Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the vulnerability of adults to mental health effects, and the study of protective factors has become crucial. Cognitive reserve (CR) is a well-known protective factor against cognitive decline and several health factors; however, its protective effect on mental health during the pandemic has been rarely addressed. Thus, this study explored, through a mixed-method design, the effect of CR on perceived distress and PTSD-like symptoms in middle-aged participants who have survived severe COVID-19 and a matched control group. A total of 432 participants filled out self-report measures of CR, PTSD, depression, and anxiety, and were also asked to provide narration about their COVID-19-related experience. COVID-19 significantly affected the chances of reporting different mental health symptoms; levels of CR played a protective role in reducing their severity. Moreover, adults with higher CR seemed to be more realistic, focusing less on positive emotions, and elaborating more on the sense of anxiety when describing their experience: this might be an indication of a lower use of suppression to regulate emotions. Practical implications of these findings and future directions have been also discussed.
摘要:
COVID-19大流行增加了成年人对心理健康影响的脆弱性,保护因素的研究变得至关重要。认知储备(CR)是众所周知的认知功能下降的保护因素和一些健康因素;然而,它在大流行期间对精神健康的保护作用很少得到解决。因此,这项研究探索,通过混合方法设计,CR对重度COVID-19存活的中年参与者和匹配的对照组的感知痛苦和PTSD样症状的影响。共有432名参与者填写了CR的自我报告措施,创伤后应激障碍,抑郁症,和焦虑,并被要求提供关于他们与COVID-19相关经历的叙述。COVID-19显著影响报告不同精神健康症状的机会;CR水平在降低其严重程度方面发挥了保护作用。此外,CR较高的成年人似乎更现实,少关注积极的情绪,并在描述他们的经历时更多地阐述焦虑感:这可能表明较低地使用抑制来调节情绪。还讨论了这些发现的实际意义和未来方向。