ArticleFrontiers in psychology2020
The Anxiety-Buffer Hypothesis in the Time of COVID-19: When Self-Esteem Protects From the Impact of Loneliness and Fear on Anxiety and Depression.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05083676 (A Study Protocol on Peer Digital Acceset), which is not on this map. Cited by 89 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Study Protocol on Peer Digital Acceset (PDA): A Randomized Controlled Trial to Translate Online Peer Support for Youth Mental Well-being
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 164 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychological wellbeing of Italian students and clinical assessment tools at university counseling services during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- The Association of Social Support and Loneliness with Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Fear of COVID-19, stress and depression: A meta-analytic test of the mediating role of anxiety.Psychology and psychotherapy · 2022Pooled it
- The Effectiveness of Self-Esteem-Related Interventions in Reducing Suicidal Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Psychological Support Interventions for Healthcare Providers and Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of online laughter therapy on depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness among nursing students during the Covid-19 pandemic.Archives of psychiatric nursing · 2022Trial
- Global Self-Esteem, Physical Activity, and Body Composition Changes Following a 12-Week Dietary and Physical Activity Intervention in Older Women.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Divergent trajectories of psychological distress during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Perceived cultural continuity, self-schemas, self-esteem, and psychological distress among members of ethnic groups with endangered scripts in Southwest China.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Mental Health Among Spanish Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic and in the Post-Pandemic Period: A Gender Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Loneliness and repetitive negative thinking mediate the link between social health and cardiac distress in heart disease patients.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Italian Version of the New General Self-Efficacy Scale (NGSES): Structural Validity, Psychometric Properties, and Measurement Invariance.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- COVID-19 and Mental Distress and Well-Being Among Older People: A Gender Analysis in the First and Last Year of the Pandemic and in the Post-Pandemic Period.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Mechanisms of dark personality traits in lesbian adult attachment: a chain-mediated model.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Predictors of the Fear of COVID-19 in Individuals with Schizophrenia: a Prospective Study.International journal of medical sciences · 2025Article
- Revisiting the cognitive and behavioral aspects of loneliness: Insights from different measurement approaches.PloS one · 2025Article
- The Shield of Self-Esteem: Buffering against the Impact of Traumatic Experiences, Fear, Anxiety, and Depression.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The association between expressive suppression and anxiety in Chinese left-behind children in middle school: serial mediation roles of psychological resilience and self-esteem.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Achievement motivation and mental health among medical postgraduates: the chain mediating effect of self-esteem and perceived stress.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Anxiety, Depression, Emotion Regulation, and Daytime Sleepiness: Are There Links Between These Factors? Network Analysis on an Italian Sample During the Covid-19 Pandemic.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2023Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe coronavirus (COVID-19) disease has spread worldwide, generating intense fear of infection and death that may lead to enduring anxiety. At the same time, quarantine and physical isolation can intensify feelings of dispositional loneliness that, by focusing on thoughts of disconnection from others, can trigger intense anxiety. Anxiety, generated by both fear of COVID-19 and dispositional loneliness, can activate negative expectations and thoughts of death, potentially generating alarming depressive symptoms. However, the
objectiveThis study aims to test the process - triggered by COVID-19 fear and loneliness - in which self-esteem should buffer the path leading to anxiety symptoms, then to depression.
methodsAn observational research design with structural equation models was used. A sample of 1200 participants enrolled from the general population answered an online survey comprising: the fear of COVID-19 scale, the UCLA loneliness scale, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and the anxiety and depression scales of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised.
resultsStructural equation models showed the link between anxiety symptoms (
conclusionSelf-esteem represents a protective factor from the antecedents of depression. Targeted psychological interventions should be implemented to minimize the psychological burden of the disease whilst promoting adaptation and positive psychological health outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.