School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt, Australia.
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2021 Aug;24(8):521-525. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0645. Epub 2021 Feb 18.
COVID-19 has given rise to a myriad of social, psychological, and health-related complications. The specific mental health implications of COVID-19 are still being uncovered, but we know that there are likely to be negative outcomes for many people. This is particularly the case for vulnerable members of the community, such as those with high health anxiety, and under conditions where individuals feel isolated or disconnected from others. The objective of this study was to examine whether the level of socially motivated Internet use acts as a buffer of the relationship between health anxiety, isolation behaviors, and depression. Participants ( = 473; 67.3 percent female; = 23.03, = 7.50) from Australia completed self-report measures during the height of the national pandemic restrictions (April-May 2020). A regression analysis revealed positive relationships between health anxiety and isolation behaviors on depression and highlighted a three-way interaction effect. Specifically, health anxiety was significantly negatively associated with depression when participants engaged in fewer isolation behaviors. However, at higher levels of isolation behaviors, the relationship between health anxiety and depression was attenuated for participants with greater levels of online social connection. The findings suggest that online social connection buffered the negative effects of health anxiety under conditions of isolation. These results offer promising avenues to mitigate against vulnerabilities during the pandemic and highlight the need to promote alternate social support mechanisms in the absence of face-to-face connection.
COVID-19 引发了诸多社会、心理和健康相关的并发症。COVID-19 对心理健康的具体影响仍在研究之中，但我们知道，许多人可能会出现负面结果。对于社区中的弱势群体，如那些健康焦虑程度较高的人群，以及在个人感到孤立或与他人脱节的情况下，情况尤其如此。本研究的目的是检验社交动机的互联网使用程度是否可以缓冲健康焦虑、隔离行为和抑郁之间的关系。参与者（ = 473；67.3%为女性； = 23.03， = 7.50）来自澳大利亚，他们在全国大流行限制期间（2020 年 4 月至 5 月）完成了自我报告式的测量。回归分析显示，健康焦虑与隔离行为与抑郁呈正相关，并强调了三向交互作用。具体而言，当参与者的隔离行为较少时，健康焦虑与抑郁之间存在显著的负相关关系。然而，对于在线社交联系程度较高的参与者来说，在更高水平的隔离行为下，健康焦虑与抑郁之间的关系会减弱。研究结果表明，在隔离的情况下，在线社交联系缓冲了健康焦虑的负面影响。这些结果为在大流行期间减轻脆弱性提供了有希望的途径，并强调了在缺乏面对面联系的情况下需要推广替代的社会支持机制。
