OBJECTIVE The current study aimed at investigating the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Italian individuals with a preexisting medical condition. Specifically, the study analyzed: (a) if different conditions were associated with different levels of distress, different levels of worry, and different emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression); and (b) if distress levels were associated with levels of worry about COVID-19, emotion regulation strategies, and changes to medical treatment due to the pandemic. METHOD This cross-sectional study involved 124 individuals (79.8% female; mean age = 48.88 years; SD = 14.95) with a diagnosis of chronic disease. The questionnaires, administered during the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy (April-May 2020), comprised the Perceived Stress Scale, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, a COVID-19 worry questionnaire, and a questionnaire designed to collect anamnestic and sociodemographic data. RESULTS Higher levels of expressive suppression and worries related to COVID-19, and changes to medical treatment due to the pandemic, were associated with higher perceived stress in patients with a preexisting chronic disease. No differences emerged in the study variables according to the type of chronic disease. CONCLUSIONS The results highlight the importance of considering expressive suppression, levels of worry about COVID-19, and changes to scheduled medical treatment. Screening procedures based on these factors may be useful for identifying individuals with a preexisting medical condition at higher risk of distress, in order to offer them specific and remotely delivered psychological support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 和慢性病患者：感知压力、担忧和情绪调节策略。

目标 当前的研究旨在调查 COVID-19 大流行对意大利有既往疾病的个人的感知影响。具体来说，该研究分析了：(a) 如果不同的条件与不同程度的痛苦、不同程度的担忧和不同的情绪调节策略（即认知重新评估、表达抑制）相关；(b) 痛苦程度是否与对 COVID-19 的担忧程度、情绪调节策略以及大流行导致的医疗变化有关。方法 这项横断面研究涉及 124 名诊断为慢性病的个体（79.8% 为女性；平均年龄 = 48.88 岁；SD = 14.95）。这些问卷是在意大利第一波 COVID-19 大流行的高峰期（2020 年 4 月至 5 月）进行的，包括感知压力量表、情绪调节问卷、COVID-19 忧虑问卷和旨在收集记忆和社会人口统计学数据的问卷。结果 与 COVID-19 相关的更高水平的表达抑制和担忧，以及大流行导致的医疗变化，与既往慢性病患者的更高感知压力有关。根据慢性病的类型，研究变量没有差异。结论 结果强调了考虑表达抑制、对 COVID-19 的担忧程度以及改变计划治疗的重要性。基于这些因素的筛查程序可能有助于识别患有较高痛苦风险的既往疾病的个体，以便为他们提供具体的远程心理支持。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2021 APA，保留所有权利）。