Thought Believability and Anxious Feelings about COVID-19: A Case-Control Study in Northeastern Iran

Abbas Ghodrati Torbati; Atefeh Shirinzadeh Feizabadi; Mohammad Reza Askari; Anahita Zandi; Mohammad Sarmadi

doi:10.47176/mjiri.37.93

Thought Believability and Anxious Feelings about COVID-19: A Case-Control Study in Northeastern Iran

Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2023 Aug 29:37:93. doi: 10.47176/mjiri.37.93. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Abbas Ghodrati Torbati¹, Atefeh Shirinzadeh Feizabadi², Mohammad Reza Askari¹, Anahita Zandi², Mohammad Sarmadi³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
² Department of Anesthesiology, School of Paramedical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
³ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Believability and thoughts are considered as the pillars of behaviors over time, and anxious feelings are a risk factor for mental disorders, especially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to explore the thought believability and anxious feelings of COVID-19 among infected and healthy families.

Methods: In this hospital-based matched case-control study, health surveillance files of COVID-19 patients were collected from January to June 2021 and were analyzed statistically. In this study, two questionnaires of demographic characteristics and the Believability of Anxious Feelings and Thoughts (BAFT) were used. Data were analyzed using the One-way ANOVA.

Results: Of 600 participants, 300 (50%) were PCR-confirmed and 300 (50%) were non-infected. Overall, 163 (54.33%) of infected people were male, 146 (48.67%) single, and 156 (52.00%) government employees. The results showed that the mean scores of physical anxiety (PA) and negative evaluation (NE) in the case group is significantly higher than the control group (P = 0.001); while emotional regulation (ER) in the control group was significantly higher than the case group (P = 0.001).

Conclusion: Having high believability to the risks of COVID-19 may be a predictor of preventive behaviors in individuals. Worrying about COVID-19 can increase the perceived risk of a pandemic in societies and consequence, increase the general public health.

Keywords: Anxiety; Believability; COVID-19.