Death anxiety, death reflection and interpersonal communication as predictors of social distance towards people infected with COVID 19

Our study investigates several antecedents and consequences of negative emotional reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-national sample of 737 participants. Our results show that COVID-19 anxiety and negative mood are positively predicted by death anxiety and the use in communication of gene...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) N.J.), 2023-01, Vol.42 (2), p.1490-1503
Main Authors: Curșeu, Petru Lucian, Coman, Andra Diana, Panchenko, Anton, Fodor, Oana Cătălina, Rațiu, Lucia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Control
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Death
Epidemics
Interpersonal communication
Psychological aspects
Psychology
Romania
Social distance
Social Sciences
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Summary:Our study investigates several antecedents and consequences of negative emotional reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-national sample of 737 participants. Our results show that COVID-19 anxiety and negative mood are positively predicted by death anxiety and the use in communication of general COVID-19 information. Death reflection reduces negative mood in relation to COVID-19 and attenuates the positive association between death anxiety on the one hand and the negative mood and anxiety in relation to COVID-19 on the other hand. The use of humoristic information about COVID-19 reduces anxiety and social distance towards people infected with COVID-19 and also attenuates the positive association between the use in communication of general COVID-19 information and negative mood in relation to COVID-19. Our results also show that the association between death anxiety and social distance towards those infected with COVID-19 is mediated by anxiety and negative mood in relation to COVID-19. Finally, the association between the use of COVID-19 information in interpersonal communication and social distance is mediated by anxiety and negative mood in relation to COVID-19. The study thus reveals specific insights for tailored interventions to reduce negativity towards people infected with COVID-19.
ISSN:1046-1310
1936-4733
DOI:10.1007/s12144-020-01171-8