Psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world: Introduction to the special issue

Although psychological researchers have long studied the implications of major crises, the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have confronted the global community of psychologists and psychological researchers with new challenges. This special issue contributes to the growing empirical literature on the immediate psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. We present and discuss diverse work from authors that followed our call for papers in May 2020, shortly after the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The studies focus on the early phases of the pandemic by addressing (a) implications of the pandemic for psychological well-being and mental health, (b) psychological effects of lockdown scenarios as well as (c) individual compliance with COVID-19 prevention and intervention measures. We conclude by highlighting the need for new research efforts, with a special focus on low- and middle-income regions, international research collaborations and cross-cultural research designs.