Scanning the VIRUS: A study of dimensions of stress and coping with COVID-19

Exploring the relationship between coping styles and well-being among Chinese university students: A longitudinal study based on the transactional stress model

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, university students were exposed to increased stress, which significantly affected their well-being. This study examines the coping mechanisms employed by Chinese university students during this crisis, with a particular focus on the potential protective role of coping flexibility in maintaining their well-being. Using the transactional stress model and the dual-process theory of coping flexibility, this longitudinal study analyzed the responses of 206 Chinese university students at three measurement points in late 2022. The findings suggest that disruptions in daily life during the pandemic likely led students to engage in problematic internet use as a coping strategy, which subsequently led to reduced well-being. However, the study also shows that coping flexibility plays a crucial protective role in maintaining students' well-being. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions aimed at enhancing coping flexibility among university students, especially in the evolving post-pandemic landscape.

The Individual- and Organization-Related Stressors in Pandemic Scale for Healthcare Workers (IOSPS-HW): Development and Psychometric Properties of a New Instrument to Assess Individual and Organizational Stress Factors in Periods of Pandemics

The validation and psychometric properties of the Individual and Organization related Stressors in Pandemic Scale for Healthcare Workers (IOSPS-HW) were presented. This is a new measure to assess individual factors related to the health and well-being of individuals, such as family and personal relationships, as well as organizational factors related to the management of the pandemic, including workplace relationships, job management and communication. Across two studies conducted at different time points of the pandemic, psychometric evidence of the IOSPS-HW is presented. In Study 1, through a cross-sectional design, we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis through which the originally developed 43 items scale was reduced to a 20-item bidimensional scale with two correlated dimensions: Organization-related Stressors (O-S; 12 items) and Individual- and Health-related Stressors (IH-S; 8 items). Internal consistency and criterion validity were also provided by investigating the relationship with post-traumatic stress. In Study 2, we provided evidence for the temporal invariance of the measure and for temporal stability through a Multigroup-CFA through a longitudinal design. We also supported the criterion and predictive validity. The results suggest that IOSPS-HW is a good instrument to simultaneously investigating individual and organizational factors related to sanitary emergencies in healthcare workers.

Indian Healthcare Workers' Issues, Challenges, and Coping Strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

India faced the maximum number of mortalities and morbidities during the second wave of COVID-19. Healthcare workers (HCWs) worked in high-pressure and stressful environments. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the common issues, challenges, and coping strategies of HCWs, as well as the statistical association between demographical characteristics and coping strategies. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 759 HCWs, involving simple, random sampling in Rajasthan, India, between August 2022 and October 2022. Participants responded to a self-administered questionnaire that included a Brief-COPE inventory. The statistical association between commonly adopted coping strategies and demographic characteristics was tested using the chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. A total of 669 (88%) respondents agreed that they faced issues during the COVID-19 pandemic: 721 (95%) participants experienced challenges at the personal level, 716 (94%) at the organizational level, and 557 (74%) at the societal level. Problem-focused coping strategies were frequently adopted by the participants. Gender, marital status, education, hours of work per day, and residential area were significantly associated with a problem-focused coping strategy (p < 0.05). The findings of this study reported a limited use of coping strategies by the participants during the public health crisis, despite facing issues and challenges at work. These findings highlight the need to assist HCWs in developing coping mechanisms to maintain good mental health at work.

Uneven Implications of Lockdown Amid COVID-19 in India: From Harassment, Stigma, Crime, and Internally Displaced People to Stress and Coping Strategies in the Middle/Upper Class

A content analysis of an English Newspaper, The Times of India (the world's largest newspaper by circulation) during the first national lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic identified nine different categories culled out from a total of 129 news categories reporting unprecedented COVID-19 stories. Half of them portrayed two sides of a coin: from daily wagers and migrant workers, including internally displaced people (23/129), harassment and stigma (4/129), and crime (3/129) to stressors and coping strategies for middle/upper class individuals (39/129). Reports evidenced increased vulnerability in the lower layers of Indian stratified society. Yet, two years later, the uneven implications on physical and mental health are scarcely studied by scientific researchers.

The Pandemic Stressor Scale: factorial validity and reliability of a measure of stressors during a pandemic

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to assess the factorial validity and reliability of the Pandemic Stressor Scale (PaSS), a new measure to assess the severity of distress for different stressors relevant during a pandemic or epidemic.

