(PS9-B38) Insidious Socioemotional Correlates of an Ongoing Crisis: Modelling Parallel Changes Between Social Anxiety and Coronavirus Anxiety over Time

In addition to being a public health emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis of isolation where people have lost their typical sources of social support and had to adapt to restricted forms of social interaction to fulfill the fundamental need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). For individuals with higher levels of trait social anxiety (SA) who are already inhibited in their interactions with others due to fears of judgment and criticism, the limiting nature of social interactions during the pandemic (e.g., online, physically distanced, or masked) may accommodate their desire to conceal self-perceived flaws from others (Moscovitch, 2009), insidiously maintaining their anxiety and further preventing access to much-needed social support. High SA individuals who additionally experience elevated fears of contracting COVID-19 may face even more difficulty navigating social situations due to cumulative impacts of pre-existing anxiety and COVID-related stress (Asmundson et al., 2020). In a previous study during the first wave of the pandemic (May 2020, Time 1), we found that SA was associated with increased levels of coronavirus anxiety, especially amongst those who had experienced a greater number of COVID-related stressors such as illness or exposure to COVID-19, job loss, or hospitalization (Ho & Moscovitch, 2021). Given the protracted nature of the pandemic, the longer-term trajectories of SA and coronavirus anxiety—along with how they may influence each other beyond the early stages of the pandemic—remain unknown. To address this question, we conducted a follow-up study in June 2021 (Time 2) on a subset of N=196 North American community participants from our first study. Using structural equation modelling, a bivariate latent change model was specified to examine parallel changes in SA and coronavirus anxiety over time. Results demonstrated that change in coronavirus anxiety from Time 1 to Time 2 was unaffected by SA at Time 1. However, change in SA across timepoints was significantly influenced by both initial SA and initial coronavirus anxiety. Initial SA negatively predicted change in SA, while initial coronavirus anxiety positively predicted change in SA. In other words, those with higher levels of coronavirus anxiety at Time 1 experienced smaller decreases in social anxiety compared to those with less initial coronavirus anxiety. Overall, results suggest that earlier fears of COVID-19 have exacerbated or worsened the trajectory of individuals’ SA symptoms over time. These findings emphasize the cumulative impact of various sources of stress and anxiety not only in the early, critical stages of an emergency, but also throughout the longer-term process of adjustment. At the time of presentation, we will also include results on our modelling of the parallel trajectories between SA, loneliness, and social support-seeking behaviours to broaden our understanding of the insidious emotional and behavioural correlates of the COVID-19 pandemic.