{"title":"COVID-19-related psychological distress, fear, and reassurance-seeking behavior in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.","authors":"Bhushan Chaudhari, Tahoora Ali, Vidisha Nair, Parisha Kelkar, Suprakash Chaudhury, Ankit Janiani","doi":"10.4103/ipj.ipj_297_24","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented and dystopian situation for the entire population and had imminent mental health corollaries specific to different sociodemographic variables. Distress and fear related to COVID-19 and following reassurance-seeking behavior were prominent during the pandemic. However, even after the end of the acute phase, due to continued uncertainty about protection from COVID-19, psychological concerns surrounding COVID-19 persisted.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To evaluate coronavirus-related psychological distress, fear, reassurance seeking, and their correlation with personality factors.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A total of 727 individuals were taken from the community from May 2022 to October 2022 and were requested to fill out a Google Form online comprising basic sociodemographic details and the following scales: COVID-19-related psychological distress in healthy public (CORPD), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behavior Scale, and Big Five Personality Inventory. The information was then charted, tabulated, and statistically analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The levels of COVID-19-related psychological distress and fear were comparable to the levels present during a pandemic. Psychological distress, fear, and reassurance-seeking were positively correlated with each other. Females were vulnerable to fear. Younger age was associated with reassurance seeking. Extraversion personality traits positively predicted fear about COVID-19, while conscientiousness and openness negatively predicted fear. Agreeableness positively predicted reassurance-seeking behavior.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Even after the declaration of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the return to the regular daily routine, people have COVID-19-related distress and fear in their minds. This indicates the need for continuation of mental health programs addressing these psychological issues related to COVID-19.</p>","PeriodicalId":13534,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Psychiatry Journal","volume":"35 2","pages":"217-222"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13561481/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Industrial Psychiatry Journal","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_297_24","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/2/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented and dystopian situation for the entire population and had imminent mental health corollaries specific to different sociodemographic variables. Distress and fear related to COVID-19 and following reassurance-seeking behavior were prominent during the pandemic. However, even after the end of the acute phase, due to continued uncertainty about protection from COVID-19, psychological concerns surrounding COVID-19 persisted.
Aim: To evaluate coronavirus-related psychological distress, fear, reassurance seeking, and their correlation with personality factors.
Materials and methods: A total of 727 individuals were taken from the community from May 2022 to October 2022 and were requested to fill out a Google Form online comprising basic sociodemographic details and the following scales: COVID-19-related psychological distress in healthy public (CORPD), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behavior Scale, and Big Five Personality Inventory. The information was then charted, tabulated, and statistically analyzed.
Results: The levels of COVID-19-related psychological distress and fear were comparable to the levels present during a pandemic. Psychological distress, fear, and reassurance-seeking were positively correlated with each other. Females were vulnerable to fear. Younger age was associated with reassurance seeking. Extraversion personality traits positively predicted fear about COVID-19, while conscientiousness and openness negatively predicted fear. Agreeableness positively predicted reassurance-seeking behavior.
Conclusion: Even after the declaration of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the return to the regular daily routine, people have COVID-19-related distress and fear in their minds. This indicates the need for continuation of mental health programs addressing these psychological issues related to COVID-19.
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