Anxiety, Depression and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in Psychiatric Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic likely impacted emotional regulation and mood states. The present study aimed to investigate the perceived risk, stigma, and emotional regulation strategies of psychiatric patients, as well as the association between these characteristics, cognitive emotion regulation strategies (emotional suppression and cognitive reappraisal), and anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study of 282 patients with anxiety and mood disorders was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Participants completed questionnaires that investigated anxiety (hospital anxiety and depression scale [HADS]), depression (patient health questionnaire [PHQ-9]), and cognitive emotion regulation strategies (emotion regulation questionnaire [ERQ]). Descriptive statistics were used to assess the data. The t-test, chi-square test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the differences between the two groups, with cut-off scores of 11 in the HADS and nine in the PHQ-9. Results: Most participants were female (78.4%), and the median age was 31 years. A total of 23.8% of participants reported having anxiety symptoms, and 24.8% and 54.3% of participants reported having depression on the HADS-D and PHQ-9, respectively. HADS-A, HADS-D, and PHQ-9 were found to be significantly associated with emotional regulation style (P=0.002, P=0.005, P=0.006) but not with perceived risk and stigma. Patients with anxiety or depression tended to use expressive suppression more often than cognitive reappraisal. Conclusion: This study found that mood states were associated with cognitive emotional regulation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with anxiety or depression tended to use expressive suppression more often than cognitive reappraisal.