As a global pandemic has flipped individual realities upside down, there’s a lot to consider right now. And among the things people are thinking about most is other people, a new study notes.
A research team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that “people are more concerned about whether their family members could contract COVID-19 or if they are unknowingly spreading the virus themselves than they are with contracting it.”
In addition to increased altruism, the researchers also found that increased resiliency can help to reduce anxiety and depression during the ongoing pandemic.
“The opportunity to study mental resilience during this pandemic is unprecedented,” Dr. Ran Barzilay, the study’s lead author said in a statement. “Our frontline health care workers are acutely aware of the mental health challenges facing everyone right now, so there is an urgent need to quantify the effects of resilience and determine how future studies might guide us toward improving mental health under these changing circumstances.”
The researchers launched an online survey in April, shortly after stay-at-home orders began going into place in states around the country. The survey measured stress and resiliency, by asking about participants about potential stressors like contracting the virus, currently having the virus, a family member having the virus, unknowingly infecting others or experiencing a financial burden.
The study included more than 3,000 participants ranging in age from 18 to 79. Most were living in places with stay-at-home orders.
Of the respondents, people were most concerned about family members getting the virus, more so than any of the other stressors. Participants who had higher scores on resiliency also reported lower levels of COVID-related concerns.
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