Changes in General and Virus-Specific Anxiety during the Spread of COVID-19 In Israel: A Seven-Wave Longitudinal Study

Abstract

We compared three hypothetical trajectories of change in both general and COVID-19-specific anxiety during the 1^st wave of the spread in the state of Israel: panic (very high anxiety, either from the outset or rapidly increasing), complacency (stable and low anxiety), and threat-sensitive (a moderate, linear increase compatible with the increase in threat). A representative sample of 1018 Jewish-Israeli adults was recruited online. A baseline assessment commenced two days prior to the identification of the first case, followed by six weekly assessments. Latent Mixture Modeling analyses revealed the presence of the three trajectories: (1) "threat-sensitivity" (29% and 66%, for general and virus-specific anxiety, respectively), (2) Panic (12% and 25%), and (3) Complacency (29% and 9%). Only for general anxiety, a fourth class representing a stable mid-level anxiety was identified ("balanced": 30%). For general anxiety, females and the initially anxious - both generally and specifically from the spread of the virus - were more likely to belong to the panic class. Men and older participants were more likely to belong to the complacency class. Findings indicate a marked heterogeneity in anxiety responses to the first wave of the spread of COVID-19, including a large group evincing a "balanced" response.