The mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and hopelessness in university students

In this study, the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and hopelessness in university students was examined. For this purpose, a hypothetical model predicting the mediating role of resilience was established and the role of the mediating variable as well as bilateral relations was examined. The sample of the study consists of 530 (415 female, 115 male) students studying at İnönü University. Personal Information Form, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale and Brief Psychological Resilience Scale were used to collect data in the study. The created model was tested with structural equation modeling (SEM) through the AMOS 24 program. Bootstrapping analysis was performed to test the significance of the mediation effect. As a result of the analyzes, it was seen that fear of COVID-19 predicted hopelessness positively, psychological resilience negatively and significantly, while psychological resilience predicted hopelessness negatively and significantly. When the mediating role of psychological resilience was examined, it was seen that the indirect effect was significant, so psychological resilience mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and hopelessness. The findings obtained as a result of the research were discussed in the light of the studies in the literature, and suggestions were made for practitioners and researchers. Keywords: Hopelessness, Fear of COVID-19, Psychological resilience, University students