Psychological Capital and Stress: The Mediating Role of Fear of COVID-19 in Medical Professionals of Pakistan.

Around the globe, millions of people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 causing extreme pressure on health care professionals. The current study explored the mediating role of Fear of COVID-19 in between the relationship of psychological capital and stress in medical professionals working in different hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. The sample was comprised of 216 doctors (n=88) and nurses (n=128), age ranged from 20 to 56 (M = 29.65, SD = 8.53) using a structured survey which consists of 3 different scales (i) psychological capital (ii) fear of COVID-19 and (iii) perceived stress along with other relevant demographic information. Results indicated a significant negative association between psychological capital and stress. The results also indicated that fear of COVID-19 partially mediates the relationship of psychological capital and stress which revealed that doctors who are high in psychological resources may experience stress due to the fear of COVID-19.  The results were discussed in the light of relevant literature and some recommendations were given for future studies