Resilience and Anxiety Among Healthcare Workers During the Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant: A Moderated Mediation Model

INTRODUCTION: The B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of SARS-COV-2 has caused a surge in COVID-19 cases worldwide, placing a great burden on the health care system under the zero-tolerance epidemic prevention policy in China. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anxiety among health care workers during the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, and to discuss the mediating role of positive coping style between resilience and anxiety, and the moderating role of general self-efficacy. METHOD: Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES) and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) were used in this cross-sectional study among 390 healthcare workers in Jiangsu Province, China. Mackinnon's four-step procedure was applied to test the mediation effect, and Hayes PROCESS macro was conducted to examine the moderated mediation model. RESULTS: The prevalence of anxiety among Chinese healthcare workers during the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant was 41.8%. Male, unmarried, childless and younger subjects reported higher levels of anxiety. Positive coping partially mediated the effect of resilience on anxiety among healthcare workers and the indirect effect was stronger with the increase of general self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety was prevalent among healthcare workers during the spread of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. This research sheds new light on the potential mechanism underlying the association between resilience and anxiety and provides new insight into the prevention of anxiety among healthcare workers during the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant.