ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1583630
Influence of Illness Perception on Depression and Anxiety in Individuals with Schizophrenia During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Provisionally accepted
Meng Zhang
Yan-Feng Deng*- Minhang District Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing depression and anxiety in individuals with schizophrenia during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of providing evidence to support strategies for improving emotional disturbances during the pandemic.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 159 outpatients with schizophrenia between January and June 2023. Data were collected using a self-developed sociodemographic questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). Regression analysis was performed using SPSS version 27.0 to identify the factors associated with depression and anxiety.Results: Timeline cyclical and treatment control were significant predictors of depression among individuals with schizophrenia (R² = 0.160, p < 0.01). Additionally, timeline cyclical and the presence of chronic comorbidities significantly predicted anxiety (R² = 0.217, p < 0.01).Conclusion: Illness perception concerning COVID-19 significantly influenced the severity of depression and anxiety in individuals with schizophrenia. Addressing these perceptions serves as an essential component of interventions aimed at improving mental health outcomes during the pandemic.
Keywords: illness perception, Depression, Anxiety, COVID-19, Schizophrenia
Received: 27 Feb 2025; Accepted: 30 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang and Deng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yan-Feng Deng, Minhang District Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
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