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EN
COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Studies showed that COVID-19-related fear and anxiety were correlated with varying psychological issues such as depressive and anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to estimate the pooled raw mean of COVID-19-related fear and anxiety. The second purpose of this study is to clarify the role of potential moderators in COVID-19-related fear and anxiety. For these reasons, the studies were searched in various databases (e.g., Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS). The study’s findings revealed that the pooled mean of fear of COVID-19 was 18.96, and the pooled mean of 2.50 was for COVID-19 anxiety. Moderator analyses revealed that culture and continent were significant moderators for COVID-19-related fear; continent and target population for COVID-19-related anxiety. Meta-regression analyses found that none of the continuous moderators (i.e., age and female proportion) were significant predictors of COVID-19-related fear and anxiety.
Keywords
References
- *References for the studies included in the meta-analysis are marked with asterisks.
- *Abroshan, H., Devos, J., Poels, G., & Laermans, E. (2021). COVID-19 and phishing: Effects of human emotions, behavior, and demographics on the success of phishing attempts during the pandemic. IEEE Access, 9, 121916-121929. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3109091
- *Abuhammad, S., Alzoubi, K. H., & Khabour, O. (2021). Fear of COVID-19 and stigmatization towards infected people among Jordanian people. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 75(4), e13899. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.13899
- Afifi M. (2007). Gender differences in mental health. Singapore Medical Journal, 48(5), 385–391.
- Ahorsu, D. K., Lin, C. Y., Imani, V., Saffari, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Pakpour, A. H. (2020). The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and initial validation. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8
- *Akbari, M., Spada, M. M., Nikčević, A. V., & Zamani, E. (2021). The relationship between fear of COVID-19 and health anxiety among families with COVID-19 infected: The mediating role of metacognitions, intolerance of uncertainty and emotion regulation. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28(6), 1354–1366. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2628
- *Aksoy, A., Abiç, A., Değirmenci, F., & Vefikulaçay-Yılmaz, D. (2021). The relationship between quality of life and fear of Turkish individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 35(5), 472-478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2021.06.003
- *Albery, I. P., Spada, M. M., & Nikčević, A. V. (2021). The COVID‐19 anxiety syndrome and selective attentional bias towards COVID‐19‐related stimuli in UK residents during the 2020–2021 pandemic. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28(6), 1367-1378. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2639
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Emotional Development, Clinical and Health Psychology (Other), Testing, Assessment and Psychometrics (Other), Psychological Methodology, Design and Analysis
Journal Section
Review
Publication Date
June 30, 2025
Submission Date
March 1, 2025
Acceptance Date
June 2, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2025 Volume: 7 Number: 2
APA
Erbiçer, E. S., Metin, A., & Şen, S. (2025). COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Humanistic Perspective, 7(2), 165-182. https://doi.org/10.47793/hp.1648973
AMA
1.Erbiçer ES, Metin A, Şen S. COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Humanistic Perspective. 2025;7(2):165-182. doi:10.47793/hp.1648973
Chicago
Erbiçer, Eyüp Sabır, Ahmet Metin, and Sedat Şen. 2025. “COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”. Humanistic Perspective 7 (2): 165-82. https://doi.org/10.47793/hp.1648973.
EndNote
Erbiçer ES, Metin A, Şen S (June 1, 2025) COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Humanistic Perspective 7 2 165–182.
IEEE
[1]E. S. Erbiçer, A. Metin, and S. Şen, “COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”, Humanistic Perspective, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 165–182, June 2025, doi: 10.47793/hp.1648973.
ISNAD
Erbiçer, Eyüp Sabır - Metin, Ahmet - Şen, Sedat. “COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”. Humanistic Perspective 7/2 (June 1, 2025): 165-182. https://doi.org/10.47793/hp.1648973.
JAMA
1.Erbiçer ES, Metin A, Şen S. COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Humanistic Perspective. 2025;7:165–182.
MLA
Erbiçer, Eyüp Sabır, et al. “COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”. Humanistic Perspective, vol. 7, no. 2, June 2025, pp. 165-82, doi:10.47793/hp.1648973.
Vancouver
1.Eyüp Sabır Erbiçer, Ahmet Metin, Sedat Şen. COVID-19 Related Fear and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Humanistic Perspective. 2025 Jun. 1;7(2):165-82. doi:10.47793/hp.1648973
