IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0293189.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: An integrative perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Michal Mahat-Shamir
  • Ester Zychlinski
  • Maya Kagan

Abstract

Informed by socio-ecological psychology and the conservation of resources model, the present study proposes an integrative perspective on the association between psychological distress and a constellation of factors, during the COVID-19 outbreak in Israel. Our sample, comprised of 991 adult participants, was measured for psychological distress, locus of control (internal/ external), resilience, loneliness, social support, dimensions of citizens’ trust in government organizations (perceived competence, benevolence, and integrity), and demographic characteristics. The findings showed that women, non-religious people, and the unemployed reported higher levels of psychological distress. Internal locus of control, resilience, social support, and the extent to which citizens perceive government organizations as benevolent were negatively associated with psychological distress. Self-reported loneliness and external locus of control positively predicted the level of respondent psychological distress. No association was detected between age, competence and integrity and psychological distress. An overview of the research findings indicates that individuals with greater resources were less likely to suffer from psychological distress during the COVID-19 outbreak. These findings call upon mental health care practitioners to help as well as to enable clients to attain resources in order to lower their levels of psychological distress. Policies developed by policymakers during periods of acute crisis should consider the specific needs and vulnerabilities of certain population groups, including women and the unemployed who may be more susceptible to psychological distress. It is also important for policymakers to be aware that the perception of democratic governments as benevolent can serve as a buffer against psychological distress during times of crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Michal Mahat-Shamir & Ester Zychlinski & Maya Kagan, 2023. "Psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: An integrative perspective," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(10), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0293189
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293189
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293189
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293189&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0293189?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rothstein, M.A. & Talbott, M.K., 2007. "Encouraging compliance with quarantine: a proposal to provide job security and income replacement," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(S1), pages 49-556.
    2. Alexander Berman & Alba Marino & Ram Mudambi, 2020. "The global connectivity of regional innovation systems in Italy: a core–periphery perspective," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(5), pages 677-691, May.
    3. Berman, Alexander & Mudambi, Ram & Shoham, Amir, 2022. "Linguistic structures and innovation: A behavioral approach," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    4. Georges Haour, 2005. "Israel, a powerhouse for networked entrepreneurship," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1/2), pages 39-48.
    5. Rannveig Sigurvinsdottir & Ingibjorg E. Thorisdottir & Haukur Freyr Gylfason, 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: The Role of Locus on Control and Internet Use," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-15, September.
    6. D. Harrison McKnight & Vivek Choudhury & Charles Kacmar, 2002. "Developing and Validating Trust Measures for e-Commerce: An Integrative Typology," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 334-359, September.
    7. Cristina Mazza & Eleonora Ricci & Silvia Biondi & Marco Colasanti & Stefano Ferracuti & Christian Napoli & Paolo Roma, 2020. "A Nationwide Survey of Psychological Distress among Italian People during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-14, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Berman, Alexander & Shoham, Amir & Teltch, Noam, 2024. "Founding Team Structure: A Critical Resource for Internationally Oriented Start-ups in the Era of Political Uncertainty," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(5).
    2. Joseph A. Cazier & Benjamin B. M. Shao & Robert D. St. Louis, 2007. "Sharing information and building trust through value congruence," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 9(5), pages 515-529, November.
    3. Cheng, Junjun & Chen, Bo & Huang, Zihang, 2023. "Collective-based ad transparency in targeted hotel advertising: Consumers’ regulatory focus underlying the crowd safety effect," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Fumiya Tanji & Yuki Kodama, 2021. "Prevalence of Psychological Distress and Associated Factors in Nursing Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-10, October.
    5. Ahmed Ibrahim Alzahrani & T. Ramayah & Nalini Suppiah & Osama Alfarraj & Nasser Alalwan, 2020. "Modeling Blog Usage From a Developing Country Perspective Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(3), pages 21582440209, July.
    6. Nitin Walia & Mark Srite & Wendy Huddleston, 2016. "Eyeing the web interface: the influence of price, product, and personal involvement," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 297-333, September.
    7. Mario Silic & Andrea Back, 2016. "The Influence of Risk Factors in Decision-Making Process for Open Source Software Adoption," International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 151-185, January.
    8. Bilgihan, Anil & Barreda, Albert & Okumus, Fevzi & Nusair, Khaldoon, 2016. "Consumer perception of knowledge-sharing in travel-related Online Social Networks," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 287-296.
    9. Tiberiu Constantin Ionescu & Bogdana Ioana Fetecau & Stefan Zaharia & Elma-Maria Mînecan & Catalina Tudose, 2023. "Sleepless Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Insomnia Symptoms among Professionally Active Romanians during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    10. Sara Moussawi & Marios Koufaris & Raquel Benbunan-Fich, 2021. "How perceptions of intelligence and anthropomorphism affect adoption of personal intelligent agents," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 31(2), pages 343-364, June.
    11. Yubin Ding & Junling Xu & Sisi Huang & Peipei Li & Cuizhen Lu & Shenghua Xie, 2020. "Risk Perception and Depression in Public Health Crises: Evidence from the COVID-19 Crisis in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-17, August.
    12. Jung Lee & Jae-Nam Lee & Bernard C. Y. Tan, 2015. "Antecedents of cognitive trust and affective distrust and their mediating roles in building customer loyalty," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 159-175, February.
    13. Qin, Li & De-Juan-Vigaray, María D., 2021. "Social commerce: Is interpersonal trust formation similar between U.S.A. and Spain?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Kee-Young Kwahk & Byoungsoo Kim, 2017. "Effects of social media on consumers’ purchase decisions: evidence from Taobao," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 11(4), pages 803-829, December.
    15. Levent V. Orman, 2016. "Information markets over trust networks," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 529-551, December.
    16. Möhlmann, Mareike, 2021. "Unjustified trust beliefs: Trust conflation on sharing economy platforms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(3).
    17. imen ABDENNADHER & Karim TRABELSI & Tarek ABDELLATIF, 2017. "Les influences des déterminants de la qualité relationnelle des banques islamiques sur l’engagement de leurs clients," Journal of Academic Finance, RED research unit, university of Gabes, Tunisia, vol. 8(1), June.
    18. Morteza Ghobakhloo & Masood Fathi, 2019. "Modeling the Success of Application-Based Mobile Banking," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-21, November.
    19. Raed S. Algharabat & Nripendra P. Rana, 0. "Social Commerce in Emerging Markets and its Impact on Online Community Engagement," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    20. Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Lim, Xin-Jean & Ting, Hiram & Liu, Yide & Quach, Sara, 2022. "Are privacy concerns still relevant? Revisiting consumer behaviour in omnichannel retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:plo:pone00:0293189. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.