Examining Coping Skills, Anxiety, and Depression Dynamics Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Published
Apr 24, 2024
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Abstract
This cross-sectional study, conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, delves into the intricate connections between coping strategies and levels of anxiety and depression, presenting vital implications for medical, clinical, and broader societal contexts. As crises like the pandemic highlight the importance of adaptive coping, this investigation underscores the imperative to comprehend and address maladaptive coping strategies. The study utilized a diverse sample of 386 participants during the pandemic's peak, employing online platforms for recruitment and ensuring broad demographic representation. Data were collected through self-report measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) for depression and anxiety symptoms and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) inventory to assess coping skills across various domains. The coping skills assessment measured strategies such as Self-Distraction, Active Coping, Denial, Substance Use, Emotional and Instrumental Support, Behavioral Disengagement, Venting, Positive Reframing, Planning, Humor, Acceptance, Religion, and Self-Blame. The Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board prioritized and approved ethical considerations, and participants provided informed consent. Data analysis involved rigorous cleaning, recoding, and quantitative analysis using SPSS. Descriptive statistics, regression analyses, and correlation analyses were employed to uncover nuanced relationships between coping strategies and mental health outcomes, contributing to understanding the phenomena under investigation within the context of the pandemic. The findings highlight the pivotal role of individualized approaches and the potential of humor as an essential coping mechanism, emphasizing the need for tailored interventions during crises.
References
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Rose, S., Hartnett, J., & Pillai, S. (2021). Healthcare worker’s emotions, perceived stressors and
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Rosen, A. O., Holmes, A. L., Balluerka, N., Hidalgo, M. D., Gorostiaga, A., Gómez-Benito, J., &
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Savitsky, B., Findling, Y., Ereli, A., & Hendel, T. (2020). Anxiety and coping strategies among
nursing students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nurse Education in Practice, 46, 102809.
Shamblaw, A. L., Rumas, R. L., & Best, M. W. (2021). Coping during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Relations with mental health and quality of life. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 62(1), 92.
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December). Changes in burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians and the general US working population between 2011 and 2014. In Mayo Clinic proceedings (Vol. 90, No. 12, pp. 1600-1613). Elsevier.
Shanafelt, T., Ripp, J., & Trockel, M. (2020). Understanding and addressing sources of anxiety
among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jama, 323(21), 2133-2134.
West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2018). Physician burnout: contributors,
consequences and solutions. Journal of Internal Medicine, 283(6), 516-529.
psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical psychology review, 30(2), 217-237.
Aldwin, C. M., & Revenson, T. A. (1987). Does coping help? A reexamination of the relation
between coping and mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(2), 337.
Baloran, E. T. (2020). Knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and coping strategies of students during
COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 25(8), 635-642.
Bonanno, G. A. (2008). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: have we underestimated the human
capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events?.
Bonanno, G. A., Brewin, C. R., Kaniasty, K., & Greca, A. M. L. (2010). Weighing the costs of
disaster: Consequences, risks, and resilience in individuals, families, and communities. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 11(1), 1-49.
Bonanno, G. A., & Diminich, E. D. (2013). Annual Research Review: Positive adjustment to
adversity–trajectories of minimal–impact resilience and emergent resilience. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(4), 378-401.
Budimir, S., Probst, T., & Pieh, C. (2021). Coping strategies and mental health during COVID-
19 lockdown. Journal of Mental Health, 30(2), 156-163.
Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: a
theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2), 267.
Chen, C. C., & Lim, S. (2022). Examining the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on exercise
behavior and perceived academic stress among US college students. Journal of American College Health, 1-7.
Compas, B. E., Connor-Smith, J. K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A. H., & Wadsworth, M. E.
(2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 127(1), 87.
Endler, N. S., & Parker, J. D. (1990). Multidimensional assessment of coping: a critical
evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(5), 844.
Fullana, M. A., Hidalgo-Mazzei, D., Vieta, E., & Radua, J. (2020). Coping behaviors associated
with decreased anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Journal of Affective Disorders, 275, 80-81.
Gurvich, C., Thomas, N., Thomas, E.H., Hudaib, A.R., Sood, L., Fabiatos, K., Sutton, K., Isaacs,
A., Arunogiri, S., Sharp, G. and Kulkarni, J. (2021). Coping styles and mental health in response to societal changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(5), 540-549.
Greenberg, N., Docherty, M., Gnanapragasam, S., & Wessely, S. (2020). Managing mental
health challenges faced by healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic. BMJ, 368.
