Fear, Anxiety, and Cyberchondria during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Emotional and Behavioural Responses in the Adult Population

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18195071

Mihul Narad¹ and Manoj K. Pandey² (Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Cadabams Mental Health Care Services Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru, Karnataka¹ and Department of Clinical Psychology, Post Graduate Institute of Behavioural & Medical Sciences, Raipur, Chhattisgarh²)

The present study aimed to explore the prevalence and severity of fear, anxiety and cyberchondria in the adult population and to know their interrelatedness, after the COVID-19 pandemic. The ability of the internet to spread information quickly has had a number of advantages like enabling people to assess and prepare for the associated threat. However, due to COVID-19 uncertainties around sickness and death, and the abundance of information, the need to search for health-related information has increased, primarily to eliminate anxiety and fear of COVID-19. The study was carried out on a general population sample of 101, within the age range 18-60, of Indian origin. The data was collected using GAD- 7 scale, the Fear of Covid-19 Scale and the Cyberchondria Severity Scale CSS-12. Results revealed a significant positive correlation between the three variables; significant gender differences were found in fear of COVID-19.