Locus of control moderates the association of COVID-19 stress and general mental distress: results of a Norwegian and a German-speaking cross-sectional survey

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Abstract

Background

An internal locus of control (LoC I) refers to the belief that the outcome of events in one’s life is contingent upon one’s actions, whereas an external locus of control (LoC E) describes the belief that chance and powerful others control one’s life. This study investigated whether LoC I and LoC E moderated the relationship between COVID-19 stress and general mental distress in the general population during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey study analysed data from a Norwegian ( n = 1225) and a German-speaking sample ( n = 1527). We measured LoC with the Locus of Control-4 Scale (IE-4), COVID-19 stress with a scale developed for this purpose, and mental distress with the Patient Health Questionnaire 4 (PHQ-4). Moderation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

Results

The association between COVID-19 stress and general mental distress was strong (r = .61 and r = .55 for the Norwegian and the German-speaking sample, respectively). In both samples, LoC showed substantial moderation effects. LoC I served as a buffer ( p < .001), and LoC E exacerbated (p < .001) the relation between COVID-19 stress and general mental distress.

Conclusions

The data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic is easier to bear for people who, despite pandemic-related strains, feel that they generally have influence over their own lives.

An external locus of control, conversely, is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. The prevention of mental distress may be supported by enabling a sense of control through citizen participation in policy decisions and transparent explanation in their implementation.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-021-03418-5.

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Most cited references 61

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The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence

Samantha K. Brooks, Rebecca K Webster, Louise E. Smith … (2022)

Summary The December, 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak has seen many countries ask people who have potentially come into contact with the infection to isolate themselves at home or in a dedicated quarantine facility. Decisions on how to apply quarantine should be based on the best available evidence. We did a Review of the psychological impact of quarantine using three electronic databases. Of 3166 papers found, 24 are included in this Review. Most reviewed studies reported negative psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion, and anger. Stressors included longer quarantine duration, infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma. Some researchers have suggested long-lasting effects. In situations where quarantine is deemed necessary, officials should quarantine individuals for no longer than required, provide clear rationale for quarantine and information about protocols, and ensure sufficient supplies are provided. Appeals to altruism by reminding the public about the benefits of quarantine to wider society can be favourable.

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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in the General Population: A Systematic Review

Jiaqi Xiong, Orly Lipsitz, Flora Nasri … (2020)

Highlights • The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in unprecedented hazards to mental health globally. • Relatively high rates of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological distress, and stress were reported in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic in eight countries. • Common risk factors associated with mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic include female gender, younger age group (≤40 years), presence of chronic/psychiatric illnesses, unemployment, student status, and frequent exposure to social media/news concerning COVID-19. • Mitigation of COVID-19 induced psychological distress requires government intervention and individual efforts.

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Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Nader Salari, Amin Hosseinian-Far, Rostam Jalali … (2020)

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on public mental health. Therefore, monitoring and oversight of the population mental health during crises such as a panedmic is an immediate priority. The aim of this study is to analyze the existing research works and findings in relation to the prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method In this systematic review and meta-analysis, articles that have focused on stress and anxiety prevalence among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic were searched in the Science Direct, Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science (ISI) and Google Scholar databases, without a lower time limit and until May 2020. In order to perform a meta-analysis of the collected studies, the random effects model was used, and the heterogeneity of studies was investigated using the I2 index. Moreover. data analysis was conducted using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. Results The prevalence of stress in 5 studies with a total sample size of 9074 is obtained as 29.6% (95% confidence limit: 24.3–35.4), the prevalence of anxiety in 17 studies with a sample size of 63,439 as 31.9% (95% confidence interval: 27.5–36.7), and the prevalence of depression in 14 studies with a sample size of 44,531 people as 33.7% (95% confidence interval: 27.5–40.6). Conclusion COVID-19 not only causes physical health concerns but also results in a number of psychological disorders. The spread of the new coronavirus can impact the mental health of people in different communities. Thus, it is essential to preserve the mental health of individuals and to develop psychological interventions that can improve the mental health of vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Tatjana Schnell: tatjana.schnell@mf.no

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Psychiatry

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMC Psychiatry

Title: BMC Psychiatry

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 1471-244X

Publication date (Electronic): 6 September 2021

Publication date PMC-release: 6 September 2021

Publication date Collection: 2021

Volume: 21

Electronic Location Identifier: 437

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.7468.d, ISNI 0000 0001 2248 7639, Department of Anesthesiology and Operative Intensive Care Medicine (CCM, CVK), , Charité - Universitätsmedizin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, ; Berlin, Germany

[2 ]GRID grid.446080.e, ISNI 0000 0000 8775 4235, Practical Theology, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, ; Oslo, Norway

[3 ]GRID grid.412929.5, ISNI 0000 0004 0627 386X, Centre for Psychology of Religion, , Innlandet Hospital Trust, ; Ottestad, Norway

[4 ]GRID grid.18883.3a, ISNI 0000 0001 2299 9255, Faculty of Social Sciences, , Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, ; Stavanger, Norway

[5 ]GRID grid.1007.6, ISNI 0000 0004 0486 528X, Faculty of Social Sciences, , School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, ; Wollongong, NSW Australia

[6 ]GRID grid.446080.e, ISNI 0000 0000 8775 4235, Social Sciences, , MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, ; Oslo, Norway

[7 ]Modum Bad Psychiatric Center, Vikersund, Norway

[8 ]GRID grid.5771.4, ISNI 0000 0001 2151 8122, Existential Psychology Lab, , Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, ; Innsbruck, Austria

Article

Publisher ID: 3418

DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03418-5

PMC ID: 8419811

PubMed ID: 34488667

SO-VID: 90a35902-d32e-4b28-aa54-29598ee9279b

License:

Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

History

Date received : 30 April 2021

Date accepted : 3 August 2021

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: anxiety,covid-19,depression,locus of control (loc),moderator analysis,pandemic,phq-4

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry

Keywords: anxiety, covid-19, depression, locus of control (loc), moderator analysis, pandemic, phq-4

Locus of control moderates the association of COVID-19 stress and general mental distress: results of a Norwegian and a German-speaking cross-sectional survey

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Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 61

The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in the General Population: A Systematic Review

Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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