Fear of COVID-19 and Anxiety: Serial Mediation by Trust in the Government and Hope

PURPOSE: How to reduce the damage of COVID-19 pandemic to people’s mental health is a current research hotspot. The present study examined the mediating role of trust in the government and hope in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 1053 Chinese subjects (20.24±3.97 years old, 85.3% female) were investigated by using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Anxiety Scale, Trust in the Government Measure Scale and Herth Hope Scale, which was conducted by an online survey using snowball sampling technique. Hayes PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to test the hypothesized mediating effects of trust in the government and hope in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety. RESULTS: The fear of COVID-19 could positively predict anxiety level (β=0.36, p<0.001). Results of the mediation analyses demonstrated that trust in the government (β=−0.16, p<0.001) and hope (β=−0.28, p<0.001) mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety level respectively. Moreover, fear of COVID-19 could also indirectly predict anxiety level through the chain-mediated role of the trust in the government and the hope (β=0.28, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings shed light on a correlation between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety. This study emphasizes the value of trust in the government and hope in maintaining mental health when individuals face public stress events from both external and internal perspectives.