ABSTRACT

The public’s fear of COVID-19 may cause severe consequences. The current project explored what caused U.S. adults’ fear of COVID-19 and how they regulated fear using a longitudinal two-wave survey on a national-representative sample (N = 315). Results showed that participants’ media exposure frequency and their perceived valence of interpersonal communication predicted their fear of COVID-19 at both waves, and fear at wave 1 further motivated higher frequency of media and interpersonal communication as well as strengthened perceptions that their interpersonal conversations emphasized the danger aspect of COVID-19 at wave 2. Counterarguing was effective in down-regulating individuals’ fear, which in turn further encouraged more subsequent use of such strategy. Avoidance used in wave 1 predicted counterarguing at wave 2, while counterarguing employed in wave 1 predicted the subsequent use of reappraisal. Individuals may choose to use counterarguing as a maladaptive coping strategy to control their fear, and they tend to shift from one emotion regulation strategy to another as the pandemic progresses.

摘要

公众对 COVID-19 的恐惧可能会造成严重后果。目前的项目通过对具有全国代表性的样本（N= 315)。结果表明，参与者的媒体曝光频率和他们对人际沟通的感知效价预测了他们在两波中对 COVID-19 的恐惧，而在第一波的恐惧进一步推动了更高频率的媒体和人际沟通，并加强了他们对人际对话强调的看法COVID-19 在第 2 波中的危险方面。反驳有效地降低了个人的恐惧，这反过来又进一步鼓励了更多后续使用这种策略。在第 1 波中使用的回避预测在第 2 波中出现反驳，而在第 1 波中使用的反驳预测随后使用重新评估。个人可能会选择使用反驳作为一种适应不良的应对策略来控制他们的恐惧，