IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i23p9097-d457555.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Social Support on Public Anxiety amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yibin Ao

    (College of Environment and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China)

  • Hao Zhu

    (College of Environment and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China)

  • Fanrong Meng

    (College of Environment and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China)

  • Yan Wang

    (Department of Engineering Management, Sichuan College of Architectural Technology, Deyang 618000, China)

  • Gui Ye

    (School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China)

  • Linchuan Yang

    (School of Architecture and Design, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China)

  • Na Dong

    (College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China)

  • Igor Martek

    (School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia)

Abstract

The recent coronavirus outbreak has captured worldwide attention. This study investigated the anxiety of the Chinese public and its relationship with social support during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby providing empirical support for interventions on improving the public’s mental health. On the basis of an online questionnaire survey conducted on 10–18 February 2020, this study shows that 19.8%, 68.5%, and 11.1% of the respondents suffered mild anxiety, moderate anxiety, and severe anxiety, respectively. Significant differences are reported in state anxiety between people with different household incomes. There are significant differences in trait anxiety and state anxiety between different social support groups. Social support and trait anxiety are negatively correlated. Social support and state anxiety are negatively correlated. Social support affects state anxiety both directly and indirectly (through the mediation of trait anxiety). Therefore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing public support for society can effectively reduce public anxiety.

