Frontiers in psychology
The impact of social support on anxiety and depression under the context of COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis
By Wu M, Rahman A, Lim EG and 1 others.
Abstract
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic created an extreme and prolonged context of collective stress while simultaneously disrupting ordinary sources of interpersonal support. Although social support is widely associated with better mental health, it remains unclear how consistently this association was observed across populations and contexts during the pandemic and what the findings may imply for future crisis preparedness.
Methods
This systematic review and meta-analysis followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Six databases (PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Taylor & Francis Online, ScienceDirect, and ERIC) were searched for studies published between February 2020 and June 2022. Eligible studies quantitatively examined the association between social support and anxiety and/or depression using validated measures. Study quality was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Random-effects models were applied to calculate pooled correlations, with subgroup, sensitivity, and publication bias analyses conducted.