The exacerbation of prodromal psychosis among healthy young adults in the context of stress and anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction and objective The survey conducted online between October – November 2020 included 409 respondents (76.8% of females) aged 18–35 (M=24.3; SD=4.7). An anonymous and voluntary online survey contained original questions concerning the subjective assessment of stress and psychophysical wellbeing in a pandemic, assessed according to the scale from 1–9, as well as the PQ-B (PL) Questionnaire and the GAD-7 Generalized Anxiety Questionnaire. The principal method of analyzing the results was hierarchical regression Material and methods It was shown that significant predictors of the incidence of prodromal symptoms of psychosis during the pandemic were the use of a psychologist before the pandemic, subjective sense of wellbeing before the pandemic, and the severity of generalized anxiety (R2=0.243). The predictors of the severity of distress were variables analogous to the frequency of symptoms (R2=0.282). Subjective assessment of the severity of stress did not occur to be a significant predictor. Results A higher level of generalized anxiety, a lower level of subjective psychophysical wellbeing and the use of psychological assistance correlate with the frequent occurrence of prodromal symptoms of psychosis and with a higher severity of distress. It is recommended that further research should be carried out. Conclusions

Keywords

• anxiety
• stress
• covid-19
• pq-b(pl)
• parapsychotic experiences
• prodromal symptoms of psychosis