The Mediating Role of Non-Adaptive Emotion Regulation Strategies in the Relationship between Perceived Social Support and Anxiety in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), spread all over the world in a short time and turned into a pandemic. During COVID-19, individuals' anxiety levels have increased. For this reason, determining the factors that affect anxiety during COVID-19 is crucial for the psychological health of individuals. This study aims to investigate the mediating role of non-adaptive emotion regulation in the relationship between perceived social support and anxiety in the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: The sample of the study consisted of 327 university students with an average age of 24.27. The data were collected from the participants between May and June 2020. Demographic Information Form, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Brief Form (DERS-16) were used. The independent-sample t-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearson moment product correlation test, and Mediation analysis were all used for statistical analysis. Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, participants stated that they were mostly concerned about the health status of their families. There was a negative correlation between anxiety level, age and perceived social support. Anxiety level had a positive relationship with non-adaptive emotion regulation strategies. In addition, non-adaptive emotion regulation had a full mediating role in the relationship between anxiety and perceived social support. Conclusion: Our study found that the anxiety-reducing effect of perceived social support disappears when individuals use non-adaptive emotion regulation strategies. For this reason, the studies to develop adaptive emotion regulation strategies may be useful in reducing the COVID-19 anxiety.