Pandemic Worries Research Articles

Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in COVID-19 Pandemic Worries.

Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores whether these disparities extend to the content of worries. We surveyed 1,222 participants from three metropolitan New York City (NYC) based cohorts through telephone interviews conducted from March to September 2020. Worries were assessed using 37 dichotomous questionnaire items, and exploratory factor analysis derived ten categories of worry. Factor scores were analyzed in generalized linear mixed models to examine their associations with race/ethnicity and household income, adjusting for covariates. The most prevalent worry items pertained to U.S. and world politics, American values, health concerns, and return to normalcy. Higher household income was associated with lower worry about economic needs, job/employment, and violence/victimization, while violence/victimization worries were strongly associated with Asian, Hispanic, Black, and multiracial or other race/ethnicity. During early COVID-19, lower-income and minoritized race and ethnic groups were disproportionately affected by economic and violence/victimization worries, whileother worries showed minor variations by income or race/ethnicity.

Observations of Positive Parenting from Online Parent–Child Interactions at Age 1

SYNOPSIS Objective. Brief, reliable, and cost-effective methods to assess parenting are critical for advancing parenting research. Design. We adapted the Three Bags task and Parent Child Interaction Rating System (PCIRS) for rating online visits with 219 parent–child dyads (White, n = 104 [47.5%], Black, n = 115 [52.5%]) and combined the video data with survey data collected during pregnancy and when children were aged 1. Results. The PCIRS codes of positive regard, stimulation of child cognitive development, and sensitivity showed high reliability across the three parent–child interaction tasks. A latent positive parenting factor combining ratings across codes and tasks showed good model fit, which was similar regardless of parent self-identified race or ethnicity, age, socioeconomic disadvantage, marital/partnered status, and parity, as well as methodological factors relevant to the online video assessment method (e.g., phone vs. laptop/tablet). In support of construct validity, observed positive parenting was related to parent-reported positive parenting and child socioemotional development. Finally, parent reports of supportive relationships in pregnancy but not neighborhood safety or pandemic worries, were prospectively related to higher positive parenting observed at age 1. With the exception of older parental age and married/partnered status, no other parent, child, sociodemographic, or methodological variables were related to higher overall video exclusions across tasks. Conclusions. PCIRS may provide a reliable approach to rate positive parenting at age 1, providing future avenues for developing more ecologically valid assessments and implementing interventions through online encounters that may be more acceptable, accessible, or preferred among parents of young children.

The Influence of Pandemic-Related Worries During Pregnancy on Child Development at 12 Months.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to increased risk for perinatal anxiety and depression among parents, as well as negative consequences for child development. Less is known about how worries arising from the pandemic during pregnancy are related to later child development, nor if resilience factors buffer negative consequences. The current study addresses this question in a prospective longitudinal design. Data was collected from a sub-study (n = 184) of a longitudinal study of pregnant individuals (total n = 1173). During pregnancy (April 17-July 8, 2020) and the early postpartum period (August 11, 2020-March 2, 2021), participants completed online surveys. At 12months postpartum (June 17, 2021-March 23, 2022), participants completed online surveys and a virtual laboratory visit, which included parent-child interaction tasks. We found more pregnancy-specific pandemic worries were prospectively related to lower levels of child socioemotional development based on parent report (B = - 1.13, SE = .43, p = .007) and observer ratings (B = - 0.13, SE = .07, p = .045), but not to parent-reported general developmental milestones. Parental emotion regulation in the early postpartum period moderated the association between pregnancy-specific pandemic worries and child socioemotional development such that pregnancy-specific pandemic worries did not relate to worse child socioemotional development among parents with high (B = - .02, SE = .10, t = - .14, p = .89) levels of emotion regulation. Findings suggest the negative consequences of parental worry and distress during pregnancy on the early socioemotional development of children in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results highlight that parental emotion regulation may represent a target for intervention to promote parental resilience and support optimized child development.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and previous natural disasters on the mental health of healthcare workers in Puerto Rico.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic worries (e.g., fear of contagion) and previous exposure to natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes) on Healthcare Workers (HCWs) mental health in Puerto Rico. Participants completed a self-administered online survey including items on sociodemographic information, working conditions, fears, and worries about the COVID-19 pandemic, past natural disaster experiences, depressive symptoms, and resilience. Logistic regressions models were performed to explain the relationship between depressive symptomatology and COVID-19 experiences and worries. 40.9% (n = 107) of the sample were classified as having some level (mild to severe) of depressive symptomatology (PHQ-8 ≥5). Results reflect normal to high levels of psychological resilience (BRS; M = 3.7, SD = 0.7). A significant association was found between depressive symptomatology and psychological resilience (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.25-0.77). The odds of having depressive symptomatology were almost five times higher (OR = 4.79, 95% CI: 1.71-13.44) among those who reported emotional coping difficulties during the pandemic after experiencing a natural disaster compared to those that did not, when adjusting for psychological resilience and residence region. Despite normal to high psychological resilience levels, HCWs who reported emotional coping difficulties due to previous disasters were at risk of developing depressive symptomatology. Results suggest interventions to address the mental health of HCWs could benefit from considering other individual and environmental factors beyond resilience. Findings could inform future interventions to promote HCWs' well-being before, during, and after a natural disaster or pandemic outbreak.

