School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA.
Department of Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona, McClelland Park Rm. 235F, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 12;19(20):13125. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013125.
Many emerging adults have experienced increased financial distress and mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, and isolation may have amplified the importance of close relationships (especially as parents' influence diminishes during this developmental stage). Using the ABC-X Model to frame our model, we tested whether financial distress (C) mediates the associations between COVID-19 impact (A) and anxiety and depressive symptoms (X), and whether or not romantic relationship quality (B) moderates these indirect associations. Our sample comprised of 1950 U.S. emerging adults in a romantic relationship. Mediation and first-stage moderated mediation were tested using structural equation modeling. Financial distress partially mediated the association between COVID-19 impact and anxiety symptoms and fully mediated the association between COVID-19 impact and depressive symptoms. Strong evidence of moderated mediation was found but in the opposite direction expected: the indirect associations of COVID-19 impact with anxiety and depressive symptoms (through financial distress) were stronger for those in high-quality romantic relationships. The findings may inform policy and practice aimed at optimizing the mental health of emerging adults, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: specifically, alleviating financial distress may improve the mental health of emerging adults, while focusing on the quality of their romantic relationships may not.
许多刚成年的人在 COVID-19 大流行期间经历了财务困境和心理健康问题的增加，而隔离可能放大了亲密关系的重要性（尤其是在这个发展阶段，父母的影响会减弱）。我们使用 ABC-X 模型来构建模型，以检验财务困境（C）是否在 COVID-19 影响（A）和焦虑和抑郁症状（X）之间的关联中起中介作用，以及浪漫关系质量（B）是否调节这些间接关联。我们的样本包括 1950 名处于浪漫关系中的美国刚成年的人。使用结构方程模型检验了中介和第一阶段的调节中介作用。财务困境部分中介了 COVID-19 影响与焦虑症状之间的关联，完全中介了 COVID-19 影响与抑郁症状之间的关联。虽然发现了有调节的中介作用的有力证据，但与预期的方向相反：在高质量的浪漫关系中，COVID-19 影响与焦虑和抑郁症状（通过财务困境）的间接关联更强。这些发现可能为旨在优化刚成年的人的心理健康的政策和实践提供信息，特别是考虑到持续的 COVID-19 大流行：具体来说，减轻财务困境可能会改善刚成年的人的心理健康，而关注他们的浪漫关系的质量可能不会。
