*4.2. The Impact of the COVID-19 Emergency on Self-Reported Mood*

The results on the difference in subjective mood before and during the COVID-19 epidemic are shown in Table 4 and Figure 1. The analyses confirmed for all dimensions a perceived worsening of mood by the respondents.

**Table 4.** Mean and SD of self-reported mood before and during COVID-19 emergency, and ANOVA results.


**Figure 1.** Means and standard errors of self-reported mood before and during the COVID-19 emergency.

*4.3. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic*

Figure 2 shows the prevalence of psychopathological symptomatology, state of anxiety, and PTSD, stratified by gender, age, territorial areas, knowledge of people affected by COVID-19, and loneliness in social distancing experience.

**Figure 2.** The prevalence of psychopathological symptomatology, state of anxiety, and PTSD, stratified by gender, age, territorial areas, knowledge of people affected by COVID-19, and loneliness in social distancing experience.

The prevalence of psychopathological symptomatology was 31.38% for the SCL-90, 37.19% for state anxiety assessed by the STAI, and 27.72% for PTSD symptomatology assessed with the IES-R.

Logistic regressions showed that the risk of developing psychopathological symptomatology was higher in females (OR = 2.32; 95% CI = 1.85–2.92), in people younger than 50 years (OR > 1.68), in individuals that felt uncertainty about the possibility of contracting the COVID-19 infection (OR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.06–1.58) or about the possibility to have direct contact with people infected by COVID-19 (OR = 1.33; 95% CI = 1.10–1.59) and in people who knew infected people (OR = 1.25; 95% CI = 1.02–1.53) or people who died due toi COVID-19 (OR = 1.62; 95% CI = 1.10–2.39). The risk of developing anxiety was higher in females (OR = 3.10; 95% CI = 2.47–3.89), in individuals younger than 50 years (OR > 1.47), in undergraduates (OR =1.68; 95% CI = 1.05–2.68), in postgraduates in health care professions (OR = 3.00; 95% CI = 1.22–7.39), and in people uncertain regarding the possibility of being infected by COVID-19 (OR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.06–1.56) or in persons uncertain about the possibility of having had direct contact with people infected by COVID-19 (OR = 1.30; 95% CI = 1.09–1.55). Higher risk of PTSD symptomatology was associated with females (OR = 2.39; 95% CI = 1.88–3.05); being aged between 18 and 49 years (OR > 1.66); having uncertainty regarding the possibility of contracting the infection (OR = 1.22; 95% CI = 0.99–1.50); the possibility of having had direct contact with people infected by COVID-19 (OR = 1.32; 95% CI = 1.09–1.59); having known infected people (OR = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.09–1.66) o4 people hospitalized in ICU (OR = 1.45; 95% CI = 1.00–2.00) or who had died due to COVID-19 (OR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.28–2.77) (See Table 5).




**Table 5.** *Cont.*
