A cross-lagged panel analysis of giving and receiving social support and anxiety among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

During the pandemic, rates of anxiety among healthcare workers increased dramatically. Social support may be a promising strategy for buffering against anxiety under stress. For example, receiving support has been bidirectionally associated with lower stress reactivity. In contrast to receiving support, little is known about the impact of giving support. Therefore, we tested the bidirectional associations of giving and receiving support with anxiety among healthcare workers during the pandemic. We recruited 190 U.S. healthcare workers who completed measures of giving social support, receiving social support, and state anxiety at baseline (April–May 2020), one-month, and six-month follow-up. We used a three-wave, cross-lagged panel design to test for bidirectional and unidirectional relationships. Both giving and receiving support were associated with lower anxiety, but the direction of the relationship differed. Giving support at baseline predicted lower anxiety one month later. In contrast, lower anxiety at baseline predicted higher received support one month later. Notably, these relationships were present from baseline to 1-month follow-up, but not 1-month to 6-month follow-up, suggesting that the effects were most pronounced during the acute, rather than prolonged adjustment period. In sum, findings suggest that giving support may be a promising strategy for reducing anxiety. Reducing anxiety, in turn, may increase access to social support resources. Therefore, support-giving interventions, such as acts of kindness interventions, may be a promising pathway for buffering against anxiety under stress.