Results
Common method bias test
To avoid test for the presence of common method bias caused by the
self-report method used to collected the data, the Harman single factor
test method was used to carry out exploratory factor analysis without
rotation for all the questionnaire items. The results yielded 12 common
factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, and the first common factor
explained 31.89% of the total variance, which is less than the
recognized judgment standard of 40%. Therefore, there was no obvious
common method bias in this study.
The effects of epidemic severity on boredom and mood state
The national epidemic map on February 28, 2020, was referenced to divide
participants based on epidemic severity. Those in areas with fewer than
500 confirmed COVID-19 patients
were considered to live in a less
severe area (Gansu Province, Qinghai Province, etc.), and those in areas
with more than 500 confirmed patients were considered to live in a
severe area (Sichuan Province, Jiangxi Province, Anhui Province, etc.).
Compared with those reported in prior research (Liu, Chen, Jiang, Xu,
Liu, & Eastwood, et al, 2013; Zhu, 1995), the total scores of boredom
and mood disturbance were higher among residents in this study. To
analyze whether epidemic severity affects boredom and mood state, an
independent samples t test was conducted with
regional epidemic severity (less
serious, serious) as the independent variable and boredom and its
dimensions (lack of attention, time perception, low arousal, high
arousal and disengagement) as the dependent variables (see table 2). The
results showed no significant difference for the total boredom score or
for any of dimension scores (p >0.05).