COVID-19 until Aug 2020: Overall, we find that fear steadily decreased after a peak in April 2020; elevated fear was predicted by region (i.e., North America), anxious traits, and media use

Mertens, Gaëtan, Stefanie Duijndam, Paul Lodder, and Tom Smeets. 2020. “Pandemic Panic? Results of a 6-month Longitudinal Study on Fear of COVID-19.” PsyArXiv. December 18. doi:10.31234/osf.io/xtu3f

Abstract: Fear is an evolutionary adaptive emotion that serves to protect the organism from harm. Once a threat diminishes, fear should also dissipate as otherwise fear may become chronic and pathological. While threat (i.e., number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths) during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has substantially varied over time, it remains unclear whether fear has followed a similar pattern. To examine the development of fear of COVID-19 and investigate potential predictors for chronic fear, we conducted a large online longitudinal study (N = 2000) using the Prolific platform. Participants represented unselected residents of 34 different countries. The Fear of the Coronavirus Questionnaire (FCQ) and several other demographic and psychological measures were completed monthly between March and August 2020. Overall, we find that fear steadily decreased after a peak in April 2020. Additional analyses showed that elevated fear was predicted by region (i.e., North America), anxious traits, and media use.