Skip to Main Content

Clinical Psychology and Special Education
2020. Vol. 9, no. 2, 119–146
doi:10.17759/cpse.2020090206
ISSN: 2304-0394 (online)

Perception of COVID-19 During the 2020 Pandemic in Russia

1731

E.I. Pervichko, O.V. Mitina, O. Stepanova, J.E. Koniukhovskaia, E.A. Dorokhov

PDF (RUS)
Online translation in english
GS
Information
in Google Scholar

Abstract

In order to study the perception of the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with the emotional state of the population, an online study in all regions of Russia conducted from April 27 to May 27, 2020, The study involved 1192 people, of whom 981 were women (82%) and 211 men (18%) aged 18 to 81 years (M=36.5, SD=11.0). The methodological complex consisted of a socio-demographic questionnaire, the state scale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Russian Version of the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, Mermelstein, 1983; Ababkov, et al., 2016); as well as the Russian Version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Broadbent, et al., 2006; Yaltonsky, et al., 2017), modified specifically for this study. Significant differences were found in experiencing stress, anxiety, and perceptions of the pandemic by gender, while anxiety and stress were found to be related to income. A significant correlation found between the attitude to coronavirus “as an exaggerated threat” with greater calm, greater understandability of the pandemic, and less control. However, if the respondent has relatives who have got sick COVID-19, then the perception of the pandemic becomes more threatening, less understandable, and more controlled. It was revealed that the assessment of the threat from a pandemic plays a mediating role between the fear of an unknown disease and the possibility of its control. The probability of cultural differences in the perception of the pandemic and its control is discussed, and the possibility of using the cultural-historical methodology and the concept of “subjective pattern of disease” to assess the public perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic is formulated.

General Information

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, coronavirus, cultural-historical concept, subjective pattern of disease, stress, anxiety, perception of the COVID-19 pandemic

Journal rubric: Empirical Research

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.2020090206

Acknowledgements. the authors are grateful for technical support of the research Doctor of Psychology, Honored Professor of the Lomonosov MSU, Aleksandr G. Shmelev

For citation: Pervichko E.I., Mitina O.V., Stepanova O., Koniukhovskaia J.E., Dorokhov E.A. Perception of COVID-19 During the 2020 Pandemic in Russia [Elektronnyi resurs]. Klinicheskaia i spetsial'naia psikhologiia = Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2020. Vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 119–146. DOI: 10.17759/cpse.2020090206. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

