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The COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading globally since December 2019, bringing with it anxieties, mortal risk, and agonizing psychological suffering. This study aimed to explore the relationship between maladaptive daydreaming (MD)—an addictive mental behavior to vivid fantasy associated with distress and functional impairment—and forced COVID-19 pandemic-related self-isolation and quarantine. Previous literature indicated that individuals employ MD for the regulation of distress and boredom, wish fulfillment, and entertainment experiences. The literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health identifies a flareup in psychological difficulties in the general population. In this study we explored the associations between the pandemic threat and mental health indices among individuals with MD. We surveyed 1,565 adults from over 70 countries who responded to calls for participants posted in online MD communities and other general social media sites. Probable MD was determined based on an empirically derived cut-off score on a pertinent measure. After controlling for sociodemographic variables, a series of MANCOVAs, followed by post-hoc ANCOVAs, revealed that individuals with probable MD who were observing lockdown restrictions reported having spent more time in fantasy, experienced more intense and vivid daydreaming, and had a stronger urge to daydream than other participants. Similar statistical procedures indicated that, individuals with probable MD who reported pre-existing anxiety and depression disorders described a greater urge to daydream due to the pandemic and greater difficulty to control this addictive behavior. Compared to individuals with likely normal daydreaming, individuals with suspected MD reported more pandemic-attributed deterioration on a wide array of psychological distress indices. Our data show that the current worldwide pandemic threat is connected with an elevated intensity of this addictive form of mental activity, and that MD is associated with the exacerbation of psychological distress and dysfunction rather than with beneficial regulation of the experienced stressor.

Consistent evidence supports the view that childhood trauma is linked with insecure attachment styles and psychopathology. However, it is a matter of debate how different forms of child maltreatment may relate with dimensions of anxiety and avoidance in attachment relationships and may foster specific configurations of clinical symptoms. Accordingly, examining the associations between childhood trauma, insecure attachment and psychopathology from a correlation network perspective may serve to fill a relevant gap in the literature. Three-hundred fifty-two adults aged between 18 and 73 years old (M= 32.70; SD = 11.72) completed measures on child maltreatment, attachment styles and psychopathology. A regularized partial correlation network was estimated to examine the relationships between the three constructs. The network showed 101 out of 190 nonzero correlations linking childhood traumatic experiences, anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions, and clinical symptoms. The analysis of the network showed that being exposed to emotional abuse and emotional neglect increased the risk of being exposed to other types of childhood trauma, such as physical abuse. Anxious attachment was more strongly linked to child maltreatment and psychopathology than avoidant attachment. Suicidal ideation and maladaptive personality functioning were the clinical symptoms most strongly connected with the other variables in the network. These findings might be relevant for the assessment and treatment of individuals who display clinical problems related to insecure attachment and early relational trauma.