1. Buffering the Fear of COVID-19: Social Connectedness Mediates the Relationship between Fear of COVID-19 and Psychological Wellbeing.
- Author
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Humphrey, Ashley, March, Evita, Lavender, Andrew P., Miller, Kyle J., Alvarenga, Marlies, and Mesagno, Christopher
- Subjects
SOCIAL belonging ,COVID-19 ,COVID-19 pandemic ,SOCIAL distancing ,SOCIAL interaction ,PSYCHOLOGICAL resilience - Abstract
Social connections are crucial for an individual's health, wellbeing, and overall effective functioning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one major preventative effort for reducing the spread of COVID-19 involved restricting people's typical social interactions through physical distancing and isolation. The current cross-sectional study, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, explored the relationship among fear of COVID-19, social connectedness, resilience, depressive symptomologies, and self-perceived stress. Participants (N = 174) completed an anonymous, online questionnaire, and results indicated that social connectedness mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and psychological wellbeing. In contrast, the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and psychological wellbeing was not mediated by resilience. These findings highlight the important role that social connections and resilience play in buffering against negative psychological wellbeing outcomes, especially during a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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