References

  1. Ababkov V.A., Baryshnikova K., Vorontsova-Venger O.V. et al. Validizatsiya russkoyazychnoy versii oprosnika «Shkala vosprinimayemogo stressa-10» [Validation of the Russian version of the questionnaire “Scale of Perceived Stress-10”]. Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo Universiteta=Bulletin of St. Petersburg University, 2016, ser. 16, vol. 2.
    pp. 6–15. (In Russ., Abstr. in Engl.). DOI: 10.21638/11701/spbu16.2016.202.
  2. Zinchenko Y.P., Pervichko E.I. Evristicheskaya tsennost' postneklassicheskikh modeley v psikhosomatike (na primere sindromnogo podkhoda L.S. Vygotskogo –
    A.R. Lurii) [The heuristic value of post-non-classical models in psychosomatics (on the example of the syndrome approach of L.S. Vygotsky - A.R. Luria)]. Voprosy psikhologii=Psychology Issues, 2014, no. 1, pp. 14–28. (In Russ., Abstr. in Engl.).
  3. Iosifyan M.A., Arina G.A., Nikolayeva V.V. Tsennosti i strakhi: svyaz' mezhdu tsennostnymi predpochteniyami i strakhom pered narusheniyami zdorov'ya [Values and fears: the relationship between value preferences and fear of health problems]. Klinicheskaia i spetsial'naia psikhologiia=Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2019, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 103–117. DOI: 10.17759/psycljn.2019080107. (In Russ., Abstr. in Engl.).
  4. Leonova A.B. Organizatsionnaya psikhologiya: Uchebnik. [Organizational Psychology: A Textbook]. Moscow: INFRA-M, 2013. 429 p. (In Russ.).
  5. Luriya R.A. Vnutrennyaya kartina bolezni i iatrogennyye zabolevaniya [The internal picture of the disease and iatrogenic diseases.]. Moscow: Gos. izd-vo meditsinskoy literatury, 1939. 96 p. (In Russ.).
  6. Nikolayeva V.V. Vliyaniye khronicheskoy bolezni na psikhiku: psikhologicheskoye issledovaniye [The effect of chronic disease on the psyche: a psychological study]. Moscow: Izdatel'stvo Moskovskogo universiteta, 1987. 168 p. (In Russ.).
  7. Rasskazova E.I., Tkhostov A.Sh., Kovyazina M.S., et al. Izmeneniye obraza zhizni patsiyenta kak zadacha psikhologicheskoy reabilitatsii: organizatsiya reabilitatsii kak sovmestnoy deyatel'nosti na lichnostnom i mezhlichnostnom urovnyakh [Changing the patient’s lifestyle as a task of psychological rehabilitation: the organization of rehabilitation as a joint activity at the personal and interpersonal levels]. Klinicheskaya i spetsial'naya psikhologiya=Clinical and Special Psychology, 2020, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 47–63. DOI: 10.17759/cpse.2020090103. (In Russ., Abstr. in Engl.).
  8. Tkhostov A.Sh. Psikhologiya telesnosti [The psychology of physicality]. Moscow: Smysl, 2002. 287 p. (In Russ.).
  9. Khanin Y.L. Kratkoye rukovodstvo k primeneniyu shkaly reaktivnoy i lichnostnoy trevozhnosti CH.D. Spilbergera [A quick guide to using the reactive and personal anxiety scale Spielberger]. Leningrad: LNIITEK, 1976. 61 p. (In Russ.).
  10. Yaltonskiy V.M., Yaltonskaya A.V., Sirota N.A., et al. Psikhometricheskiye kharakteristiki russkoyazychnoy versii kratkogo oprosnika vospriyatiya bolezni [Psychometric characteristics of the Russian-language version of the short questionnaire for perceiving the disease]. Psikhologicheskiye issledovaniya=Psychological Research, 2017, vol. 10, no. 51, p. 1. URL: http://psystudy.ru/index.php/num/2017v10n51/1376-yaltonskii51.html (Accessed: 20.05.2020). (In Russ., Abstr. in Engl.).
  11. Biggs A., Brough P., Drummond S. Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Stress and Coping Theory. In C. Cooper, J. Quick, The Handbook of Stress and Health, ch. 21, 2017,
    pp. 349–364. DOI: 10.1002/9781118993811.ch21.
  12. Broadbent E., Petrie K.J., Main J., et al. The brief illness perception questionnaire. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2006, vol. 60, no. 6, pp. 631–637. DOI: 10.1016 /j.jpsychores.2005.10.020. 
  13. Broadbent E., Wilkes C., Koschwanez H., et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Psychology and Health, 2015, vol. 30, no. 11, pp. 1361–1385. DOI:10.1080/08870446.2015.1070851.
  14. Cohen S., Kamarck T., Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 1983, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 385–396.
  15. Dorfan N.M., Woody S.R. Danger appraisals as prospective predictors of disgust and avoidance of contaminants. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2011, vol. 30, no. 2,
    pp. 105–132. DOI: 10.1521/jscp.2011.30.2.105.
  16. Harper C.A., Satchell L.P., Fido D., et al., Functional Fear Predicts Public Health Compliance in the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2020. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7185265/ (Accessed: 20.05.2020).
  17. Jakeman J. Riding the coronacoaster of uncertainty. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2020, vol. 20, no. 6, p. 629. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30378-9.
  18. Leung G.M., Lam T.-H., Ho L.-M., et al. The impact of community psychological responses on outbreak control for severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2003, vol. 57, p. 857–994. DOI: 10.1136/jech.57.11.857.
