Mayorga Nubia A, Smit Tanya, Garey Lorra, Gold Alexandra K, Otto Michael W, Zvolensky Michael J
Department of Psychology, University of Houston, 3695 Cullen Blvd., 126 Heyne Building, Houston, TX 77204 USA.
Department of Psychology & Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA USA.
Cognit Ther Res. 2022;46(1):11-19. doi: 10.1007/s10608-021-10252-2. Epub 2021 Jul 25.
Young adults are overrepresented in terms of adverse mental health problems related to COVID-19. Emerging work has identified worry about the consequences and trajectory of COVID-19 and loneliness as important factors in mental health during the pandemic. However, the main and interactive effects of worry about COVID-19 and loneliness have not been explored in one overarching model in relation to mental health problems among young adults.
The present study therefore evaluated loneliness and COVID-19 related worry in terms of anxiety, stress, and depression among young adults (209 college students, 76.1% female = 22.99 years, = 5.25) recruited to participate in an online survey study.
Results indicated a significant interaction between COVID-19 worry and loneliness for each criterion variable (depression: = .01, = .003, = 2.86, = .01; anxiety: = .01, = .002, = 2.36, = .02; stress: = .01, = .003, = 2.54, = .01), such that worry was more strongly related to each mental health outcome among those that endorsed higher levels of loneliness.
The current findings suggest loneliness is related to negative mental health symptoms among young adults experiencing COVID-19 related worry. The current findings provide initial empirical evidence for the impact of COVID-19 worry on mental health among young adults experiencing loneliness. Future research may benefit from exploring how COVID-19 worry and loneliness interplay over time.
在与新冠疫情相关的不良心理健康问题方面，年轻人的占比过高。新出现的研究已经确定，对新冠疫情的后果和发展轨迹的担忧以及孤独感是疫情期间心理健康的重要因素。然而，尚未在一个总体模型中探讨对新冠疫情的担忧和孤独感对年轻人心理健康问题的主要影响和交互作用。
因此，本研究对参与在线调查研究的年轻人（209名大学生，76.1%为女性，平均年龄=22.99岁，标准差=5.25）的孤独感和与新冠疫情相关的担忧在焦虑、压力和抑郁方面进行了评估。
结果表明，对于每个标准变量（抑郁：F=.01，p=.003，β=2.86，p=.01；焦虑：F=.01，p=.002，β=2.36，p=.02；压力：F=.01，p=.003，β=2.54，p=.01），新冠疫情担忧和孤独感之间存在显著的交互作用，即在那些认可更高孤独水平的人群中，担忧与每种心理健康结果的相关性更强。
目前的研究结果表明，在经历与新冠疫情相关担忧的年轻人中，孤独感与负面心理健康症状有关。目前的研究结果为新冠疫情担忧对经历孤独感的年轻人心理健康的影响提供了初步的实证证据。未来的研究可能会受益于探索新冠疫情担忧和孤独感如何随时间相互作用。
