Adaptive and maladaptive pathways of COVID-19 worry on well-being: A cross-national study

In a preregistered study, we examined whether worries about COVID-19 are simultaneously linked with enhanced well-being through social interaction and with reduced well-being through depression symptoms.

In August 2020, census-matched participants from high- and low-prevalence regions in the United States and Italy (N = 857) completed assessments of COVID-19 worry, social interaction, depression symptoms, and well-being.

Worries about COVID-19 predicted both more social interaction and more depression (ps < 0.001). In multiple mediational analyses, an adaptive pathway of COVID-19 worry through social interaction was associated with higher well-being, whereas a maladaptive pathway through depression symptoms was associated with lower well-being. Further, a comparison of high and low COVID-19 prevalence regions replicated the mediational findings for social interaction, providing evidence against reverse causation and common method variance.

Findings suggest that normative worries about acute stressors may both benefit and undermine well-being, depending on their impact on social behavior or depression symptoms.