Predicting Covid Disease -19 Anxiety Based on Perceived Stress and Anxiety Sensitivity in Nurses: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility

One of the risk groups in Covid disease -19 is nurses. Therefore, the present study was conducted to predict Covid disease -19 anxiety based on perceived stress and anxiety sensitivity in nurses with a mediating role of cognitive flexibility in 2020.

 The present study is descriptive-correlation. The statistical population of the study was all nurses working in hospitals of Karaj in 2020. By sampling method convenience from Shahid Rajaei, Imam Ali, Persepolis and Alborz hospitals in Karaj, 450 people were selected. Data with the “Corona Disease Anxiety Scale”, “Anxiety Sensitivity Index”, “Perceived Stress Scale”, and “Cognitive Flexibility Scale “was gathered. The validity of the instruments was assessed through content validity by qualitative method and reliability by internal consistency method by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data were analyzed in SPSS. 22 and Amus .26.

There is a significant positive correlation between perceived stress and anxiety sensitivity with Covid disease -19 anxiety (P <0.01). The modified model had a good fit (RMSEA = 0.071, GFI = 0.974, IFI = 0.975 and P-value <0.05). The results also confirmed the mediating role of cognitive flexibility in predicting corona disease anxiety based on perceived stress and anxiety sensitivity.

The cognitive flexibility variable has a mediating role in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and perceived stress with Covid disease -19 anxiety. Therefore, to reduce Covid-19 anxiety in nurses, gradual relaxation and regular desensitization methods are recommended to manage Covid-19 anxiety.