Hansen, N. C. (2022). Afterword: Coping through crisis with coronamusic.
Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based
therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(2), 169.
Hofmann, S. G. (2021). The Impact of COVID-19 on mental health. Cognitive Behaviour
Therapy, 50(3), 185-190.
Holmes, E.A., O'Connor, R.C., Perry, V.H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C.,
Christensen, H., Silver, R.C., Everall, I. and Ford, T. (2020). Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(6), 547-560.
Hotopf, M., Bullmore, E., O'Connor, R. C., & Holmes, E. A. (2020). The scope of mental health
research during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 217(4), 540-542.
Kar, N., Kar, B., & Kar, S. (2021). Stress and coping during COVID-19 pandemic: Result of an
online survey. Psychiatry Research, 295, 113598.
Kisely, S., Warren, N., McMahon, L., Dalais, C., Henry, I., & Siskind, D. (2020). Occurrence,
prevention, and management of the psychological effects of emerging virus outbreaks on healthcare workers: rapid review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 369.
Kocalevent, R. D., Zenger, M., Heinen, I., Dwinger, S., Decker, O., & Brähler, E. (2015).
Resilience in the general population: standardization of the resilience scale (RS-11). PloS One, 10(11), e0140322.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. Springer publishing
company.
Martin, R. A., & Ford, T. (2018). The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach.
Academic press.
Maunder, R., Hunter, J., Vincent, L., Bennett, J., Peladeau, N., Leszcz, M., Sadavoy, J.,
Verhaeghe, L.M., Steinberg, R. and Mazzulli, T., 2003. The immediate psychological and occupational impact of the 2003 SARS outbreak in a teaching hospital. CMAJ, 168(10), 1245-1251.
Maunder, R.G., Lancee, W.J., Mae, R., Vincent, L., Peladeau, N., Beduz, M.A., Hunter, J.J. and
Leszcz, M. (2010). Computer-assisted resilience training to prepare healthcare workers for pandemic influenza: a randomized trial of the optimal dose of training. BMC Health Services Research, 10(1), 1-10.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Strengthening the disaster
resilience of the academic biomedical research community: Protecting the nation's investment.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1991). Responses to depression and their effects on the duration of
depressive episodes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100(4), 569-582. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.100.4.569
Norris, F. H., Stevens, S. P., Pfefferbaum, B., Wyche, K. F., & Pfefferbaum, R. L. (2008).
Community resilience as a metaphor, theory, set of capacities, and strategy for disaster readiness. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 127-150.
Ogueji, I. A., Okoloba, M. M., & Demoko Ceccaldi, B. M. (2021). Coping strategies of
individuals in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Psychology, 1-7.
Roemer, L., & Orsillo, S. M. (2002). Expanding our conceptualization of and treatment for
generalized anxiety disorder: Integrating mindfulness/acceptance-based approaches with existing cognitive-behavioral models. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9(1), 54.
Rose, S., Hartnett, J., & Pillai, S. (2021). Healthcare worker’s emotions, perceived stressors and
coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic. PloS One, 16(7), e0254252.
Rosen, A. O., Holmes, A. L., Balluerka, N., Hidalgo, M. D., Gorostiaga, A., Gómez-Benito, J., &
Huedo-Medina, T. B. (2022). Is social media a new type of social support? social media use in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(7), 3952.
Savitsky, B., Findling, Y., Ereli, A., & Hendel, T. (2020). Anxiety and coping strategies among
nursing students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nurse Education in Practice, 46, 102809.
Shamblaw, A. L., Rumas, R. L., & Best, M. W. (2021). Coping during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Relations with mental health and quality of life. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 62(1), 92.
Shanafelt, T. D., Hasan, O., Dyrbye, L. N., Sinsky, C., Satele, D., Sloan, J., & West, C. P. (2015,
December). Changes in burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians and the general US working population between 2011 and 2014. In Mayo Clinic proceedings (Vol. 90, No. 12, pp. 1600-1613). Elsevier.
Shanafelt, T., Ripp, J., & Trockel, M. (2020). Understanding and addressing sources of anxiety
among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jama, 323(21), 2133-2134.
West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2018). Physician burnout: contributors,
consequences and solutions. Journal of Internal Medicine, 283(6), 516-529.
Article Details
Keywords:
pandemic, COVID-19, anxiety, depression, coping skills
Section
Articles
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How to Cite
Moment, L. (2024). Examining Coping Skills, Anxiety, and Depression Dynamics Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Graduate Student Journal of Psychology, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.52214/gsjp.v22i1.12260