Sense of Coherence, Time Perspective and Health Anxiety among University Students during Covid-19

Covid-19 pandemic has been a pressing concern especially, for students who are vulnerable to health anxiety. Sense of Coherence, a salutogenic construct, and Time Perspective also have a relationship with psychological health and health behaviors. Therefore, in this study, an attempt is made to explore the relationship among Time Perspective, Sense of Coherence and Health Anxiety and to assess whether Sense of Coherence mediates the relationship between Time Perspective and Health Anxiety. The study employed a sample of 129 Graduate and Postgraduate students who were assessed using the Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI), Zimbardo’s Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) and SOC-13 (Sense of Coherence) scale. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS-25. Health Anxiety was found to be positively and significantly correlated with Past Negative Time Perspective (r=0.44, p<0.01) and Sense of Coherence (r=0.23, p<0.01). Health Anxiety was also found to be negatively and significantly correlated with Past Positive Time Perspective (r=-0.23, p<0.01). It was also found that Sense of Coherence partially mediated the relationship between Time Perspective (Future and Past Positive) and Health Anxiety. In conclusion, this study provides a hint towards dealing with Health Anxiety specifically in the context of Covid-19 by using self-oriented constructs. This, in turn, also fosters the idea of self-development.