Social anxiety disorder is Associated with Vaccination attitude, stress, and coping responses during COVID-19

Abstract

Background: Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) may be at a higher risk for negative outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic due to isolation that is both characteristic of the disorder and also potentially exacerbated by quarantine and public health restrictions. Accordingly, we evaluated emotional and behavioral responses to stress during COVID-19 and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccine adoption in socially anxious versus non-socially anxious adults.

Methods: Participants (N = 84) were young adults between 18 and 24 years of age who completed a diagnostic interview and self-report measures assessing stress, anxiety and coping responses during COVID-19. Welch's t-tests assessed group differences on mental health outcomes between the SAD versus non-SAD group, and Pearson's χ2 test evaluated COVID-19 vaccination status by group. Lastly, logistic regression examined whether SAD predicted positive COVID-19 vaccination attitude.

Results: Results indicated the SAD group demonstrated significantly elevated rates of anxiety and depression as compared to individuals without SAD and had significantly increased rates of engagement in safety behaviors as well as maladaptive coping mechanisms in response to COVID-19 stress. Individuals with SAD were significantly more likely to receive or plan to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Conclusions: The current study provides evidence that social anxiety may be a significant factor associated with the impact of COVID-19 as well as attitudes with vaccine compliance.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10608-022-10310-3.

Keywords: COVID-19; Social anxiety disorder; Vaccination.