IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i11p6125-d569836.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Moderating Role of Caregiving on Fear of COVID-19 and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms

Author

Listed:
  • José Luis Carballo

    (Center for Applied Psychology, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain)

  • Ainhoa Coloma-Carmona

    (Center for Applied Psychology, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain)

  • Sara Arteseros-Bañón

    (Center for Applied Psychology, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain)

  • Virtudes Pérez-Jover

    (Center for Applied Psychology, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Spain)

Abstract

Caregiving has been associated with increased levels of fear and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) during COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is a lack of studies that analyze when the relationship between fear and PTSS occur, using informal caregiving as a moderator variable. To explore this moderating role, we conducted a cross-sectional online study between November 2020 and January 2021. A total of 503 men and women from the Spanish general population completed the survey. Sociodemographic and Covid-19-related data, fear of COVID-19, PTSS symptoms, and current psychological history were assessed. Prevalence of informal caregiving in the sample was 16.5%. Increased levels of fear and PTSS were found in caregivers compared to non-caregivers. Female gender and high number of COVID-19 related risk factors was also associated with fear and PTSS severity. The moderation analyses showed an interaction effect between caregiving and fear of COVID-19 when predicting PTSS symptoms. Particularly, results showed that informal caregivers reported greater PTSS symptoms, when compared to non-caregivers with same levels of fear of COVID-19. This evidence suggests that being a caregiver could increase the fear’s impact on PTSS severity in the context of pandemics. Further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • José Luis Carballo & Ainhoa Coloma-Carmona & Sara Arteseros-Bañón & Virtudes Pérez-Jover, 2021. "The Moderating Role of Caregiving on Fear of COVID-19 and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:11:p:6125-:d:569836
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/6125/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/6125/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tore Bonsaksen & Trond Heir & Inger Schou-Bredal & Øivind Ekeberg & Laila Skogstad & Tine K. Grimholt, 2020. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Associated Factors during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Giuseppe Forte & Francesca Favieri & Renata Tambelli & Maria Casagrande, 2020. "COVID-19 Pandemic in the Italian Population: Validation of a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire and Prevalence of PTSD Symptomatology," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-14, June.
    3. Gianluca Lo Coco & Ambra Gentile & Ksenija Bosnar & Ivana Milovanović & Antonino Bianco & Patrik Drid & Saša Pišot, 2021. "A Cross-Country Examination on the Fear of COVID-19 and the Sense of Loneliness during the First Wave of COVID-19 Outbreak," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-12, March.
    4. Selçuk Özdin & Şükriye Bayrak Özdin, 2020. "Levels and predictors of anxiety, depression and health anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in Turkish society: The importance of gender," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(5), pages 504-511, August.
    5. Orhan Koçak & Ömer Erdem Koçak & Mustafa Z. Younis, 2021. "The Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 Fear and the Moderator Effects of Individuals’ Underlying Illness and Witnessing Infected Friends and Family," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Sung S Park & Deborah S Carr, 2021. "Caregivers’ Mental Health and Somatic Symptoms During COVID-19," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(4), pages 235-240.
    7. Kum Fai Yuen & Xueqin Wang & Fei Ma & Kevin X. Li, 2020. "The Psychological Causes of Panic Buying Following a Health Crisis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-14, May.
    8. Ricardo Rodrigues & Cassandra Simmons & Andrea E. Schmidt & Nadia Steiber, 2021. "Care in times of COVID-19: the impact of the pandemic on informal caregiving in Austria," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 195-205, June.
    9. Jyoti Savla & Karen A Roberto & Rosemary Blieszner & Brandy Renee McCann & Emily Hoyt & Aubrey L Knight & Deborah S Carr, 2021. "Dementia Caregiving During the “Stay-at-Home” Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(4), pages 241-245.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cara Bailey & Ping Guo & John MacArtney & Anne Finucane & Susan Swan & Richard Meade & Ellie Wagstaff, 2022. "The Experiences of Informal Carers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-18, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Costi, Chiara & Hollingsworth, Bruce & O'Sullivan, Vincent & Zucchelli, Eugenio, 2023. "Does caring for others affect our mental health? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    2. Martin Sanchez-Gomez & Gabriele Giorgi & Georgia Libera Finstad & Flavio Urbini & Giulia Foti & Nicola Mucci & Salvatore Zaffina & José M. León-Perez, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic as a Traumatic Event and Its Associations with Fear and Mental Health: A Cognitive-Activation Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-14, July.
