Significant predictors of psychological distress in the group of Polish young adults during the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak: Sequential mediation model

• Authors: Beata Mirucka , Urszula Bielecka , Maria Mirucka , Natalia Kępińska

Abstracts

EN

The study was conducted to identify significant predictors of psychological distress in the group of young Polish adults during COVID-19 epidemic outbreak. The web-based cross-sectional survey was applied to 975 Polish respondents (755 female, 77.44%) aged 18-35 years. They were divided into two age groups: younger (18-25) and older (25-35). All participants completed: General Functioning Questionnaire (GFQ), COVID-19 Risk Perception Scale (C-RPS), State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), and General Sense of Threat to Life Scale (GSTLS). The Polish adults aged 18-25 years manifested significantly higher psychological distress, state anxiety, and a sense of threat to life, but they perceived less risk in COVID-19 epidemic compared to older participants. Risk perception and a sense of threat to life were indirectly related to state anxiety and psychological distress. Significant predictors of psychological distress in the group of young adult Poles during the COVID-19 epidemic are: state anxiety, risk perception, and a sense of threat to life, where risk perception and a sense of threat to life mediate the relation between state anxiety and psychological distress.

Keywords

EN

coronavirus; psychological distress; state anxiety; risk perception; young adults

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Polish Psychological Bulletin
• Year: 2021
• Volume: 52
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 289-298

Dates

published

2021

Contributors

author

Beata Mirucka

author

Urszula Bielecka

author

Maria Mirucka

author

Natalia Kępińska

Identifiers

Biblioteka Nauki

2121824