"You can't wash your hands in a house without running water": pandemic precautionary behaviors after Hurricane Laura.

Hurricane Laura made landfall in southwestern Louisiana in August 2020 while the world was several months into the COVID-19 pandemic. In the present research, we examined pandemic precautionary behaviors in a sample of adults who varied in exposure and damage due to Hurricane Laura, a destructive Category 4 hurricane. A total of 127 participants responded to an online survey that assessed pandemic worry and precautionary behaviors, hurricane exposure and damage, and health-related quality of life. We found that Hurricane Laura victims neglected pandemic precautionary behaviors at significantly higher levels in the weeks immediately following Hurricane Laura than did indirectly impacted control participants, although the two comparison groups did not differ in COVID-19 worry or adherence to precautionary pandemic behavior 14-22 months after Hurricane Laura made landfall. Older age was negatively correlated with COVID-19 worry prior to Hurricane Laura, which was unexpected given that older people in general were more vulnerable to COVID-19 by their membership in a high-risk group. Future directions for research on post-disaster vulnerabilities during a global pandemic are discussed.

Risk and protective factors for new-onset binge eating, low weight, and self-harm symptoms in >35,000 individuals in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with poor mental health, including increases in eating disorders and self-harm symptoms. We investigated risk and protective factors for the new onset of these symptoms during the pandemic. Data were from the COVID-19 Psychiatry and Neurological Genetics study and the Repeated Assessment of Mental health in Pandemics Study (n= 36,715). Exposures were socio-demographic characteristics, lifetime psychiatric disorder, and COVID-related variables, including SARS-CoV-2 infection/illness with COVID-19. We identified four subsamples of participants without pre-pandemic experience of our outcomes: binge eating (n= 24,211), low weight (n= 24,364), suicidal and/or self-harm ideation (n= 18,040), and self-harm (n= 29,948). Participants reported on our outcomes at frequent intervals (fortnightly to monthly). We fitted multiple logistic regression models to identify factors associated with the new onset of our outcomes. Within each subsample, new onset was reported by: 21% for binge eating, 10.8% for low weight, 23.5% for suicidal and/or self-harm ideation, and 3.5% for self-harm. Shared risk factors included having a lifetime psychiatric disorder, not being in paid employment, higher pandemic worry scores, and being racially minoritized. Conversely, infection with SARS-CoV-2/illness with COVID-19 was linked to lower odds of binge eating, low weight, and suicidal and/or self-harm ideation. Overall, we detected shared risk factors that may drive the comorbidity between eating disorders and self-harm. Subgroups of individuals with these risk factors may require more frequent monitoring during future pandemics. In a sample of 35,000 UK residents, people who had a psychiatric disorder, identified as being part of a racially minoritized group, were not in paid employment, or were more worried about the pandemic were more likely to experience binge eating, low weight, suicidal and/or self-harm ideation, and self-harm for the first time during the pandemic. People with these risk factors may need particular attention during future pandemics to enable early identification of new psychiatric symptoms.

The COVID-19 pandemic impact on wellbeing and mental health in people with psychotic and bipolar disorders.

