The relationship between social support and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59885/cienciaypsique.2023.v2n3.02Keywords:
social support, mental health, adults, COVID-19, systematic reviewAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of the population worldwide. Therefore, the present study aims to identify the methodological characteristics of the relationship between social support and mental health, carrying out an analysis of the empirical evidence in research on adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. The design used is a systematic review; electronic databases Scopus and Web of Science were used, with articles published since 2020. Ten investigations that reported the association between social support and mental health in adults from four continents were included. All investigations used a type of nonprobability sampling, and eight studies used the theoretical model of Zimet et al. (1988) for the evaluation of social support. Additionally, variability was noted in the use of instruments for measuring mental health and social support. Likewise, nine investigations reported evidence of reliability of the instruments and none of validity. It is concluded that low levels of social support are significantly associated with greater symptoms of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is recommended to design intervention programs based on social support to reduce the negative impact on the mental health of the population.
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