Effect of Health-promoting Lifestyle and Psychological Well-being on Anxiety Induced by Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Non-medical Students

Abstract

Background and Aim: Anxiety is one of the clinical signs of viral diseases such as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which can threaten the immune system. This study aims to investigate the effect of health-promoting lifestyle and psychological well-being on COVID-19-induced anxiety in non-medical students Methods & Materials: This is an analytical/correlational study conducted on 307 non-medical students of Islamic Azad University in Tabriz, Iran, who were participated voluntarily in the study. They completed the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale developed by Alipour et al. (2019), Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB), and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) developed by Walker et al. (1987). The collected data were analyzed in SPSS v. 20 software by using the stepwise regression analysis Ethical Considerations: This research conducted based on the Ethical Committee of University of Tabriz (TABRIZU.REC.1399.018). Results: Two SPWB components of “personal growth” and “positive relations with others” were able to predict the COVID-19-induced anxiety, which together explained 72% of anxiety variance in students. Moreover, two HPLP components of “spiritual growth” and “responsibility” could predict the COVID-19-induced anxiety and together explained 9% of the anxiety variance. Conclusion: Promoting personal and spiritual growth, having positive relations with others, and responsibility can significantly reduce the anxiety induced by the COVID-19.

Keywords

• anxiety
• coronavirus
• lifestyle
• health
• psychological well-being