Fear of COVID-19 and Positivity: Mediating Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

TLDR

The study examined whether intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress mediate the link between fear of COVID‑19 and positivity. The study surveyed 960 adults (69 % female, 31 % male) aged 18–76 with a mean age of 29.7 years. Results showed that fear of COVID‑19 positively correlated with intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress, negatively with positivity, and that these variables mediated the fear–positivity relationship, indicating that reducing uncertainty could lower negative affect and boost positivity.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress in the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and positivity. The participants consisted of 960 individuals, including 663 females (69.1%) and 297 males (30.9%). The age of the participants ranged between 18 and 76 (29.74 ± 9.64). As a result of the correlation analysis, a positive relationship was found between fear of COVID-19 and intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress, and a negative relationship was determined between the fear of COVID-19 and positivity. The result of the analysis for the study model indicated that there was a mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress in the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and positivity. Eliminating uncertainty from the fear of COVID-19 will contribute to reducing depression, anxiety and stress, and increasing positivity.