Page 78 - JCBP-3-3

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Emotional effects of COVID-19 memories

Somewhat surprisingly having to switch to online pandemic-related stressors, particularly with those that
education did not stand out of the stressors examined in this elicit physiological changes even after 2 years since the
study, although other studies connected online education start of the pandemic.
during the pandemic to elevated stress and anxiety. 44,45 Our It is important to take into consideration gender
results may be explained by findings which connected the differences and differences in present anxiety when
efficiency of online education to stress and anxiety. With developing approaches to stress management. For example,
45
technological advancements, online solutions are improving, our results indicate that individuals with higher levels of
mitigating the impact of the quality and effectiveness of EDA were more anxious and reacted to specific pandemic
education received in an online sphere, which may cause
the significance of this stressor to diminish in a few years. stressors with greater activity. In addition, we observed
The other interesting finding was that, fear of infection not evidence of gender differences in physiological reactions
standing out as one of the major stressors in spite of the body to pandemic-related stress factors.
of results that show it as a major stressor. 46-49 Our participants 5.1. Limitations
rated this factor not significantly different from other
stressors supporting a more mitigated effect of this stressor This study had several limitations that should be
and underpinning studies with similar conclusions. 46,50 acknowledged. First, data loss due to excessive sweating,
Nevertheless, this stressor should be closely examined in equipment malfunction, and human error may have
future research, perhaps comparing different populations impacted the results of this study. In addition, the
and populations in different physical health. physiological response to pandemic-related memories
may vary not only between individuals but also between
4.2. Gender differences cultures and countries. Different countries have
The present study found evidence of gender differences in implemented different measures to control the pandemic,
physiological arousal in response to COVID-19-related and it is possible that individuals in different countries
memories, as illustrated in Figure 3. These results are have experienced pandemic-related stressors differently.
consistent with previous research that has highlighted Furthermore, this study was conducted with a sample
gender-specific differences in response to pandemic- related of university students with relatively low sample size, and
stressors. Prowse et al. examined factors that contributed thus, the results may not be generalizable to the broader
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to anxiety and stress among university students and their population or to other cultures. In addition, the study
coping strategies, and found that social isolation was reported had a significant imbalance in the ratio of male-to-female
as being easier for males compared to females, who reported participants, which may have influenced the results.
it as being difficult. A similar pattern was observed in the
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present study, as males demonstrated lower levels of EDA The authors acknowledge that the stressors identified
in response to memories of quarantine compared to other in this study are not the result of an exhaustive systematic
pandemic-related memories, while females demonstrated review, as a comprehensive review of pandemic-related
the highest levels of EDA in response to memories of stressors is beyond the scope of this paper. We aimed to
quarantine from all pandemic-related memories. highlight representative COVID-19 stressors relevant to
our study population.
5. Conclusion Given these limitations, future research should aim
The present study found that young adults demonstrated to replicate these findings in other countries, cultures,
significant differences in autonomic arousal when and with a representative sample of individuals from this
recalling COVID-19-related memories. These differences age group. It would be also beneficial to consider other
corresponded closely with self-reported anxiety regarding variables, such as socio-economic status, age, personality
these specific stressors. The highest arousal was measured characteristics, resilience, and burnout rates, to gain a more
when recalling memories of disruption of daily routine and comprehensive understanding of the factors that affect
panic buying in supermarkets, while the lowest arousal was physiological arousal when thinking about pandemic-
measured when recalling memories of loneliness. related stressors. This would allow for the development of
The study also found that gender and present more effective and targeted interventions to address the
psychological state (present anxiety) served as moderators mental health impact of pandemics.
of the observed arousal, with these two factors accentuating Acknowledgments
arousal to different pandemic-related stressors. These
findings suggest that it would be important to provide This research was conducted within the CHARM-EU alliance.
young adults with psychoeducation on how to cope with The authors acknowledge CHARM-EU for providing the

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 72 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.4825