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. 2022 Oct;27(12):2770-2776.
doi: 10.1177/13591053211067102. Epub 2021 Dec 29.

The relationship between COVID-19-induced death thoughts and depression during a national lockdown

Samuel Fairlamb  1
Affiliations

The relationship between COVID-19-induced death thoughts and depression during a national lockdown

Samuel Fairlamb. J Health Psychol. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased rates of depression worldwide. Many factors have been identified to relate to this increase depression, but according to Terror Management Theory, the heightened awareness of death during the pandemic has the potential to increase depression for those with low self-esteem. This hypothesis was examined in a U.K. sample during the first national lockdown where depression, self-esteem and death-thought accessibility (DTA) were measured, and a COVID Index (COVID-19 cases and deaths on date of participation) was produced. The COVID Index was positively related to DTA. Additionally, DTA mediated the relationship between the COVID Index and depression scores when participants had low levels of self-esteem. These findings suggest that heightened existential concerns may be a neglected factor increasing depression during the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; depression; self-esteem; terror management; well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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