A Model of Multifaceted Fear During the Covid-19 Pandemic and Balancing Between Overemphasising and Neglecting the Distinction Between Fear and Anxiety: A Reply to

Vladan Starcevic; Adriano Schimmenti; Joël Billieux

doi:10.36131/cnfioritieditore20200407

A Model of Multifaceted Fear During the Covid-19 Pandemic and Balancing Between Overemphasising and Neglecting the Distinction Between Fear and Anxiety: A Reply to

Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2020 Aug;17(4):255-259. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20200407.

Authors

Vladan Starcevic¹, Adriano Schimmenti², Joël Billieux¹

Affiliations

¹ University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, Nepean Clinical School, Sydney, Australia.
² UKE - Kore University of Enna, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Enna, Italy.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to revisit a model of multifaceted fear during the COVID-19 pandemic proposed by Schimmenti et al. (2020) in light of the distinction between fear and anxiety. Although the latter remains unresolved, the boundary between fear and anxiety is more fluid than firm and a strict dichotomy between them is not tenable. The four domains of fear during the COVID-19 pandemic have characteristics of both fear and anxiety, which manifest themselves differently within each fear domain and are experienced differently by people and at different points in time. This conceptual approach has implications for understanding COVID-19-related fears and their treatment.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; coronavirus; fear; pandemic; uncertainty.