Self Control Moderates the Association Between Perceived Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) and Mental Health Problems Among the Chinese Public
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) has caused thousands of deaths in China. Prior research suggests that individuals' perceived severity of COVID 19 is related to a range of negative emotional and behavioral reactions among the Chinese public. However, scant research has examined the underlying mechanisms. Drawing upon the risk resilience model, this study proposes that self control, as a resilient factor, would potentially moderate the association between perceived severity of COVID 19 and mental health problems. Data from a national survey was used to examine this idea. Participants were 4607 citizens from 31 regions in China (Mage 23.71 years, 72.5% female) who completed a national survey at the beginning of February 2020. Results of hierarchical regression showed that after controlling for a number of demographic variables, perceived severity of COVID 19 and self control were positively and negatively related to mental health problems, respectively. More importantly, self control moderated the "perceived severity of COVID 19 mental health problems" association, with this link attenuating as the levels of self control increased. These findings suggest that compared to those with high self control, individuals with low self control are more vulnerable and are more in need of psychological aids to maintain mental health in the encounter of the COVID 19 outbreak. Practically, enhancing individuals' self control ability might be a promising way to improve individuals' mental health during the early period of the COVID 19 outbreak.
International journal of environmental research and public health