the state of weariness, exhaustion, and demotivation to engage in protective behaviors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, have been linked with depressive symptoms. However, the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear. Based on the stress process model, the present study examined the indirect effects of pandemic fatigue on depressive symptoms through the indirect roles of sense of control and intolerance of uncertainty. Data were collected from 1,162 Chinese undergraduate and postgraduate students (Mage = 21.61 years old, SD = 2.81, 64.29% women) through electronic questionnaires. The pandemic fatigue scale, the personal mastery scale, the short version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, and the Depression subscale of the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scales were employed. Indirect effects were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results revealed that pandemic fatigue related to COVID-19 was positively associated with depressive symptoms through (a) sense of control; (b) intolerance of uncertainty; and (c) a sequential pathway from sense of control to intolerance of uncertainty. The findings expand the application of the stress process model to the context of COVID-19 and deepen the understanding of pandemic fatigue—depressive symptoms link with considering the indirect roles of sense of control and intolerance of uncertainty. Psychological distress in the context of COVID-19 could be alleviated by the interventions on strengthening sense of control and tolerance of uncertainty and lessening the adverse effects of pandemic fatigue.