Psychological Distress and Perceived Stress Outcomes of Anxieties Related to COVID-19 and Russia’s Attack on Ukraine

Abstract

In recent years, European societies have been faced with an enormous challenge when the ongoing struggle of the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the biggest military conflict in the region since World War II, namely Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine. As such crises can have a substantial impact on mental health, it is crucial to follow their effect on the population, especially in the circumstances of multiple coexisting threats. Two studies examined the association of COVID-19 anxiety and war-related anxiety with mental health in Finnish population. We found that COVID-19 anxiety and anxiety over Russia’s attack on Ukraine were associated with psychological distress and perceived stress. Moreover, we found an interaction effect on psychological distress consistently in two samples, showing that participants who reported higher COVID-19 and war-related anxiety experienced higher psychological distress. These results show the especially heavy burden that these serious coinciding crises have on the mental health of the population. The findings of the current study provide directions for future research and have implications for practitioners and decision makers alike.