**Hypothesis 5 (H5)**. *Vitality is negatively associated with COVID-19 fear*.

Finally, in the current study, we tested a model assuming mental health and vitality as mediators in the relationship between perceived time control and COVID-19 fear. Prior psychological studies reported mental health effects on increasing well-being and performance [27], decreasing anxiety, heightening self-confidence, and improving individuals' self-control performance [28]. Scholars also showed that vitality contrasts with physical and mental fatigue, one of the pandemic's main psychological consequences [8]. Although the time available to us to carry out our activities has dramatically increased during the imposed restrictions, individuals often experienced a lack of energy, an inability to start and manage daily activities, and difficulty concentrating at work [7]. Such a state of fatigue can adversely affect a person's physical and mental well-being, but also, if prolonged, can, in the long term, predispose the individual to the onset of psychiatric diseases, especially depression. Morgul et al. [29], out of 4700 Turkish-nationality subjects, highlighted how fatigued individuals had more pessimistic attitudes toward the possibility that COVID-19 will finally be controlled, less satisfaction with the authorities' preventive measures, and less confidence that their country can overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. They also showed low compliance with safety protocols such as wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining physical distance. Consequently, adverse mental health status and loss of vitality may decrease perceived control over time and increase anxiety toward COVID-19.

We then formulate Hypothesis 6:

**Hypothesis 6 (H6)**. *Mental health and vitality mediate the relationship between perceived control over time and COVID-19 fear*.

In sum, the present study's results would contribute to studying the dramatic effects of the coronavirus pandemic state on people's anxiety levels, evidencing mental health and vitality as protective factors against anxiety toward SARS-Cov-2 infection.
