COVID-19 Concern and Stress in Bangladesh: Perceived Social Support as a Predictor or Protector

Abstract

The insidious coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has been a global public health concern affecting almost everyone physically and/or psychologically. The psychological consequences like concern about COVID-19 and increased perceived stress are primarily results of preventive measures like social distancing, lockdown, etc. The present study examined whether perceived social support predicts stress or lessens the effect between concern and stress during social distancing. More specifically, we tested whether (a) the greater social support is associated with lesser perceived stress, and (b) the greater an individual perceives social support, the weaker will be the concern-to-stress relationship (a prediction from buffering hypothesis). We utilized the data from the Bangladeshi respondents (n = 204, 54% males) as part of the COVIDiSTRESS global survey. The three-step hierarchical regression analysis revealed social support as a predictor of stress along with coronavirus concerns rather than protector. The findings have implications for professionals (in providing psychological support to vulnerable people), policymakers (in implementing steps in the future that would less impact on perceived social support), and future researchers (in solving the ultimate role of social support to the association between fear and stress).

Keywords: Buffering hypothesis; COVID-19; Coronavirus concern; Perceived stress; Social support.

Fig. 1

Depiction of the moderating effect of social support on the association between coronavirus concern and perceived stress