The mediating effects of post-pandemic health promotion behaviors in the relationship between anxiety and quality of life in young adults in South Korea: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the mediating effects of health promotion behavior (HPB) in the relationship between anxiety and quality of life (QoL) in young adults living in the post-pandemic era.Methods: A cross-sectionaldescriptiveonlinesurveydesign was utilized. Data on anxiety, QoL, HPB, and demographic characteristics were collected from 213 adults aged 19–35 years in Korea via an online survey in January 2024. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and PROCESS MACRO 4.2 software.Results: Strong correlations were observed among anxiety, QoL, and post-pandemic HPB (PP-HPB) in young adults, andanxiety and PP-HPB were identified as significant predictors of QoL. The total effect of anxiety on QoL was significant (B = −1.40, bootstrapped SE = 0.10), with both the direct effect (B = −0.70, bootstrapped SE = 0.09) and the indirect effect (B = −0.70, bootstrapped SE = 0.11) being significant. This suggests that PP-HPB partially mediated the relationship between anxiety and QoL.Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of strengthening HPB with consideration of life changes since the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic to improve QoL among young adults with anxiety.