**1. Introduction**

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which was first diagnosed in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, was first recognized in a Polish patient on 4 March 2020 [1]. This day is the beginning of the first wave of the epidemic in Poland. Over the following 2 months, the government implemented various preventive measures. First, mass events were cancelled, followed by severe restrictions on international travel to and from Poland. Within the following few weeks, educational institutions at all levels were closed, and then switched from teaching and learning on-site to teaching and learning online. Serious limitations in movement were introduced (parks, beaches, boulevards, and, finally, forests were closed), along with fines for breaches of those restrictions. In addition, the obligation to cover one's mouth and nose in public spaces was implemented [1].

The first analyses concerning the psychological consequences of the epidemic were performed in China as early as the beginning of 2020 [2]. The first reviews of research results [3], which were published in April, summed up the information from Chinese observations and articles describing the possible influence of the pandemic on mental health. In additiom, publications prepared in many other countries (e.g., Brazil, Canada, Iran, Iraq) suggested that the epidemic may decrease people's level of functioning in a subjective dimension, e.g., by increasing one's sense of insecurity, loneliness, anxiety, and stress, and in an objective dimension, e.g., through a worsening in the economic situation of both individuals and whole countries. In addition, the first pandemic reports attempted

**Citation:** Twardowska-Staszek, E.; Rostek, I.; Biel, K.; Seredy ´nska, A. Predictors of Positive and Negative Emotions Experienced by Poles during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic. *Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health* **2021**, *18*, 11993. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph182211993

Academic Editors: Paolo Roma, Merylin Monaro and Cristina Mazza

Received: 20 October 2021 Accepted: 12 November 2021 Published: 15 November 2021

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to indicate groups at risk of not coping well with the situation. Such groups included people infected with COVID-19, their families, people who had pre-existing conditions before the pandemic, and health service employees [3].

The fear of becoming infected with the virus affected people all over the world. A Gallup poll conducted in March in 19 countries indicated that more than half of respondents were afraid of becoming infected or worried about their family members who may become infected with the coronavirus. The most apprehensive respondents were the Italians, among which 90% expressed anxiety, while the least worried were the Japanese and the American respondents—52% of respondents in those countries were fearful of the coronavirus infection. Interestingly, the relatively lowest levels of anxiety among the Japanese and Americans had nothing to do with their evaluation of both the current and future situation in their countries. Only 23% of the Japanese and 42% of the American respondents believed that their governments had coped with the pandemic very well. In addition, when asked about the predicted end of the pandemic, the citizens of those countries expressed poor optimism: only 11% of Japanese and 28% of Americans believed that life would return to normal by the end of 2020 [4].

The first analyses concerning the mental state of Poles during the pandemic were performed in March (e.g., [5–8] and April 2020 (e.g., [9–12]). The research conducted in March [4] showed that, at first, Poles' emotional reactions were not dominated by negative emotions. The people researched who kept personal diaries experienced happiness and relaxation twice as often as anger, anxiety, or sadness. Later, a repeated cross-sectional survey was conducted among students of Polish universities in March and April (using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, DASS) [6], which revealed that depression indices increased in a significant manner, while anxiety and stress indices increased in a statistically insignificant manner. In other studies among students [7], which were conducted in March and April (with the use of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, GAD-7), researchers found that 65% of students experienced fear, while 14% reported a severe anxiety disorder. In addition, 56% of the students who participated in the survey experienced a high or very high level of stress (measured with the Perceived Stress Scale, PSS-10.

The research conducted in March on a representative sample of Poles [8] indicated a high level of nervousness in the general population (in the self-evaluation of nervousness due to the pandemic on a scale from 1 to 100, M = 63.44). Most stress factors were related to other people: strangers as potential and irresponsible virus spreaders (75% of the people researched identified with this fear), as well as family members as possible victims of the virus (72%). People's fear of contracting the virus was less intensive (59%). In addition, the level of stress was measured during this study (with the use of a tool prepared on the basis of GAD-7 and Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9) (in the evaluation of the scale from 1 to 5, M = 2.76). In April, the level of nervousness decreased by a small, but statistically significant degree (M = 60.20), while people's fears mainly related to the financial crisis (80%) and to the inefficiency of the health care system (79%). The fear of becoming infected with the virus was still lower than fear about the health of family members. The level of stress decreased slightly, but in a statistically significant manner (M = 2.70).

The research conducted among the general population of Poland in April [9] indicated that 77% people were afraid of becoming infected, and 71% reported anxiety at different levels of intensity (44% of the results might suggest the occurrence of general anxiety disorder). Retrospectively, the people surveyed (85%) indicated feeling nervousness, anxiety, and tension within 14 days preceding the survey (utilizing the GAD-7). Other studies of a similar nature [10] showed a similar picture: 52.82% of the people surveyed using the GHQ–28 (General Health Questionnaire-28) obtained a sten score of 7 or more, while 26.18% obtained sten scores at level 9 or 10 (which suggests the occurrence of serious mental health problems). The results concerning stress were similar (research was conducted utilizing the PSS-10): 53% of those surveyed obtained a sten score of 7 or higher (which confirms the high level of stress they experienced). The results obtained using the

same scale (PSS-10) in other studies [11] indicated a moderate level of stress in 57% of people, while a high level of stress was found among 29% of respondents.

The first weeks of the pandemic were characterized by a large fluctuation of emotions: in the abovementioned studies conducted by Gallup [4], which were conducted between the end of March and the beginning of April. In 9 out of 13 countries, the number of people afraid of contracting the coronavirus increased, while between the beginning of April and the beginning of June, in 9 out of 13 countries, the number of such people decreased.

