%0 Journal Article
%T Adaptive and maladaptive pathways of COVID-19 worry on well-being: A cross-national study.
%A Mancini AD
%A Chapman C
%A Kadir A
%A Model Z
%A Prati G
%J Scand J Psychol
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2024 Jun 25
%M 38924550
%F 2.312
%R 10.1111/sjop.13049
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>In a preregistered study, we examined whether worries about COVID-19 are simultaneously linked with enhanced well-being through social interaction and with reduced well-being through depression symptoms.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>In August 2020, census-matched participants from high- and low-prevalence regions in the United States and Italy (N = 857) completed assessments of COVID-19 worry, social interaction, depression symptoms, and well-being.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Worries about COVID-19 predicted both more social interaction and more depression (ps < 0.001). In multiple mediational analyses, an adaptive pathway of COVID-19 worry through social interaction was associated with higher well-being, whereas a maladaptive pathway through depression symptoms was associated with lower well-being. Further, a comparison of high and low COVID-19 prevalence regions replicated the mediational findings for social interaction, providing evidence against reverse causation and common method variance.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Findings suggest that normative worries about acute stressors may both benefit and undermine well-being, depending on their impact on social behavior or depression symptoms.