IntroductionThe COVID‐19 pandemic affects people globally, but it may affect people with psychotic and bipolar disorders disproportionally. Our aims were to investigate the pandemic impact on perceived wellbeing and mental health in this population, including which pandemic‐related factors have had an impact.MethodsPeople with psychotic and bipolar disorders (N = 520; female = 81%; psychotic disorders n = 75/bipolar disorder n = 445) completed an online survey about wellbeing and mental health in the early phase of the COVID‐19 pandemic (June 5–July 5, 2020).ResultsMany participants experienced deteriorated wellbeing and mental health after the pandemic outbreak, especially in life satisfaction, meaning in life, positive feelings, depression, anxiety, and self‐harm/suicidal ideation. Experienced recovery from mental health difficulties was significantly lower after compared to before the outbreak. Participants with psychotic disorders had significantly poorer wellbeing and mental health than participants with bipolar disorders, although they experienced significantly more worsening only of psychotic symptoms. Nearly half the participants reported coping with the situation; however, most factors potentially important to wellbeing and mental health changed adversely, including sufficiency and quality of treatment. More loneliness, low coping, insufficient mental health treatment during the COVID‐19 pandemic, pandemic worry, more insomnia symptoms, and increased alcohol use predicted poor wellbeing and poor mental health.ConclusionsDuring a pandemic, it is particularly important that mental health services strive to offer the best possible treatment under the current conditions and target loneliness, coping strategies, pandemic worry, insomnia, and increased alcohol use to uphold wellbeing and reduce mental health difficulties. For some, teletherapy is an agreeable substitute for traditional therapy.

College students' compliance with government measures for social isolation and quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak: A focus on psychological predictors.

To contain the COVID-19 pandemic, government adopted several measures to restrict social contacts including isolation, quarantine, and limitations on movement from location to location around the country. To analyze the degree to which Italian college students agreed and complied with these measures and to determine if psychological variables have influenced compliance. We evaluated 6075 students concerning their agreement with the government's restrictions, as well as their health anxiety, trait positive and negative affect, and current symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. We performed MANOVAs, ANOVAs, path analysis, and binary logistic regressions. We found some differences in compliance with government restrictions concerning gender, geographic location, and major of study. Psychological variables did not play a significant role in predicting compliance with restriction measures and making a call for medical help. However, health anxiety predicted higher levels of worries about having contracted the virus. Based on our results, university-based interventions should primarily focus on males to foster compliance with government restriction during a pandemic, or health crisis. College students -Social Sciences students in particular -could benefit from counseling interventions to avoid the development of psychological disorders fueled by pandemic worries.

“THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON RETAIL INVESTORS' SPENDING AND INVESTMENT BEHAVIOUR”

The extraordinarily infectious sickness corona virus has had a worldwide effect within the twelve months of 2020. This unpredictable and remarkable calamity has pushed economies to battle and strive. Most of the sectors within the financial system were significantly hit, which caused significant financial strain. There is a paradigm shift within the round drift of earnings, which has affected the way of life and modified human beings' spending and funding behaviour. This looks at objectives to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged the economic decision-making and funding preferences of retail buyers. This study paper also researches the changes in the spending patterns of human beings for the duration of the lockdown because of COVID-19. A sample survey was performed via a based questionnaire to determine the effect of the pandemic on people's investment choices inside the town of the Pune region. A random sampling technique has been used to acquire the information for the study. The examine's findings display that human beings' existence and spending habits have changed significantly due to the pandemic worry and lockdown. The study additionally suggests that there has been a shift in the spending preferences of people toward healthy products and essentials.

Older Adults’ Worry about COVID-19: Associations with Experiences of COVID-19 Among Social Connections

