Perceived social support in the social distancing era: the association between circles of potential support and COVID-19 reactive psychopathology

Sari Goldstein Ferber, Aron Weller, Rotem Maor, Yuval Feldman, Yossi Harel-Fisch, Mario Mikulincer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic are risk factors for psychopathology, but psychosocial protective factors might play a crucial role in buffering the pathogenic effects of the outbreak. Design: In the current study, we examined the association of inner resources and potential external sources of support for coping with the pandemic and related lockdowns to mental health during the pandemic, while controlling for sociodemographic variables as covariates. Methods: We tested the model in a probability-based internet survey of a representative sample of the Israeli adult population (N = 812) conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Perceived support in close relationships was negatively associated with the intensity of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Larger rings of potential support such as perceived belongingness to a community and trust in government were also negatively related to anxiety and depression but were positively associated with the intensity of OCD and PTSD. Conclusions: Findings support the “tend and befriend” theory in the social distancing era and highlight the importance of keeping personal relationships alive when facing a mass trauma.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)58-71
Number of pages14
JournalAnxiety, Stress and Coping
Volume35
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology, Israel: [Grant Number grant #¬¬¬¬3-16904]. The authors thank Dr. Mano Geva for consulting regarding the survey.

FundersFunder number
Ministry of science and technology, Israel3-16904

    Keywords

    • COVID-19
    • coping resources
    • psychopathology
    • social interactions
    • tend and befriend

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