Daily fluctuations in occupation with and worry about COVID-19

In the first week after the first COVID-19 patient was reported in the Netherlands, we conducted a pre-registered<br/>momentary assessment study (7 surveys per day, 50 participants, 7 days) to study the dynamic relationship<br/>between individuals' occupation with and worries about COVID-19 in daily life, and the moderating role of<br/>neuroticism in this relationship. At the group level, higher scores on occupation and worry co-occurred, and<br/>occupation predicted worry 1 h later, but not vice versa. There were substantial individual differences in the<br/>magnitudes and directions of the effects. For instance, occupation with COVID-19 was related to increases in<br/>worry for some but decreases in worry for others. Neuroticism did not predict any of these individual differences<br/>in the links between worry and occupation. This study suggests that it is important to go beyond group-level<br/>analyses and to account for individual differences in responses to COVID-19.

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