Suggested Citation

  • Yibin Ao & Hao Zhu & Fanrong Meng & Yan Wang & Gui Ye & Linchuan Yang & Na Dong & Igor Martek, 2020. "The Impact of Social Support on Public Anxiety amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9097-:d:457555
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9097/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9097/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen Zheng & Wendy Yajun Huang & Sinead Sheridan & Cindy Hui-Ping Sit & Xiang-Ke Chen & Stephen Heung-Sang Wong, 2020. "COVID-19 Pandemic Brings a Sedentary Lifestyle in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-11, August.
    2. Cuiyan Wang & Riyu Pan & Xiaoyang Wan & Yilin Tan & Linkang Xu & Cyrus S. Ho & Roger C. Ho, 2020. "Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    3. Federica Zabini & Lorenzo Albanese & Francesco Riccardo Becheri & Gioele Gavazzi & Fiorenza Giganti & Fabio Giovanelli & Giorgio Gronchi & Andrea Guazzini & Marco Laurino & Qing Li & Tessa Marzi & Fra, 2020. "Comparative Study of the Restorative Effects of Forest and Urban Videos during COVID-19 Lockdown: Intrinsic and Benchmark Values," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-13, October.
    4. Young-Jae Kim & So-Young Lee & Jeong-Hyung Cho, 2020. "A Study on the Job Retention Intention of Nurses Based on Social Support in the COVID-19 Situation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-10, September.
    5. Dihogo Gama de Matos & Felipe J. Aidar & Paulo Francisco de Almeida-Neto & Osvaldo Costa Moreira & Raphael Fabrício de Souza & Anderson Carlos Marçal & Lucas Soares Marcucci-Barbosa & Francisco de Ass, 2020. "The Impact of Measures Recommended by the Government to Limit the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Physical Activity Levels, Quality of Life, and Mental Health of Brazilians," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-13, October.
    6. Zhonggen Sun & Bingqing Yang & Ruilian Zhang & Xin Cheng, 2020. "Influencing Factors of Understanding COVID-19 Risks and Coping Behaviors among the Elderly Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-16, August.
    7. Adrian Bartoszek & Dariusz Walkowiak & Agnieszka Bartoszek & Grzegorz Kardas, 2020. "Mental Well-Being (Depression, Loneliness, Insomnia, Daily Life Fatigue) during COVID-19 Related Home-Confinement—A Study from Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-12, October.
    8. GholamReza Zandi & Imran Shahzad & Muhammad Farrukh & Sebastian Kot, 2020. "Supporting Role of Society and Firms to COVID-19 Management among Medical Practitioners," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-16, October.
    9. Yang, Linchuan & Chu, Xiaoling & Gou, Zhonghua & Yang, Hongtai & Lu, Yi & Huang, Wencheng, 2020. "Accessibility and proximity effects of bus rapid transit on housing prices: Heterogeneity across price quantiles and space," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Mulvaney-Day, Norah E. & Alegría, Margarita & Sribney, William, 2007. "Social cohesion, social support, and health among Latinos in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 477-495, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aina Gabarrell-Pascuet & Helena García-Mieres & Iago Giné-Vázquez & Maria Victoria Moneta & Ai Koyanagi & Josep Maria Haro & Joan Domènech-Abella, 2023. "The Association of Social Support and Loneliness with Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-25, February.
    2. Jialiang Cui & Vanessa Hoi Mei Cheung & Wenjie Huang & Wan Sang Kan, 2022. "Mental Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Women Receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.
    3. Lanlan Zhao & Xin Zheng & Kai Ji & Zhengsheng Wang & Lingzhi Sang & Xuefei Chen & Ling Tang & Ying Zhu & Zhongliang Bai & Ren Chen, 2022. "The Relationship between Social Support and Anxiety among Rural Older People in Elderly Caring Social Organizations: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-12, September.
    4. Mingna Li & Bo Zhou & Bingbin Hu, 2022. "Relationship between Income and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, July.
    5. Ping Sun & Xiaoming Zhou & Cui Shao & Wenli Wang & Jinkun Sun, 2022. "The Impacts of Environmental Dynamism on Chinese Tour Guides’ Sustainable Performance: Factors Related to Vitality, Positive Stress Mindset and Supportive Policy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-15, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ankica Kosic & Tamara Džamonja Ignjatović & Nebojša Petrović, 2021. "A Cross-Cultural Study of Distress during COVID-19 Pandemic: Some Protective and Risk Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-15, July.
    2. Philipp Bagus & José Antonio Peña-Ramos & Antonio Sánchez-Bayón, 2021. "COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Mass Hysteria," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Maja Milošević Marković & Milan B. Latas & Srđan Milovanović & Sanja Totić Poznanović & Miloš M. Lazarević & Milica Jakšić Karišik & Jana Đorđević & Zoran Mandinić & Svetlana Jovanović, 2022. "Mental Health and Quality of Life among Dental Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-12, October.
    4. Paula Rodríguez-Fernández & Josefa González-Santos & Mirian Santamaría-Peláez & Raúl Soto-Cámara & Jerónimo J. González-Bernal, 2021. "Exploring the Occupational Balance of Young Adults during Social Distancing Measures in the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-9, May.
    5. Zbigniew Izdebski & Jolanta Słowikowska-Hilczer & Joanna Mazur, 2022. "The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Assessment of Sexual Life—Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveys among Polish Adults in 2017, 2020 and 2021," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-19, March.
    6. Agata Chudzicka-Czupała & Soon-Kiat Chiang & Damian Grabowski & Marta Żywiołek-Szeja & Matthew Quek & Bartosz Pudełek & Kayla Teopiz & Roger Ho & Roger S. McIntyre, 2022. "Predictors of Psychological Distress across Three Time Periods during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-16, November.
    7. Sara Esteban-Gonzalo & María Caballero-Galilea & Juan Luis González-Pascual & Miguel Álvaro-Navidad & Laura Esteban-Gonzalo, 2021. "Anxiety and Worries among Pregnant Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multilevel Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-15, June.
    8. Bandar Alsaif & Najm Eldinn Elsser Elhassan & Ramaiah Itumalla & Kamal Elbassir Ali & Mohamed Ali Alzain, 2021. "Assessing the Level of Awareness of COVID-19 and Prevalence of General Anxiety Disorder among the Hail Community, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-10, June.
    9. Jin, Tanhua & Cheng, Long & Wang, Kailai & Cao, Jun & Huang, Haosheng & Witlox, Frank, 2022. "Examining equity in accessibility to multi-tier healthcare services across different income households using estimated travel time," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 1-13.
    10. J. Pierre Zila-Velasque & Pamela Grados-Espinoza & Naomi Coba-Villan & Jocelyn Quispe-Chamorro & Yesenia F. Taipe-Guillén & Estefany Pacheco & Laura Ccasa-Valero & Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas & Cristian , 2022. "Mental Disorders and Level of Resilience in Eight High-Altitude Cities of Peru during the Second Pandemic Wave: A Multicenter Population-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    11. Hee-Kyung Kim, 2022. "In the COVID-19 Era, Effects of Job Stress, Coping Strategies, Meaning in Life and Resilience on Psychological Well-Being of Women Workers in the Service Sector," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    12. Isabel Mercader Rubio & Pilar Sánchez-López & Nieves Gutiérrez Ángel & Nieves Fátima Oropesa Ruiz, 2022. "Psychological Consequences of Fear of COVID-19: Symptom Analysis of Triggered Anxiety and Depression Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-8, October.
    13. Johnston, David W. & Lordan, Grace, 2012. "Discrimination makes me sick! An examination of the discrimination–health relationship," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 99-111.
    14. S. Brent Jackson & Kathryn T. Stevenson & Lincoln R. Larson & M. Nils Peterson & Erin Seekamp, 2021. "Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents’ Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-18, March.
    15. Piotr Długosz & Damian Liszka & Anastasiia Bastrakova & Luydmila Yuzva, 2022. "Health Problems of Students during Distance Learning in Central and Eastern Europe: A Cross-Sectional Study of Poland and Ukraine," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-16, August.
    16. Ahmad Adeel & Bruno Notteboom & Ansar Yasar & Kris Scheerlinck & Jeroen Stevens, 2021. "Insights into the Impacts of Mega Transport Infrastructures on the Transformation of Urban Fabric: Case of BRT Lahore," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-32, July.
    17. Artem Kashtanov & Ekaterina Molotok & Andrey Yavorovskiy & Alexander Boyarkov & Yuriy Vasil’ev & Ali Alsaegh & Sergey Dydykin & Olesya Kytko & Renata Meylanova & Yulianna Enina & Vasiliy Troitskiy & M, 2022. "A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study Assessing the Psycho-Emotional State of Intensive Care Units’ Physicians and Nurses of COVID-19 Hospitals of a Russian Metropolis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-22, February.
    18. Massimiliano Scopelliti & Maria Giuseppina Pacilli & Antonio Aquino, 2021. "TV News and COVID-19: Media Influence on Healthy Behavior in Public Spaces," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    19. Tiberiu Constantin Ionescu & Bogdana Ioana Fetecau & Stefan Zaharia & Elma-Maria Mînecan & Catalina Tudose, 2023. "Sleepless Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Insomnia Symptoms among Professionally Active Romanians during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    20. Federica Bianco & Annalisa Levante & Serena Petrocchi & Flavia Lecciso & Ilaria Castelli, 2021. "Maternal Psychological Distress and Children’s Internalizing/Externalizing Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Moderating Role Played by Hypermentalization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-15, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9097-:d:457555. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.