Objective: The present study prospectively examined the association between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety and whether social support moderated this association among college students.
Participants: 1,539 students from 11 universities in the United States completed two online surveys, one prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and one during the pandemic.
Methods: Hierarchical linear regressions assessed the impact of COVID-19 fears and social support on anxiety, after accounting for pre-pandemic anxiety and demographics.
Results: Results supported that adding fear of COVID-19 to the regression model resulted in a significant increase in variance explained over demographics and pre-pandemic anxiety. Social support did not moderate the association between fear of COVID-19 and anxiety.
Conclusion: These data underscore the mental health impact of COVID-19 on students and the urgency with which campus-wide initiatives are needed to support students during this unprecedented time.
Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; college students; psychological distress; social support.