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. 2023 Sep;20(9):870-879.
doi: 10.30773/pi.2023.0170. Epub 2023 Sep 19.

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

Seong-Eun Jeon  1 , Seunghyong Ryu  2 , Ju-Yeon Lee  2 , Jae-Min Kim  2 , Sung-Wan Kim  2   3 , Young-Shin Kang  1
Affiliations

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

Seong-Eun Jeon et al. Psychiatry Investig. 2023 Sep.

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.

Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; Fear; Gratitude; Loneliness.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

Jae-Min Kim and Sung-Wan Kim, a contributing editor of the Psychiatry Investigation, were not involved in the editorial evaluation or decision to publish this article. All remaining authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Research model. COVID-19, coronavirus disease-2019.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Moderating effect of gratitude in the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 infection and anxiety. COVID-19, coronavirus disease-2019.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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