Sustainable Development Goals
Abstract/Objectives
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, individuals have been asked to maintain a certain level of social distancing and have been exposed to the news and stress associated with the extreme situation in a relatively short period of time. During this period, people may experience extreme negative emotional reactions and social anxiety, which can lead to attentional bias (i.e., inability to focus or sustain attention during online learning or while working at home) and social-emotional disturbance in daily activities. It is speculated that individuals with high levels of anxiety may demonstrate greater cognitive-emotional dysregulation during the epidemic prevention period, reflecting greater difficulties in adapting to life changes. To the best of our knowledge, no imaging studies in Taiwan have attempted to evaluate the influences of emotional induction on cognitive and social functioning under epidemic prevention. Thus, there is a need to examine the neural profile in a more integrated manner.
Results/Contributions

Lee, S. H., & Lee, K. T. (2023). The impact of pandemic-related stress on attentional bias and anxiety in alexithymia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific Reports, 13, 6327. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33326-5 (SCI)

 

The COVID-19 pandemic had negative consequences for mental health, yet it is unknown how and to what extent the psychological outcomes of this stressful event are moderated by individual traits.

Alexithymia is a risk factor for psychopathology, and thus likely predicted individual differences in

resilience or vulnerability to stressful events during the pandemic. This study explored the moderating role of alexithymia in the relationships of pandemic-related stress with anxiety levels and attentional bias. The participants were 103 Taiwanese individuals who completed a survey during the outbreak of the Omicron wave. Additionally, an emotional Stroop task including pandemic-related or neutral stimuli was used to measure attentional bias. Our results demonstrate that pandemic-related stress had a lesser impact on anxiety in individuals with a higher level of alexithymia. Moreover, we found that in individuals with higher exposure to pandemic-related stressors, a higher level of alexithymia indicated less attentional bias toward COVID-19-related information. Thus, it is plausible that individuals with alexithymia tended to avoid pandemic-related information, which could temporarily relieve stressors during the pandemic.


Keywords
COVID19, emotion, attention, social functioning
Contact Information
李姝慧
sh.lee@mx.nthu.edu.tw