Mediating Role of Social Interaction Anxiety between Fear of COVID-19 and Psychological Distress

Authors

  • Dr Faiqa Yaseen Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Lahore Garrison University, Lahore, Pakistan. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3945-243X
  • Rafia Bibi BS (Hons) Scholar, Department of Psychology, Lahore Garrison University, Lahore, Pakistan.
  • Dr Yousaf Jamal Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Effat University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52053/jpap.v2i2.46

Keywords:

Fear of COVID-19, Social Interaction Anxiety, Psychological Distress

Abstract

Youth is the backbone of any society. Their mental health is worsening in these terrible times of pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate a relationship between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress, and whether this relationship was mediated by social interaction anxiety. A cross-sectional research design was used to recruit online 200 university students of Lahore, Pakistan through Google docs via purposive sampling technique by introducing them to a demographic questionnaire consisting of fear of COVID-19, social interaction anxiety and psychological distress scales respectively. The sample included both male and female students (men =53%, women =46%) whose age ranged from 17-24 years (M = 21.04, SD = 2.52). Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 25. Pearson Product moment correlation and mediation analysis were used to analyze data. It was found that there was a significant positive association between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress. The findings also revealed that social interaction anxiety fully mediated the association between psychological distress and fear of COVID-19. It is recommended that counselors and psychologists develop social support programs that can assist students to manage themselves well in the present pandemic environment.

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Published

2021-12-28

How to Cite

Yaseen , D. F. ., Bibi , R. ., & Jamal , D. Y. . (2021). Mediating Role of Social Interaction Anxiety between Fear of COVID-19 and Psychological Distress. Journal of Professional & Applied Psychology, 2(2), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.52053/jpap.v2i2.46

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Vol. 2 No. 2 (2021): Journal of Professional & Applied Psychology

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