Social support, distress and well-being in individuals experiencing Long-COVID: a cross-sectional survey study

Abstract

Objectives Increasingly attention of the COVID-19 pandemic is directed towards its long-term effects, also known as Long-COVID. So far, Long-COVID was examined mainly from a medical perspective, leaving psychosocial effects of Long-COVID understudied. The present study advances the current literature by examining social support in the context of Long-COVID. The study not only examines received support reported by individuals with Long-COVID, but also provided support reported by relatives of individuals with Long-COVID. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting The study was conducted from June to October 2021 in Austria, Germany and the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Participants We examined 256 individuals with Long-COVID (M Age =45.05 years, 90.2% women) and 50 relatives of individuals with Long-COVID (M Age =48.34 years, 66.1% female) in two separate online surveys, assessing social support, well-being and distress. Primary outcome measures Primary outcomes were positive and negative affect, anxiety and depressive symptoms and perceived stress. Results For individuals with Long-COVID, receiving emotional support was related to higher well-being (positive affect: b=0.29, p<0.01; negative affect: b=-0.31, p<0.05) and less distress (anxiety: b=-1.45, p<0.01; depressive symptoms: b=-1.04, p<0.05; perceived stress: b=-0.21, p<0.05) but no effects emerged for receiving practical support. For relatives of individuals with Long-COVID, providing emotional support was only related to lower depressive symptoms (b=-2.57, p<0.05). Again, provided practical support was unrelated to the outcomes considered. Conclusions Emotional support is likely to play an important role in well-being and distress of patients and relatives, whereas practical support does not seem to make a difference. Future research should clarify under what conditions different kinds of support unfold their positive effects on well-being and distress in the context of Long-COVID.