    3. Sofia Pappa & Nikolaos Athanasiou & Nikolaos Sakkas & Stavros Patrinos & Elpitha Sakka & Zafeiria Barmparessou & Stamatoula Tsikrika & Andreas Adraktas & Athanasia Pataka & Ilias Migdalis & Sofia Gida, 2021. "From Recession to Depression? Prevalence and Correlates of Depression, Anxiety, Traumatic Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece: A Multi-Center, Cross-Section," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Paul, Ananna & Shukla, Nagesh & Trianni, Andrea, 2023. "Modelling supply chain sustainability challenges in the food processing sector amid the COVID-19 outbreak," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    5. Kieren J. Egan & William Hodgson & Gennaro Imperatore & Mark D. Dunlop & Roma Maguire & Alison Kirk, 2022. "Supporting Physical Activity for Informal Caregivers during and beyond COVID-19: Exploring the Feasibility, Usability and Acceptability of a Digital Health Smartphone Application, ‘CareFit’," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Yi Ding & Jie Yang & Tingting Ji & Yongyu Guo, 2021. "Women Suffered More Emotional and Life Distress than Men during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Pathogen Disgust Sensitivity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-9, August.
    7. Ewa Małgorzata Szepietowska & Ewa Zawadzka & Sara Filipiak, 2022. "Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Sense of Gains and Losses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Di Novi, Cinzia & Martini, Gianmaria & Sturaro, Caterina, 2023. "The impact of informal and formal care disruption on older adults’ psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in UK," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    9. Gunnar Einvik & Toril Dammen & Waleed Ghanima & Trond Heir & Knut Stavem, 2021. "Prevalence and Risk Factors for Post-Traumatic Stress in Hospitalized and Non-Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-12, February.
    10. Shuangshuang Xin & Xiujie Ma, 2023. "Mechanisms of Physical Exercise Effects on Anxiety in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Lockdown: An Analysis of the Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience and the Moderating Role of Media Exposure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    11. Akfırat, Serap & Bayrak, Fatih & Üzümçeker, Emir & Ergiyen, Tolga & Yurtbakan, Taylan & Uysal, Mete Sefa, 2023. "The roles of social norms and leadership in health communication in the context of COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    12. Zhou, Min & Guo, Wei, 2021. "Social factors and worry associated with COVID-19: Evidence from a large survey in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    13. Bentham Liang Sen Teh & Jin Kiat Ang & Eugene Boon Yau Koh & Nicholas Tze Ping Pang, 2023. "Psychological Resilience and Coping Strategies with Anxiety among Malaysian Medical Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    14. Natalie L. Edelman & T. Charles Witzel & Phil Samba & Will Nutland & Tom Nadarzynski, 2022. "Mental Well-Being and Sexual Intimacy among Men and Gender Diverse People Who Have Sex with Men during the First UK COVID-19 Lockdown: A Mixed-Methods Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-13, June.
    15. Stefania Scuri & Marina Tesauro & Fabio Petrelli & Ninfa Argento & Genny Damasco & Giovanni Cangelosi & Cuc Thi Thu Nguyen & Demetris Savva & Iolanda Grappasonni, 2022. "Use of an Online Platform to Evaluate the Impact of Social Distancing Measures on Psycho-Physical Well-Being in the COVID-19 Era," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-10, June.
    16. Emilijus Žilinskas & Giedrė Žulpaitė & Kristijonas Puteikis & Rima Viliūnienė, 2021. "Mental Health among Higher Education Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Lithuania," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-14, December.
    17. Thorsten Kneip & Axel Börsch-Supan & Karen Andersen-Ranberg, 2022. "Social, health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from a European perspective," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 789-792, December.
    18. Combs, Elizabeth K. & Crouse, Sean R. & Bell, Katherine D. & Truong, Dothang, 2024. "Willingness to Fly during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    19. Agnieszka Lasota, 2023. "Crisis Experience and Purpose in Life in Men and Women: The Mediating Effect of Gratitude and Fear of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(15), pages 1-14, August.
    20. Guohua He & Zirun Hu, 2022. "A Model of Panic Buying and Workforce under COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:11:p:6125-:d:569836. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.