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.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Resilience, risk factor, self-control, cognitive appraisal, public health concerns, 【초록키워드】 Coronavirus disease 2019, mental health, severity, China, Region, Health, COVID-19 outbreak, severity of COVID-19, female, Research, death, age, Psychological, mechanisms, moderate, association, Demographic variables, emotional, Hierarchical, reaction, individual, mental health problems, Chinese, participant, National, IMPROVE, Result, was used, examined, caused, maintain, Drawing, 【제목키워드】 Chinese, problem, Public, Perceived,