• Evelyn Barron Millar, Divya Singhal, Padmanabhan Vijayaraghavan, Shekhar Seshadri, Eleanor Smith, Pauline Dixon, Steve Humble, Jacqui Rodgers, and Aditya Narain Sharma.
• Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
• Plos One. 2021 Jan 1; 16 (4): e0250336.

AbstractIt is critical to gain an understanding of the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and the associated lockdown restrictions on the psychological, social and behavioural functioning of the general public, in order to inform public health promotion and future health service resource allocation. This cross-sectional study, completed during week 1 of lockdown in India, reports on data from 234 participants using an online survey. Data regarding health anxiety, coping mechanisms and locus of control was collected. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the relationship between locus of control, coping mechanisms, health anxiety and age. Age related differences in both locus of control and coping strategies were found. Younger people experienced more health-related anxiety and were more likely to engage with social media as a coping mechanism. Mindfulness-based strategies may reduce health anxiety by increasing tolerance of uncertainty experienced during the COVID 19 pandemic.

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