Abstract

REIS, Catiele; SOUSA, Kelyane  and  FARO, André. Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, june 2020. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2023, vol.24, n.2, pp.768-778.  Epub Oct 31, 2023. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/23psd240229.

This study analyzed the main evocations of the Brazilian population about Covid-19 in a period of sharp growth of cases of contagion and deaths from the new coronavirus, in June 2020. In addition, the level of worry reported by the participants was classified, in order to seek differences and similarities in the ways of perceiving the pandemic according to the worries’ intensity. The study included 4,970 people who answered an online questionnaire containing sociodemographic variables, the meta-worries questionnaire and the request to write five evocations from the term "coronavirus". Data analysis was performed with the Open-Evoc software, which generates a matrix of analysis divided into four quadrants. In the first quadrant, negative affects predominated at all levels of worry. The word "anxiety", in the second quadrant, was associated with greater suffering in people with higher levels of worry. The third and fourth quadrant reinforced a landscape of mental suffering and fear during the pandemic. As conclusion, we found that people with higher levels of worry seem more likely to show worse level of psychological adjustment and, consequently, higher chances of developing psychological and/or psychiatric problems.

Keywords : Coronavirus; Worry; Evocations; Covid-19; Pandemic.

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