A Study On The Influencing Factors On Anxiety Of People During The COVID-19 Outbreak In Shanghai

The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted nearly three years since the global outbreak in early 2020.Currently,the wide spread of the coronavirus in Chinese mainland has been under control,but the risk of local outbreak still exists.Under regular epidemic prevention and control,the study aims to investigate the influence and possible psychosocial effects of the local outbreak in Shanghai from March to June 2022 on the public.By conducting an online survey at different stages of the outbreak,the study can explore the dynamic progress of people’s anxiety and its related variables.Furthermore,it is possible to identify the main influencing factors on anxiety through qualitative research,which helps develop a reasonable psychological management model to cope with the impact brought by the pandemic.Given the natural course of the epidemic,quantitative research targeting the dynamic characteristics of people’s anxiety and its correlative variables is conducted in Study 1.By collecting information such as anxiety,risk perception,resilience and quarantine status in 6 representative periods during the onset,development,and end of the epidemic in Shanghai,the study can explore the persistent effects of COVID-19.Based on Study 1,a retrospective qualitative study was conducted after lockdown measures were lifted to further explore the influencing factors of anxiety.Through semi-structured interviews,a representative sample of people who experienced the Shanghai outbreak was selected as interviewees to gain insights into their psychological states during the epidemic.The interview feedback was organized,summarized and generalized based on grounded theory to obtain the main influencing factors of anxiety.The results revealed that:(1)There was no significant difference in the anxiety score of the public during the period of no epidemic and at the beginning of the epidemic.However,with the rapid progress of the epidemic,people’s anxiety scores increased significantly.After the implementation of lockdown and quarantine measures,the anxiety level of the public further improved.When the lockdown was over,people’s anxiety levels did not decline significantly.(2)The detection rate of anxiety rose from22.5% to 55.9%.(3)Being quarantined,high risk perception,low resilience and greater extent of influence are the risk factors of anxiety.Additionally,gender and age differences in the prevalence of anxiety symptoms have not been detected.(4)Realistic difficulties,uncertainty,informational influence and coping strategies are the four main influencing factors leading to people’s anxiety.Furthermore,a preliminary theoretical model of the influencing factors of anxiety under the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is established.The study,to a certain extent,makes up for the shortcomings of existing crosssectional studies and contributes to the establishment of a systematic post-stress coping strategy under regular epidemic prevention and control.In addition,the study helps propose effective psychological management countermeasures and reduce the possibility of the psychological sequelae brought by COVID-19.Finally,the study provides insights into the psychological risk management of the population in public health emergencies.