We have several articles that help describe how stress can influence risk for COVID-19, how stress affects mental health and physical health, and how psychological interventions can help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stress, Social Belonging, & Risk for Viruses like COVID-19
Slavich, G. M. (2020). Social safety theory: A biologically based evolutionary perspective on life stress, health, and behavior. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 16, 265-295. doi: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045159
Slavich, G. M. (2020). Psychoneuroimmunology of stress and mental health. In K. L. Harkness & E. P. Hayden (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of stress and mental health (pp. 519-546). New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190681777.013.24
Role of Inflammation in Health
Furman, D., Campisi, J., Verdin, E., Carrera-Bastos, P., Targ, S., Franceschi, C., Ferrucci, L., Gilroy, D. W., Fasano, A., Miller, G. W., Miller, A. H., Mantovani, A., Weyand, C. M., Barzilai, N., Goronzy, J. J., Rando, T. A., Effros, R. B., Lucia, A., Kleinstreuer, N., & Slavich, G. M. (2019). Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span. Nature Medicine, 25, 1822-1832. doi: 10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0
Psychosocial Interventions that Reduce Stress & Improve Immunity
Shields, G. S., Spahr, C. M., & Slavich, G. M. (2020). Psychosocial interventions and immune system function: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. JAMA Psychiatry, 77, 1031-1043. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0431
Black, D. S., & Slavich, G. M. (2016). Mindfulness meditation and the immune system: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1373, 13-24. doi: 10.1111/nyas.12998
Importance of Belonging for Health
Allen, K-A., Kern, M. L., Rozek, C. S., McInerney, D. M., & Slavich, G. M. (2021) Belonging: A review of conceptual issues, an integrative framework, and directions for future research. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73, 87-102. doi: 10.1080/00049530.2021.1883409
Relevant topics discussed in these articles: stress, social belonging, social support, social isolation, loneliness, COVID-19, coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, pandemic, inflammation, immunity, immune system, risk, vulnerability, susceptibility, interventions, psychotherapy.