Perceptions of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Psychological Distress amongst Russian Citizens during Spring 2020.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the emotional state of a wide range of people around the world. Studying the social and psychological factors of psychological distress is required in the context of the pandemic in different countries. This study aims to explore the relationship between the emotional state of Russian citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic and their perceptions of it, and its dependence on various socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods: A socio-demographic questionnaire, the Russian version of the Perceived Stress Scale, the State Scale from Spilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the modified version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire were used for the purposes of this study. The data was analyzed via descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Correlation Analysis, Scale Consistency Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (Path Analysis Method).

Results: The study sample consisted of 1192 Russian-speaking respondents. The findings suggest that psychological distress affects all components of the ideas about the pandemic. The "Psychological distress" variable positively influences the "Threat to life" and "Fear of an unknown disease" components of the ideas about the pandemic, whereas the "Control" component (ideas about the ability to control events) is ambivalent. On the one hand, the severity of psychological distress reduces the idea of being able to control events; on the other, the psychological distress experienced increases the feeling of threat and uncertainty, and stimulates the control of these feelings to be realized. In addition, significant differences were revealed in the nature of perceptions of the pandemic and psychological distress, as dependent on gender, age, type of employment, daily routine during self-isolation, income, as well as a fear of possible stigmatization with regard to COVID-19. It has been shown that underestimating the disease leads to improvement of psychological well-being. However, respondents who underestimated the danger of coronavirus paid less attention to the measures taken against the virus. If the respondent had relatives infected with COVID-19, they were found to perceive the COVID-19 pandemic as more threatening and less understandable.

Conclusions: Through assessing a level of threat and fear of an unknown disease, we defined that psychological distress has a direct and mediated influence on the feeling of control over the pandemic. However, the results on the role of psychological distress and perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, taken together, appear rather contradictory. Further research exploring additional predictors of psychological well-being and distress during the COVID-19 pandemic is required to provide solid conclusions.