Predictors of pretraumatic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.

Abstract

BackgroundPretraumatic stress has the same symptoms as post-traumatic stress but instead pertains to anticipated threats. There is evidence that pretraumatic stress occurs among soldiers and pregnant people.ObjectiveWe analyzed correlates of pretraumatic stress concerning the threat of COVID-19 infection.MethodOur pilot study was cross-sectional (N = 74); our main study was longitudinal and consisted of three waves (N = 1067, N = 894, and N = 752 for Waves 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Our pilot study used correlation and multiple linear regression. Our main study used quadratic regression and a random intercept cross-lagged panel model.ResultsThe pilot study found that pretraumatic stress was positively correlated with agreeableness (r = .24, p ConclusionMental health professionals should take into account pretraumatic stress, not only as a possible consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak but more generally as a risk in situations that are new, difficult, and challenging for people.