In the last week of April, the process of removing restrictions began in Poland, which was primarily motivated by economic factors. Despite the increase in the number of infections, the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, announced that the pandemic was "in retreat", which was reflected in the emotions experienced by Poles. At the turn of May and June, the level of nervousness due to the epidemic dropped (M = 52.8). Furthermore, specific symptoms of such nervousness changed, the most intensive of them being uncertainty related to a possible economic crisis (63%). In total, 45% of Poles were afraid of contracting COVID-19, while 60% were afraid that their family members would fall ill [8]. Compared to May, in July the intensity of depression and general anxiety disorder symptoms decreased (analyzed using the GAD-7 and PHQ-9) [13].

Inasmuch as in the first phase of the pandemic. the occurrence of three basic approaches to the situation among those surveyed could be noticed [14]: the involved approach, which constituted almost half of people in the researched group; and the cautious and indifferent approaches, which each constituted a quarter of respondents. The improvement in the emotional state of Poles in the summer was accompanied by a kind of denial of the pandemic problem. Such denial was confirmed by the results of a large survey conducted by Ipsos [15] in different countries, the results of which were published in September. In the question concerning the willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Poland (in the group of 27 countries) placed second to last (just before Russia), with only 54% people prepared to be vaccinated. Moreover, while 45% of respondents from the 27 countries surveyed in September (also by Ipsos) [16] declared that, at that moment, the biggest problem in their countries was COVID-19, in Poland, the percentage was only 38%. The most serious concerns (after the pandemic) of the world's population included unemployment, poverty, inequalities, crime, and violence, but Poles were not afraid of these. Polish people were not worried about losing a job (the second to last position, with 19%; 39% being the mean for all the analyzed countries); they were the least worried about poverty and social inequalities (17%, with 30% being the average result for all the countries); and they were not afraid of crime and violence (6% compared to a 27% average for the other countries). The Poles' most serious problems (which were largely influenced by the political and economic situation in the country) included those related to the functioning of the health service (45%—the second position among all the countries, the mean being 21%) and corruption (35%—the eighth position, with a mean of 27%). In addition, Poles' worries that were greater than the world's mean were connected with financial assistance provided by the state, e.g., measures related to taxation or inflation.

Along with the second wave of the pandemic in October, due to a high increase in the number of infections, educational, cultural, sport institutions, and restaurants were again closed. Following an increase in infections in November amounting to around 20 thousand cases per day and a record-breaking number of deaths (more than 600 people a day), in the middle of December, a national lockdown was introduced. This resulted in the closure of hotels, shopping centers, ski resorts, limitations in the number of people meeting in family houses during Christmas, as well as a ban on movement from one place to another on New Year's Eve. Moreover, at the end of October, women's protests against a toughening of the abortion laws began. In the second half of December, the number of infections decreased, and the first COVID-19 vaccination was administered.

Longitudinal studies revealed that, at the end of the year, people's nervousness related to the pandemic had returned to levels observed the previous April, but the main object of their worries changed (69% of the surveyed people were mainly worried about limited access to health services, 61% were worried about the country's financial situation) [8]. Comparing to July, the number of people from the high-risk group of patients with a clinically important intensification of depression symptoms (29% for women and 24% for men) and anxiety symptoms (31% for women and 26% for men) increased significantly [13]. In cross-sectional studies, the average level of anxiety (analyzed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) had increased, with anxiety disorders occurring among 32.69% of the people surveyed. Similar to the longitudinal studies, 23.14% of respondents revealed depression symptoms, and the average level of stress (measured with PSS) was high [17]. In the case of 59.2% participants, the mean result of the GHQ-28 indicated the occurrence of minor mental disorders [18].

The Ipsos research that was conducted at that time showed that, in November, the primary concern of Poles was the coronavirus (55% of respondents indicated the pandemic as one of the three most important problems in the country). In addition, compared to September, the level of anxiety related to the functioning of the health service increased (53%) [19]. In December, the level of people's anxiety about the coronavirus decreased (to 42%), while the condition of the Polish health service was, again, the main concern of respondents (53%). When asked whether they believe that the situation in the country was moving in the right direction, 82% of Poles declared "no." This was the highest percentage in all the 27 countries surveyed [20].

Three conclusions can be drawn from the above results. First, due to a high dynamic of change, it is necessary to conduct further research (both cross-sectional and longitudinal) in the following weeks and months of the pandemic. Second, because of significant cultural differences in experiencing pandemic stress, it is necessary to consider the elements that go beyond the virus threat in diagnosing the mental condition of Poles. Third, it is necessary to carefully analyze people's mental health and well-being, considering not only the most common aspects such as anxiety, stress, and depression, which were noticeable at the very beginning of the pandemic, but also more subtle issues related to a person's emotional functioning.

The research described in this article constitutes the first stage of a broader research project which, in its assumptions, aims to look for predictors of emotional wellbeing in the context of such variables as sociodemographic data, satisfaction with life, optimism, and styles of coping with stress. According to pre-pandemic surveys, experiencing positive emotions was related to good mental health and social adjustment, as well as rare episodes of anxiety, while experiencing negative emotions may be connected with decreased psychosocial functioning [21]. Thus, the objective of our research was to learn about the predictors of the positive and negative emotions of adult Poles during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is assumed that the research results will be the basis for introducing psychological interventions, the aims of which are to prevent and reduce negative consequences for people's mental health.
