The anxiety induced in people by the coronavirus pandemic has worsened the socio-political gaps between different communities, a new study from the Hebrew University has discovered.
Earlier studies had previously concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic had caused a large increase in mental health difficulties, and anxiety in particular. However, the effect that this has had on society as a whole had not been considered until now.
A group of researchers from the Hebrew University, led by Dr. Meital Belmas from the Communication and Journalism Department, Prof. Eiran Halperin of the Psychology Department, and doctoral student Tal Orian-Harel, found that the mental distress bought on by the pandemic caused hostilities between opposing political groups in Israeli and North American societies.
The study found that people with higher levels of anxiety also had higher levels of mistrust and hostility towards those they disagreed with politically. This led to a widening of the gap between different political groups, as well as between different social groups in the two countries.
“A person who is in an unsettled state of mind develops a sense of threat towards different factors from him in his environment," explained Belmas. "The feeling of threat will not always necessarily be related to the reason why he is anxious. The sense of threat, in the existing socio-political situation, was directed at the opposing political group."
This phenomenon was made worse by the fact that the distance between different groups had been growing in the years prior to the pandemic.
"The coronavirus pandemic did not reach a healthy society," Belmas said. "It came at a time when another pandemic was occurring in countries around the world: a social epidemic of emotional polarization between political groups."
In a second study conducted by the same research group, a correlation was found between depressive episodes in individuals and exposure to news websites throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The constant access to fast moving current affairs that news sites provide can increase stress, anxiety and depression in those who engage in them, especially during a time when there is a constant exposure to negative information.
This then leads to a more hostile attitude to opposing political groups than is seen in those who do not suffer from mental stress related to the media.
The researchers concluded that the social effects of the pandemic are much more far-reaching than many had predicted, and said that this must be taken into account by leaders entering a post-pandemic world.
"Heads of state could have managed the crisis differently, in a way that would minimize the social damage," said Belmas, before expanding: "The focus of politicians in [Israel and the US] should be on lowering the level of anxiety in the population and contributing to a less hostile atmosphere between the political groups by personal example."