Network analysis and psychopathology during Covid-19: Case study and tutorial in R

Abstract

Network analysis is a research method which works from the premise that psychological constructs are analyzed as a network of behavioral events that influence each other. It has been increasingly used in the field of psychopathology, especially in the study of psychological disorders. During the pandemic, an important predictor construct of psychological and psychiatric outcomes has been Covid-19 fear, which manifests as pandemic-related actions, thoughts, and affections such as the possibility of infection, contact with difficult news, and sleep disturbance. The objective of this paper is, through a case study of fear of Covid-19, presenting a tutorial of data analysis in R software. A total of 987 people participated, and the network proved to be stable and with several interconnections. The heart rate response to the thought of infection was the most central and intense symptom in the network, and therefore the most representative of the phenomenon. The comparison between the place of residence showed similar networks, which confirms the stability of the phenomenon, but it was observed that the feeling of anxiety arising from contact with news about Covid-19 and changes in the sleep pattern due to concerns about Covid-19 were more relevant among residents of capital cities, which can be explained by the higher number of cases and deaths in these regions.