• Zeinab Bitar, Chadia Haddad, Sahar Obeid, and Souheil Hallit.
• Souheil Hallit, School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon, souheilhallit@hotmail.com.
• Croat. Med. J. 2022 Oct 31; 63 (5): 412422412-422.

AimTo assess whether fear of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with depression, anxiety, and psychosis and to evaluate if these variables are correlated with the interaction between spirituality and fear of COVID-19.MethodsBetween September and November 2020, this cross-sectional study enrolled 118 chronic schizophrenia patients. The interview with patients included Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Lebanese Anxiety Scale-10, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being-12. The results were analyzed by using linear regressions (Enter method), with anxiety, depression, total PANSS score, positive PANSS, negative PANSS, and general psychopathology PANSS subscales as dependent variables. Spirituality, fear of COVID-19, and the interaction of spirituality with fear of COVID-19 were independents variables.ResultsFear of COVID-19 was positively correlated with increased total PANSS scores (Beta=0.90, P=0.030). Higher spirituality was significantly associated with lower anxiety (Beta=-0.14, P=0.009), lower depression (Beta=-0.21, P=0.001), lower total PANSS score (Beta=-0.90, P=0.004), lower negative PANSS score (Beta=-0.23, P=0.009), and lower general psychopathology PANSS score (Beta=-0.61, P=0.001). In patients with high fear of COVID-19, having low spirituality was significantly associated with higher anxiety, depression, and psychotic symptoms.ConclusionThis study suggests a positive correlation between fear of COVID-19 and higher psychosis among inpatients with schizophrenia. The interaction of spirituality with fear of COVID-19 was correlated with reduced anxiety, depression, and psychosis.

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