Objectives:
The aim of this study was to answer the following question: how do threat to life and state anxiety predict psychological functioning in a coronavirus pandemic among Polish adults aged 18-65 years?

Methods:
The web-based cross-sectional survey was applied to 1466 Polish respondents (1074 women, 73.3%) aged 18-65 years. They were divided into four age groups (18-25; 26-35; 36-45; 46-65). All participants completed: General Functioning Questionnaire (GFQ), State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), and General Sense of Threat to Life Scale (GSTLS).

Results:
The youngest adults (aged 18-25 years) manifested significantly higher psychological distress, state anxiety, and a sense of threat to life compared to all the older participants. A sense of threat to life and state anxiety were significant predictors of psychological distress during the COVID-19 epidemic, where state anxiety mediates the relation between threat to life and psychological distress.

Conclusions:
The youngest participants constitute a risk group for psychological difficulties during the pandemic situation. The COVID-19 psychological distress could be significantly predicted by the two kinds of emotional state such as threat to life and anxiety.