The Association of Perceived Social Support and General Health with Covid-19 Related Anxiety during the Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has started spreading worldwide after its outbreak in December 2019 in China. This pandemic has greatly disturbed people’s lives and endangered their general health. In the milieu of social isolation, people might suffer from anxiety related to the pandemic. Perceived social support, as an external factor, might play a positive role in predicting individuals’ general health. This study intended to examine the association of Covid-19-related anxiety with perceived social support and general health among young adults in Bangladesh during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used to survey 238 young adults during the Covid-19 pandemic, who submitted valid questionnaires (Mage = 25.90, SDage = 8.96, Range = 18–32 years, 50% female). The perceived social support is significantly and negatively associated with Covid-19-related anxiety and poor general health. The perceived social support and general health jointly explain 34.5% of variances in Covid-19-related anxiety. Further analyses found that there is a significant difference in Covid-19-related anxiety and general health among low, medium, and high perceived social support groups. These results contribute to our understanding and provide new insights into differential psychological outcomes for individuals in the context of the pandemic.