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the physical and mental health of older adults, yet it is unknown how much older adults worry about their own exposure. As older adults are at increased risk for severe complications from COVID-19, understanding patterns of worry may inform public health guidelines and interventions for this age group. We investigated older adults’ worry about COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic and associations with familial/friend’s diagnosis or disease symptoms. Data comes from the baseline (April/May 2020), one-month, and two-month follow-up surveys from the COVID-19 Coping Study, a national longitudinal cohort study of US adults aged ≥55. We used linear regression models to investigate the association between self-reported familial/friend diagnosis or symptoms with pandemic worry, accounting for demographic factors and individual diagnosis or experience of COVID-19 symptoms. Participants (Baseline=4379, 1 month= 2553, 2 month=2682) were 67 years old on average, 72% were female, 5.7% were non-White, and 80.5% had a college degree. At baseline, 26.6% of participants had friends or family who had been diagnosed or experienced symptoms of COVID-19. Having friends or family diagnosed or with symptoms of COVID-19 (B=0.08, SE=0.04, p<.05), being female (B=0.42, SE=0.03, p<.001), and having higher educational attainment (B=0.06, SE=0.02, p<.001) were significantly associated with greater worry about COVID-19. These associations were consistent over 3 months. Understanding if worry about the pandemic correlates with following public health guidelines is a key next step so intervention strategies can prioritize older adults and their social networks.

Cross-Lagged Analysis of COVID-19-Related Worry and Media Consumption in a Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Sample of Community Adults.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in an array of mental health problems. Previous research has shown that media exposure to stressful situations is often related to anxiety and stress. However, given that most existing work has used cross-sectional designs, less is known about the interplay of media exposure and worry as they unfold during sustained exposure to a collective stressor. The current study examined bidirectional associations between COVID-related worry and media consumption over a three-month period. Participants were 87 community adults, the majority of whom were recruited from communities heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For three consecutive months, participants asked to indicate how much time they spent worrying and consuming news about the COVID-19 pandemic on a scale from 1 (“never”) to 5 (“most of the day”). Cross-lagged analyses revealed that Pandemic Worry at Month 1 predicted increases in Pandemic Media Consumption at Month 2, which in turn predicted increases in Pandemic Worry at Month 3. Findings suggest that media consumption may be a maladaptive coping strategy that has the iatrogenic effect of increasing worry. Clarifying the causal associations between anxiety-perpetuating processes and media consumption may have important clinical implications for understanding and treating mental health during health pandemics.

Mental health promotion in France during the Covid19 pandemic

Abstract Public Health France have put in place a psychobehavioural surveillance system quickly after the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020. Aside questions about people's perceptions about the pandemic (worry, perceived level of risk...), and their protective behaviours (social distancing, hand washing...), a module of questions on mental health (anxiety, depression and life satisfaction) was introduced. 22 rounds of this survey called CoviPrev have now been undertaken. This survey has been instrumental in raising the awareness by the government on the negative impacts of the pandemic on the mental health of the French population. We have designed, scientifically tested a media campaign to support the population's mental health. This campaign is now on air. This is the first national mental health media campaign since 2007. We hope it will initiate a long-term communication strategy aimed at promoting the mental health of the population.

Comparison between Covid-19 and influenza A(H1N1) pandemic experiences and risk perception in Mexican university.

To compare the perceptions and experiences between the A(H1N1) and Covid-19 pandemics in a univer-sity population. Online surveys were administered during the influenza A(H1N1) -originated in Mexico in 2009- and Covid-19 epidemics. so-ciodemographic characteristics, knowledge, information and communication, perception of risk, physical and mental health, effects on daily life, and preventive behaviors. This study included 24 998 respondents, 51.36% from the A(H1N1) group and 48.63% from the Covid-19 group. Differences were observed in the perception of severity. During the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic worry was the feeling reported most frequently, while for Covid-19 it was anxiety. Covid-19 had greater impact on students' family economy and caused a higher uncertainty. The perceptions and ex-periences of the two pandemics were similar but the impact has been much greater for Covid-19, especially in terms of the severity, family economy, preventive behaviors, and uncertainty.

COVID-19 Pandemic Worry and Vaccination Intention: The Mediating Role of the Health Belief Model Components.

