The Role of Self-Esteem and Perceived Social Support in Predicting Fear of COVID-19 in Asian and Middle Eastern Populations

The present study aimed to investigate whether an individual’s self-esteem and perceived social support can predict their fear of COVID-19. A total of two hundred and eighteen (N=218) participants within the age range of 18-65 years old participated in this study. All of them were from the Asian and Middle Eastern populations and were uninfected with COVID-19 at the time of giving responses. Individual’s fear of COVID-19 was measured using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (Ahorsu et al., 2020), self-esteem using Rosenberg’s Self-esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), and lastly, perceived social support using the perceived social support subscale from Berlin Social Support Scales (Schwarzer & Schulz, 2013). Correlation analysis following multiple regression analysis was done for the criterion and all predictors. Results revealed only self-esteem to be a significant predictor of the fear of COVID-19. The findings of this study can help create strategies to cope with and reduce the fear of COVID-19 in the uninfected population at the early stages of cognitive appraisal of the fear emotion to avoid the long-term emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. unknown unknown