Relationship Between Risk Perception, Social Support, and Mental Health Among General Chinese Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Main Authors: Liu C, Huang N, Fu M, Zhang H, Feng XL, Guo J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-05-01
• Series: Risk Management and Healthcare Policy
• Subjects: risk perception; social support; depressive symptoms; ptsd symptoms; sars-cov-2
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/relationship-between-risk-perception-social-support-and-mental-health--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-RMHP
• ISSN: 1179-1594

Chengbin Liu,1 Ning Huang,1 Mingqi Fu,2 Hui Zhang,1 Xing Lin Feng,3 Jing Guo3 1School of Sociology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 2Center for Social Security Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jing GuoDepartment of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100191, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Email [e-mail]: The Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) pandemic is a global public health challenge and provides an opportunity to investigate the unclear relationship between risk perception, social support, and mental health. This study aims to examine the association between risk perception and mental health while taking social support as a moderator.Methods: An online cross-sectional study recruiting 2993 participants was conducted in China, from 1st to 10th, February 2020. The relationship between risk perception, social support, and mental health was examined using multivariate linear regression analyses.Results: This study indicated that risk perception was associated with a higher level of mental health symptoms. The subscale “Perceived uncontrollability” seemed to present a stronger correlation with depressive symptoms (Beta=0.306) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (Beta=0.318) than the subscale “Perceived Severity” did. Moreover, social support moderated the relationship between perceived uncontrollability and mental health symptoms.Conclusion: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to design mental health strategies and programs from a risk perception perspective (more mental health strategies should be delivered to build reasonable risk perception), while social support from family and friends may be protective to against depressive symptoms and PTSD symptoms. There is a demand for mental health intervention from a risk perception perspective.Keywords: risk perception, social support, depressive symptoms, PTSD symptoms, SARS-CoV-2