Given the negative consequences of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on public health, his study aimed at investigating: (1) the differences between adults with and without chronic illness in buying behavior, vaccination intention, pandemic worry, and the health belief model (HBM) components; (2) the HBM components as mediators of the relationship between pandemic worry and vaccination intention. The sample consisted of 864 adults (66.6% females, Mage = 47.61, SD = 9.23), of which 20.5% reported having a chronic illness. Associations between pandemic worry, vaccination intention, and HBM were ascertained using correlation and mediation analyses. Individuals with chronic illness reported a higher level of pandemic worry, higher levels of perceived threat, greater benefits from vaccination, had lower self-efficacy and bought more medicine and sanitary/hygienic products. No significant differences were observed regarding vaccination intention, barriers against vaccination, and changes in food buying behavior. We found that the relationship between pandemic worry and vaccination intention was partially mediated by the perceived threat of disease and the benefits of vaccination. Pandemic worry predicted vaccination intention directly but also through the contribution of the perceived threat of disease and the benefits of vaccination. These findings suggest that presenting evidence of COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and the benefits of having the vaccine (especially for vulnerable groups, such as chronic illness patients) will encourage the population to follow vaccination recommendations.

Pandemic Worry and Preventive Health Behaviors During the COVID-19 Outbreak.

Objective: As schools are preparing for onsite learning, it is urgently needed to characterize the extent of pandemic worry and to examine predictors of adopting preventive health behaviors of hand washing, face mask wearing, and maintaining social distance among student pharmacists.Methods: An online survey was sent to 326 student pharmacists in the United States. Pandemic worry was measured using a seven-point Likert scale ranging from extremely not afraid of, to extremely afraid of getting COVID-19. The health belief model (HBM) was the theoretical framework of this study. Preventive health behaviors and components of the HBM were also measured using seven-point Likert scales (one indicated extremely unlikely; seven indicated extremely likely). Multivariable linear regression models were used to identify predictors of each behavior.Results: A medium level of pandemic worry (M = 4.2, SD = 1.92) was identified and females reported a higher pandemic worry. Respondents reported that they were extremely likely to wash their hands (M = 6.8, SD = 0.48) and maintain social distance (M = 6.6, SD = 0.92), but were moderately unlikely to wear face masks (M = 2.2, SD = 1.51). Determinants of face mask wearing included pandemic worry, perceived benefits, cue to action, self-efficacy, and being of an Asian American. Perceived barriers were negatively associated with face mask wearing.Conclusion: Strategies should be implemented to reduce the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic among student pharmacists. Predictors identified in this study should be incorporated in efforts to improve face mask wearing. Continued monitoring of pandemic worry and preventive health behaviors is of great significance when universities and colleges are for onsite learning.

No buffer effect of perceived social support for people exposed to violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional community study

ABSTRACT Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has represented a burden to communities worldwide. Research indicates that this burden is not equally distributed in the community, and vulnerable groups, such as violence-exposed individuals may pay a particularly high prize. Perceived social support is known to buffer against negative effects of trauma and adversity, but it is not clear whether this is the case during times of social restrictions and lockdowns. In this study, we tested if perceived social support could buffer the link between pandemic worry and psychological distress in a community sample and in the subgroup exposed to violence during the pandemic. Methods: A stratified, presumed representative sample of the Norwegian population (N = 1,041, response rate = 39.9%) responded to a cross-sectional web survey in May 2020. Fifty-nine participants (5.7%) had been exposed to physical, sexual, and/or psychological violence during the last month. Results: Current violence, pandemic worry, and perceived social support were independently associated with psychological distress. In the total sample, perceived social support moderated the relationship between pandemic worry and psychological distress. However, this was not found in individuals who were exposed to current violence. Conclusions: Even though high levels of perceived social support can protect against psychological distress in the face of pandemic worry in the community, it seems that this resource is not as useful for individuals exposed to current violence. Outreach health and care services are warranted to support the needs of this particular vulnerable group.

Unpacking the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: identifying structural domains

ABSTRACT Background: The novel coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic is a collective crisis that imposed an abrupt and unprecedented impact on college students, as universities were closed with little warning. Paired with the challenges associated with physical distancing (e.g. economic stress, job loss, food insecurity, housing challenges) and the simultaneous need to balance continued and new academic demands, impact will be wide-ranging. It is critical to determine the structure of the impact of this heterogeneous stressor (e.g. health concerns, pandemic worry, financial concerns) for prevention and intervention planning. Objective: Through an existing recruitment pipeline we were in a unique position to study the wide-ranging reach of this pandemic in a cohort of students for whom their university experiences were like no other cohort in history. Method: Data were collected from students who were in their third year of college during the onset of the pandemic; of the N = 1,899 in the cohort who were invited to participate in this COVID-related survey, 897 (47.2%) completed measures of impact between May and July of 2020. Results: A series of confirmatory and exploratory models were fit to examine the structure of the pandemic-related domains. Following estimation of a single-factor model, a correlated five factors model, as well as two second-order factor structures, the five correlated factors (exposure, worry, housing/food instability, social media, substance use) model was found to represent the data most appropriately, while producing an interpretable solution. Conclusions: These measurement model analyses set the stage for future research to examine how these correlated factors impact psychiatric, substance, and academic outcomes in this vulnerable population.

