Hospitalization, interpersonal and personal factors of social anxiety among COVID-19 survivors at the six-month follow-up after hospital treatment: the minority stress model
Creators: name: Ju, Niu
name: Yang, Xue
name: Ma, Xiaojun
name: Wang, Bingyi
name: Fu, Leiwen
name: Hu, Yuqing
name: Luo, Dan
name: Xiao, Xin
name: Zheng, Weiran
name: Xu, Hui
name: Fang, Yuan
name: Chan, Paul Shing Fong
name: Xu, Zhijie
name: Chen, Ping
name: He, Jiaoling
name: Zhu, Hongqiong
name: Tang, Huiwen
name: Huang, Dixi
name: Hong, Zhongsi
name: Xiao, Fei
name: Sun, Fengxia
name: Hao, Yanrong
name: Cai, Lianying
name: Yang, Jianrong
name: Ye, Shupei
name: Chen, Yao-Qing
name: Yuan, Jianhui
name: Wang, Zixin
name: Zou, Huachun
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Cancer
subject: Science Policy
subject: Mental Health

description: As a highly infectious disease with human-to-human transmission characteristics, COVID-19 has caused panic in the general public. Those who have recovered from COVID-19 may experience discrimination and internalized stigma. They may be more likely to worry about social interaction and develop social anxiety. This study investigated the associations among hospitalization factors, social/interpersonal factors, personal factors, and social anxiety to reveal the mechanism of social anxiety in COVID-19 survivors. A cross-sectional, multicenter telephone survey was conducted from July to September 2020 in five Chinese cities (i.e. Wuhan, Nanning, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Dongguan); adult COVID-19 survivors were recruited 6 months after they were discharged from the hospital. Linear regressions and path analysis based on the minority stress model were conducted to test the relationships among hospitalization, social/interpersonal factors, personal factors, and social anxiety. The response rate was 74.5% (<i>N</i> = 199, 55.3% females). Linear regression analyses showed that various hospitalization, social/interpersonal, and personal factors were statistically significantly associated with social anxiety. Path analysis showed that the proposed model fit the data well (χ<sup>2</sup>(df) = 3.196(3), <i>p</i> = .362, CFI = .999, NNFI = .996, RMSEA = .018). Internalized stigma fully mediated the association between perceived discrimination/social support and social anxiety, while it partially mediated the association between perceived affiliate stigma and social anxiety. The results suggest that social/interpersonal and personal factors have a stronger association with social anxiety than hospitalization factors and highlight the importance of internalized stigma in understanding the mechanisms of these relationships. Clinical psychologists can refer to these modifiable psychosocial factors to develop efficient interventions for mental health promotion. Internalized stigma fully mediated the effects of perceived discrimination and social support on social anxiety and partially mediated the effect of perceived affiliate stigma on social anxiety. Internalized stigma fully mediated the effects of perceived discrimination and social support on social anxiety and partially mediated the effect of perceived affiliate stigma on social anxiety.