Intro: on the Psycorona project

In March 2020, a collaboration of over 100 researchers pooled available resources to launch a rapid international survey with the goal of creating a historical record of certain psychological and behavioral responses to the corona pandemic. The study incorporated cross-cultural, longitudinal, and integrative data science methods to maximize the scientific value and re-use potential of the data. In addition to assessing regional demographics, psychological data, and metadata, the survey assesses key behaviors such as frequency of leaving the home and tendencies toward physical distancing. Further information about this research was provided on the project website, that is archieved here on the Sustainable Society website.

Survey

Approximately 60,000 respondents completed the initial survey, which was available in 30 languages. Given early indications that age and gender were likely vulnerability factors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020; Wenham et al., 2020), the sample included 20 national subsamples representative of population age/gender distributions. After completing the survey, respondents could sign up to be contacted for follow-up surveys that would continue through the initial lockdowns and into an anticipated second wave of the virus in the fall or winter. The longitudinal research will continue through 2020.