The mediating role of hope between loneliness and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

There has been evidence demonstrating a positive association between perceived loneliness and anxiety symptoms during the pandemic of COVID 19 in Hong Kong. Hope is a personal resource that allows people to cope with stressful situations that appear to be beyond of their control, reducing individual vulnerability to anxiety and other mental health problems. However, how hope might play a role in the relationship between perceived and anxiety remains unclear.. The primary aim of the present study was to test the mediating influence of hope on loneliness and anxious symptoms in young and older adults. One-hundred and twenty-eight healthy, Cantonese-speaking Chinese adults (77 younger adults : mean age = 21.5, 77 older adults: mean age = 72.5) participated in the current study. The results showed that hope mediated the relationship between loneliness and anxiety among young adults but not older adults in Hong Kong. Young adults also reported higher levels of perceived loneliness than older adults. The findings suggest different management strategies and resources allocation be adopted to combat COVID-related anxiety for older and young adults in Hong Kong.