The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 Infection and Anxiety on Loneliness: Moderated Mediation Effects of Gratitude

Abstract

Objective This study was conducted to identify factors related to loneliness during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and focused on how the fear of COVID-19 infection affects loneliness and the conditional effect of gratitude as a moderator in the relationship among the fear of COVID-19, anxiety, and loneliness.Methods For the analysis of this study, a survey was conducted among 1,500 individuals aged 19 to 69 years living in three metropolitan areas in South Korea. Questionnaires included sociodemographic data, psychological experience and stress associated with COVID-19, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale–7, UCLA Loneliness Scale–3, and Gratitude Questionnaire–6. An analysis was conducted by applying SPSS PROCESS macro models 4 and 7.Results First, anxiety mediated the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 infection and loneliness. Second, the effect of the fear of COVID-19 infection on loneliness through anxiety was moderated by gratitude. The higher the gratitude, the more the fear of COVID-19 infection is buffered in the path to anxiety, and the lower the indirect effect on loneliness.Conclusion This suggests that in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, interventions for psychological problems such as anxiety and loneliness can be carried out through gratitude, a significant protective variable.

Effects of Profession-Related Support from Different Sources on Subjective Well-Being Among Chinese Tuition-Free Normal University Students: The Mediation of Intrinsic Motivation for Teaching and Moderation of Dispositional Gratitude

“… 62 , 64 , 65 Several studies examined the moderating role of trait gratitude played in the moderated mediating model, and found that gratitude moderated the mediating effect of deliberate rumination on the relationship between intrusive rumination and post-traumatic growth, 66 and dispositional gratitude moderated the indirect effect of brooding on suicidal ideation via hopelessness, 67 and the effect of the fear of COVID-19 infection on loneliness through anxiety was also moderated by dispositional gratitude. 68 Therefore, we speculate that profession-related support coupled with high dispositional gratitude may further activate TFNUS’s stronger intrinsic motivation for teaching, and the indirect effect of profession-related support on subjective well-being through intrinsic motivation for teaching will be stronger. On the contrary, profession-related support, combined with low dispositional gratitude, may lead to a weaker indirect effect of profession-related support on subjective well-being.…”