Corona Anxiety Prediction Model Based on Social Support and Cognitive Flexibility: Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation

Objective: A prevalent complication associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is anxiety, particularly affecting women employed within the healthcare sector, who represent a vulnerable demographic susceptible to COVID-related anxiety. Consequently, the objective of this research was to explore the correlation between COVID-induced anxiety and both social support and cognitive flexibility, while also assessing the mediating role of emotion regulation within this context. Methods: This investigation employed a descriptive correlational design utilizing the structural equation modeling approach. The target demographic for this study comprised all personnel engaged in health services at Kermanshah health centers during the autumn of 2022, from which a sample of 364 individuals was selected through cluster random sampling techniques. The research instruments incorporated the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS) (Alipour et al., 2018), the multidimensional social support scales established by Zimet et al., Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) (Garnefski and Kraaij, 2006) and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010). Analytical procedures for the collected data were conducted using SPSS and PLS Smart software. Results: The outcomes revealed a significant direct effect of social support (β = - 0.377, P <0.01) as well as an indirect effect mediated by emotion regulation (β = 0.039, P <0.01) on COVID-related anxiety. Furthermore, the direct influence of cognitive flexibility (β = - 0.246, P <0.05) and its indirect effect mediated by emotion regulation (β = 0.128, P <0.05) on COVID-related anxiety were also found to be significant. Conclusions: Social support and cognitive flexibility have a negative and significant relationship with corona anxiety, and emotion regulation plays a mediating role in this relationship. By providing appropriate educational and supportive interventions, working women's anxiety in healthcare fields can be reduced during the epidemic of contagious diseases.