The recent global pandemic (i.e., COVID-19) has had a serious impact on psychological health, as the stress associated with the pandemic increases the likelihood of developing clinically significant anxiety. Evidence suggests that attentional control may protect those individuals with outcome-specific vulnerabilities from developing maladaptive psychological outcomes. In the present study, attentional control was examined as a moderator of the relation between COVID-19 stress and generalized anxiety symptoms in a community sample (N = 359 adults). As predicted, the relationship between COVID-19 stress and anxiety was moderated by attentional control. Specifically, as attentional control decreased, the strength of the association between COVID-19 stress and anxiety increased. The results suggest that, among those with higher levels of COVID-19 stress, attentional control may act as a protective factor against developing anxiety. It may be beneficial as a matter of standard public health guidance to recommend that the general public engages in activities that are known to improve attentional control and alleviate emotional distress (e.g., mindfulness-based techniques) at the outset of a pandemic or other global catastrophe to reduce the likelihood that prolonged event-related stress will lead to impairing anxiety.

最近的全球大流行（即 COVID-19）对心理健康产生了严重影响，因为与大流行相关的压力增加了出现临床显着焦虑的可能性。有证据表明，注意力控制可以保护那些具有特定结果脆弱性的个体免于发展出适应不良的心理结果。在本研究中，注意力控制被检查为社区样本中 COVID-19 压力与广泛性焦虑症状之间关系的调节因子（N = 359 名成人）。正如预测的那样，注意力控制缓解了 COVID-19 压力和焦虑之间的关系。具体来说，随着注意力控制的下降，COVID-19 压力和焦虑之间的关联强度增加。结果表明，在 COVID-19 压力水平较高的人群中，注意力控制可能是防止焦虑发展的保护因素。作为标准公共卫生指南，建议公众在大流行或其他全球灾难开始时参与已知可改善注意力控制和减轻情绪困扰的活动（例如，基于正念的技术）可能是有益的减少与事件相关的长期压力导致焦虑减弱的可能性。