Self-Control Moderates the Association between Perceived Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Mental Health Problems among the Chinese Public

• Main Authors: Jian-Bin Li, An Yang, Kai Dou, Rebecca Y. M. Cheung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: risk factor; resilience; cognitive appraisal; self-control; COVID-19; public health concerns
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4820
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

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 (M_age = 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.