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 Hospitalización, factores interpersonales y personales de ansiedad social entre los sobrevivientes de COVID-19 en el seguimiento seis meses después del tratamiento hospitalario: el modelo de estrés de minoría 基于少数群体压力模型的新冠康复者住院经历, 出院后六个月人际及个人因素与社交焦虑之间的关联分析

ABSTRACT

Background 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. Objectives 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. Methods 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. Results The response rate was 74.5% (N = 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 (χ2(df) = 3.196(3), p = .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. Conclusions 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. HIGHLIGHTS 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.