**1. Introduction**

Since its first identification by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in China, the 2019 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has now reached more than one year after its spread and assumed more dramatic proportions in the entire world ever. Most countries experienced second waves and perhaps prepared for even a third related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutations. As of March 2020, the excess mortality in Italy was 20.4%, lower than that of Spain (23.6%), Belgium (20.8%), and Poland (23.2%) but higher than that of France (13.2%), Germany (7%), Holland (14.7%), and Portugal (13.9%) (ISTAT: 2021). The world's social-economic system is in crisis, and the health system is overloaded. The latter must continuously deal with the coronavirus health emergency and is called upon to manage the increase in mental disorders deriving from the pandemic's living conditions. Several studies have analyzed the negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on people's mental health especially in patients with chronic or autoimmune diseases [1–3], evidencing elevated symptomatology levels in anxiety, general stress, depression, and post-traumatic

**Citation:** Miceli, S.; Caci, B.; Roccella, M.; Vetri, L.; Quatrosi, G.; Cardaci, M. Do Mental Health and Vitality Mediate the Relationship between Perceived Control over Time and Fear of COVID-19? A Survey in an Italian Sample. *J. Clin. Med.* **2021**, *10*, 3516. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10163516

Academic Editor: Emmanuel Andrès

Received: 7 July 2021 Accepted: 9 August 2021 Published: 10 August 2021

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stress related to COVID-19 [4]. Unpleasant emotions, anger, or vulnerability [5]; loss of vitality [6]; a lack of energy, an inability to start and carry out daily activities, or difficulty concentrating at work [7]; fatigue [8]; and social media addiction [9,10] are other negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic reported by the current literature. The coronavirus pandemic urgently forces people to live in the present moment, experiencing a sort of temporal disintegration in which time is stopped or slowed, the order of time and days confused. Even the future seems shortened, causing a real difficulty in the effective control of time in many cases. Therefore, this altered time control could be responsible for higher psychological distress and mental health issues [11]. Prior studies highlighted how perceived control over time significantly affects anxiety disorders [12]. It has also evidenced that it promotes psychological well-being [13] and coping strategies [14]. High levels of perceived control over time are associated with low levels of stress, high academic performance levels, problem-solving ability, and health [14].

Starting from these premises, we first aim to analyze the effect of perceived control over time on COVID-19 fear, a new form of situational anxiety [15]. We assume that higher levels of perceived control over time, which allow people to manage daily activities, are related to lower levels of COVID-19 fear. Therefore, Hypothesis 1 arises as follows:

#### **Hypothesis 1 (H1)**. *Perceived control over time is negatively associated with COVID-19 fear*.

Another essential aspect of perceived control over time is the socio-cognitive-behavioral attribute of perceived control. Perceived control has been defined in the psychological literature as personal control, locus of control, self-efficacy, and sense of control, even if each term has distinct features [16–18]. In the framework of social learning theory [16], perceived control over time is a predictor of future health behavior and status. In general, socio-cognitive psychologists suggested that high levels of perceived control are related to proactive behaviors and the ability to feel healthy. In contrast, low levels are associated with depression, stress, and anxiety-related disorders [19]. Longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between perceived control over life circumstances and mental health have been suggested too [8]. In this sense, perceived control modulates affective responses to environmental stressors, enhances positive emotions, decreases negative ones, and sustains psychological vitality [20]. People with high vitality are more active and productive and have good coping strategies and greater well-being [21–24]. Vitality was also related to psychological distress [25], subjective happiness [23], and physical function and health-related quality of life [25,26].

Hence, the second aim of the current study is to explore the reciprocal relationships among perceived control over time, mental health, and vitality. In the framework of the coronavirus pandemic, we hypothesize that people with a high sense of control over their time, who can plan their working or studying tasks without procrastination, will be more able to manage their negative emotions and increase their sense of vitality compared to those with low control beliefs over time. Consequently, we state Hypotheses 2 and 3 as follows:

**Hypothesis 2 (H2)**. *Perceived control over time is negatively associated with adverse mental health statuses*.

**Hypothesis 3 (H3)**. *Perceived control over time is positively associated with vitality*.

Considering the linear relationships evidenced by literature for COVID-19 anxiety and mental health and vitality, as described above [4], we expect to find that people with both adverse mental health status and low vitality levels will present higher levels of COVID-19 fear as well.

We hypothesize then that

**Hypothesis 4 (H4)**. *Adverse mental health statuses are positively associated with COVID-19 fear*.