Daily Stress Processes in a Pandemic: The Effects of Affect, Worry, and Age

On March 13th, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a novel coronavirus, COVID-19, a pandemic. Given the day-to-day behavioral changes necessitated by this global threat, the current study examined daily stress reactivity and its potential moderators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two-level, multilevel modeling was used to examine the daily relationship between perceived stress and negative affect, as well as the moderating effects of daily positive affect, average pandemic worry, and age, on this process. Participants included 349 individuals from the young adult, midlife, and later-life cohorts of the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being who completed a 28-day, daily diary study amidst the COVID-19 pandemic (NDHWB; Age Range = 26-89). Individuals were affectively reactive to perceived stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing higher negative affect on days of higher perceived stress. Regarding moderators, older individuals were less stress reactive than younger individuals, and the extent of individuals’ pandemic worry exacerbated their stress reactivity. Furthermore, daily positive affect buffered daily stress reactivity, regardless of pandemic worry and age. In sum, individuals who were younger or more worried about the pandemic tended to be more stress reactive than older or less worried individuals. Furthermore, daily positive affect buffered stress reactivity, and this buffering effect did not depend on age or the extent to which individuals were worried about the pandemic. Thus, mobilizing positive affect during the COVID-19 pandemic may be a promising avenue for intervention in daily stress processes.

Daily Stress Processes in a Pandemic: The Effects of Worry, Age, and Affect.

Background and ObjectivesIn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic. Given that such a global event might affect day-to-day stress processes, the current study examined individuals’ daily stress reactivity and its moderators early in the COVID-19 pandemic.Research Design and MethodsTwo-level, multilevel models examined the daily relationship between perceived stress and negative affect, or stress reactivity, as well as the moderating effects of daily pandemic worry, age, and daily positive affect on this process. Participants included 349 individuals (age range = 26–89) from the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being who completed a 28-day, daily diary study at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsOlder individuals were less stress-reactive than younger individuals. Within individuals, however, stress reactivity was buffered by daily positive affect and exacerbated by daily pandemic worry. Finally, although daily positive affect buffered daily stress reactivity, this effect was weaker on days individuals were more worried about the COVID-19 pandemic.Discussion and ImplicationsThe mobilization of positive emotion may be a promising avenue for buffering stress reactivity during the COVID-19 pandemic, although this may be limited on days individuals are particularly concerned about the pandemic.

Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in COVID-19 Isolated Patients and in Their Relatives.

Background: While focusing on the management and care of COVID-19 patients, the mental health of these patients and their relatives is being overlooked. The aim of the current study was to measure anxiety and depression, and to assess their association with socio-demographic and pandemic-related stress factors in COVID-19 patients and their relatives during the initial stage of hospitalization.Methods: We assessed isolated hospitalized patients (N = 90) and their relatives (adults and children, N = 125) by phone, 25–72 h following patients' admission. The quantitative measures included the Anxiety and Depression modules of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) and pandemic-related stress factors. Qualitative measures included questions exploring worries, sadness, and coping modes.Results: Both patients and relatives suffer from high levels of anxiety and related pandemic worries, with lower levels of depressive symptoms. Compared to adult relatives, child relatives reported significantly lower anxiety. The multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed an increased risk for anxiety among females and a decreased risk among ultra-orthodox participants. While increased anxiety among patients was associated with feelings of isolation, increased anxiety among relatives was associated with a feeling of not being protected by the hospital.Conclusions: Patients and relatives experience similar high anxiety levels which are more robust in women and lower in ultra-orthodox participants. Our findings indicate that anxiety symptoms of both patients and adult relatives should be addressed.