  19. Leventhal H., Bodnar-Deren H.S., Breland J.Y., et al. Modeling Health and Illness Behavior: The Approach of the Commonsense Model. In A. Baum, Т. Revenson, J. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of psychology and health. 2nd ed. London: Psychology Press, 2012,
    pp. 3–36.
  20. Li J-B., Yang A., Dou K., et al. Chinese public’s knowledge, perceived severity, and perceived controllability of the COVID- 19 and their associations with emotional and behavioural reactions, social participation, and precautionary behaviour: A national survey. PsyArXiv Preprint, 2020. URL: https://psyarxiv.com/5tmsh/ (Accessed: 20.05.2020).
  21. Mazza C., Ricci E., Biondi S., et al. A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Italian people during the COVID-19 pandemic: immediate psychological responses and associated factors.International Journal of Environmental Research Public Health, 2020, vol. 17, no. 9, p. 3165. URL:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7246819/ (Accessed: 20.05.2020).
  22. Mezzich J.E., Zinchenko Y.P., Krasnov V.N., et al. Person-centered approaches in medicine: clinical tasks, psychological paradigms, and the postnonclassical perspective. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 2013, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 95–109. DOI: 10.11621 /PIR.2013.0109.
  23. Motta Zanin G., Gentile E., Parisi A., et al. A preliminary evaluation of the public risk perception related to the COVID-19 health emergency in Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research Public Health, 2020, vol. 17, no. 9, p. 3024. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7246845/ (Accessed: 20.05.2020).
  24. Ozamiz-Etxebarria N., Dosil-Santamaria M., Picaza-Gorrochategui M., et al. Stress, anxiety, and depression levels in the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in a population sample in the northern Spain. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 2020, vol. 36, no. 4.
    pp. e00054020. URL: https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2020000405013&lng=en&nrm= iso&tlng=en (Accessed: 20.05.2020).
  25. Pervichko E., Zinchenko Yu., Martynov A. Peculiarities of Emotional Regulation with MVP Patients: A Study of the Effects of Rational-Emotive Therapy. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013, vol. 78, pp. 290–294. DOI: 10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2013.04.297.
  26. Qiu J., Shen B., Zhao M., et al. A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic: implications and policy recommendations. Journal of General Psychiatry, 2020, vol. 33, no. 2., pp. e100213. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7061893/ (Accessed: 20.05.2020).
  27. Rubin G.J., Amlot R., Page L., et al. Public perceptions, anxiety, and behaviour change in relation to the swine flu outbreak: cross sectional telephone survey. British Medical Journal, 2009, vol. 339, pp. b2651–b2651. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles /PMC2714687/ (Accessed: 20.05.2020).
  28. Spielberger C.D., Gorsuch R.L., Lushene R., et al. Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y1 – Y2). 1983. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 42 p.
  29. Tang C.S., Wong C.-Y. An outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome: Predictors of health behaviors and effect of community prevention measures in Hong Kong, China. American Journal of Public Health, 2003, vol. 93, no. 11, pp. 1887–1888. DOI: 10.2105/ajph.93.11.1887.
  30. Wang C., Pan R., Wan X., et al. Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China. International Journal Environmental Research Public Health, 2020, vol. 17, no. 1729. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles /PMC7084952/ (Accessed: 20.05.2020).
  31. Xiang Y.-T., Yang Y., Li W., et al. Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2020, vol. 7, no. 3,
    pp. 228–229. DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30046-8.
  32. Zhu Z., Xu S., Wang H., et al. COVID-19 in Wuhan: Immediate Psychological Impact on 5062 Health Workers. The British Medical Journal, 2020. URL: https://www.medrxiv.org /content/10.1101/2020.02.20.20025338v2.full.pdf (Accessed: 20.05.2020).

Information About the Authors

Elena Pervichko, Doctor of Psychology, Associate Professor of Department of Neuro- and Pathopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8721-7656, e-mail: elena_pervichko@mail.ru

Olga V. Mitina, PhD in Psychology, Leading Researcher of the Laboratory of Communication Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2237-4404, e-mail: omitina@inbox.ru

Olga Stepanova, PhD in Psychology, Associate Professor of the Department of Methodology of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6751-5082, e-mail: psy_stob@mail.ru

Julia E. Koniukhovskaia, Visiting Researcher of the Laboratory of Communication Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Department of Psychology of the Center for Fundamental and Consultative Personology, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3608-9038, e-mail: yekon@icloud.com

Egor A. Dorokhov, PhD Student, Department of Personality Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7433-2046, e-mail: dorohov.e@mail.ru

Metrics

Views

Total: 4655
Previous month: 17
Current month: 17

Downloads

Total: 1731
Previous month: 3
Current month: 8