The Fear of COVID-19 Mediates the Relationships Between Psychological Vulnerability, Social Support and Psychological Distress

DADANDI İ.

PSYCHIATRIA DANUBINA, cilt.34, sa.4, ss.766-772, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 34 Sayı: 4
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.24869/psyd.2022.766
  • Dergi Adı: PSYCHIATRIA DANUBINA
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, EMBASE, Psycinfo, Social services abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.766-772
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, psychological vulnerability, social support
  • Yozgat Bozok Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Background: Along with its physical effects, COVID-19 pandemic has brought along a rise in mental health issues in the general population. This study aims to examine the predictive effects of psychological vulnerability and social support on the psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the mediating role of the fear of COVID-19 in these relationships. Subjects and methods: This is a correlational study. The sample includes 783 (F=515, M=268) Turkish adults aged between 18 and 67 years (x =28.76; SD= ±12.21). Results: Psychological vulnerability positively predicted both fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress. Social support positively predicted fear of COVID-19 but negatively predicted psychological distress. Moreover, fear of COVID-19 played a complementary mediating role in the relation between psychological vulnerability and psychological distress, and a competitive mediating role in the relation between social support and psychological distress. Conclusion: These results provide important evidence about psychosocial risk factors and their interactions with fear of COVID-19 in predicting mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.