Recalling Self-efficacious Memories Reduces COVID-19-Related Fear

Samantha L Bakke; E Samuel Winer; Adam D Brown

doi:10.1007/s10608-023-10377-6

Recalling Self-efficacious Memories Reduces COVID-19-Related Fear

Cognit Ther Res. 2023 May 2:1-8. doi: 10.1007/s10608-023-10377-6. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Samantha L Bakke¹, E Samuel Winer¹, Adam D Brown¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Psychology, The New School for Social Research, 66 W 12th Street, New York, NY 10011 USA.

Abstract

Purpose: Manipulating perceived self-efficacy can mitigate the negative impact of trauma and increase ability to adapt to stress. It is possible that a similar domain-based manipulation aimed at anxiety around the pandemic might mitigate the negative mental health impact of COVID-19. The current experimental study assessed whether a self-efficacy induction would be effective in reducing COVID-19 distress.

Methods: Participants were randomized to a self-efficacy autobiographical memory induction or control condition. We hypothesized that individuals in the self-efficacy group would exhibit lower levels of fear on an implicit measure of emotional states following exposure to COVID-19-related stimuli.

Results: A significant increase in general self-efficacy and self-confidence was found in the self-efficacy group from pre- to post-induction. Individuals in the self-efficacy group had significantly lower levels of fear counts on the implicit measure of emotional states than the control group following exposure to COVID-19-related stimuli.

Conclusions: Results suggest that (1) self-efficacy can be increased among individuals with high levels of COVID-19-related distress using an autobiographical memory induction and (2) doing so reduces fear processing among these individuals when exposed to COVID-19 stimuli. This is relevant for future intervention as it reveals a possible mechanism for reducing and recovering from COVID-19-related distress.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10608-023-10377-6.

Keywords: Autobiographical memory; COVID-19; Distress; Fear; Self-efficacy.

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