{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T06:22:36Z","timestamp":1790403756550,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,27]],"date-time":"2022-03-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1648339200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between attachment style, social support, and psychological distress (i.e., depression and anxiety) during the COVID-19 lockdown of the third wave in Israel. Specifically, we examined whether social support mediates the well-documented relationship between attachment style and psychological distress. Methods: An online survey was administered from 3 January to 6 February, 2021, while a strict lockdown was in place. The sample included 288 Israelis ranging between the ages of 18\u201378, recruited by snowball sampling. Psychological distress was evaluated by Patients Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (GAD-7); attachment style by the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-36), and social support by the Multi-dimensional Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). A mediation model was applied with social support mediating the association between attachment style and depression and anxiety. Results: Significant correlations were found between attachment style and psychological distress, and between social support and psychological distress. Social support partially mediated the associations between attachment style and psychological distress (Depression: p &lt; 0.001, confidence interval [CI] = 0.4018, 1.7468; Anxiety: p &lt; 0.001, confidence interval [CI] = 0.0493, 0.9822). These results remained the same while controlling for age. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the secure attachment style serves as a protective factor against psychological distress and vice versa; insecure attachment style serves as a risk factor for developing psychological distress during a peak period of COVID-19. Nevertheless, social support played a central role in the association between attachment style and psychological distress, thus, individuals with an insecure attachment may thus be helped by offering them social support during a crisis, which in turn may increase their well-being.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v14040693","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,27]],"date-time":"2022-03-27T21:31:25Z","timestamp":1648416685000},"page":"693","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Social Support Mediates the Association between Attachment Style and Psychological Distress during COVID-19 in Israel"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0753-3286","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tal","family":"Adar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Behavioral Science, Tel Aviv- Yaffo Academic College, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6818211, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8196-9101","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"May","family":"Davidof","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Behavioral Science, Tel Aviv- Yaffo Academic College, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6818211, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1862-4930","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Odelia","family":"Elkana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Behavioral Science, Tel Aviv- Yaffo Academic College, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6818211, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2021, February 03). 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