METHODS

The PaSS was administered in N = 2760 German participants. Exploratory factor analysis was used to extract factors. The factor structure obtained in the German sample was examined in N = 1021 Austrian participants using confirmatory factor analysis. χ², RMSEA, SRMR, CFI, TLI were assessed as global goodness of fit indices for two models (Model 1: nine-factor model; Model 2: nine-factor model combined with a second-order general factor). We additionally assessed factor loadings, communalities, factor reliability, discriminant validity as local fit indices. Internal consistency, item discrimination, and item difficulty were assessed as additional test quality criteria.

RESULTS

The results of the exploratory factor analysis suggested a nine-factor solution with factor loadings accounting for 50.4% of the total variance (Factor 1 'Problems with Childcare', Factor 2 'Work-related Problems', Factor 3 'Restricted Face-to-Face Contact', Factor 4 'Burden of Infection ', Factor 5 'Crisis Management and Communication', Factor 6 'Difficult Housing Condition', Factor 7 'Fear of Infection', Factor 8 'Restricted Access to Resources', Factor 9 'Restricted Activity'). The confirmatory factor analysis showed a sufficient global fit for both tested models (Model 1: χ² (369, N = 1021) = 1443.28, p < .001, RMSEA = .053, SRMR = .055, CFI = .919, TLI = .904; Model 2: χ² (396, N = 1021) = 1948.51, p < .001, RMSEA = .062, SRMR = .074, CFI = .883, TLI = .871). The results of the chi-square difference test indicated a significantly better model-fit of Model 1 compared to Model 2 (∆χ² (27, N = 1021) = 505.23, p < .001). Local goodness of fit indices were comparable for both tested models. We found good factor reliabilities for all factors and moderate to large factor loadings of the items as indicators. In Model 2, four first-order factors showed small factor loadings on the second-order general factor.

CONCLUSION

The Pandemic Stressor Scale showed sufficient factorial validity for the nine measured domains of stressors during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

University Students Adjusting to COVID-19 Stressors: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the COVID-19 Stressors Questionnaire

The psychological effects of COVID-19 have been documented in the past year, but scarce literature exists on the nature of COVID-19 stressors. Using a random split sample of 1199 young adult university students, results of exploratory factor analyses (EFA) identified a four-factor structure in the COVID-19 Stressors Questionnaire (C19SQ), which were labeled Resource Constraints, Social Restrictions, Future Uncertainty, and Health Concerns. This model was supported by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) when run on the other split sample of 1139 university students. Higher levels of COVID-19 stress were positively associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms and negatively associated with sleep duration, sleep quality, and the number of exercise days. COVID-19 stress also uniquely predicted poor university adjustment. This study demonstrated the link between COVID-19 stressors and mental and physical health symptoms, thus providing support for conceptualizing the psychological impact of the pandemic as adjustment problems for some individuals.

The Influence of COVID-19 Stress and Self-Concealment on Professional Help-Seeking Attitudes: A Cross-Sectional Study of University Students

PURPOSE

The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically influenced many aspects of individuals' lives, putting the general population's mental health at high risk, especially university students in Vietnam. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between current living status and COVID-19 stress and test whether COVID-19 stress mediates the effect of self-concealment on help-seeking attitudes among university students.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A sample of 478 university students was recruited online to complete the survey. Parametric tests, correlation, regression, and simple mediation analyses were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Our results show that students living alone experience more COVID-19 stress levels than those living with family or friends. Additionally, there is a significant positive association between self-concealment and professional help-seeking attitudes that is partially mediated by COVID-19 stress. Individuals who tend to conceal personal information have high COVID-19 stress levels, leading to positive professional help-seeking attitudes.

CONCLUSION

University administrators, social workers, counselors, clinicians, and therapists must consider students living alone as prioritized vulnerable groups for early mental health interventions. Clinicians should be aware of self-concealment and professional help-seeking attitudes that could influence psychological treatment.

Coping with COVID-19 stress: Associations with depression and anxiety in a diverse sample of U.S. adults

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented levels of stress to individuals in the U.S. and throughout the world. These high stress levels place individuals at risk for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders. The current study applies a control-based model of coping to contribute to the development of evidence-based interventions to promote resilience. Data were collected online from April 22 through July 12, 2020. Data from two samples of U. S. community adults who completed an online battery of standardized questionnaires were combined (N = 709). More than a quarter reported moderate to severe levels of depression symptoms, and more than one-fifth reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety symptoms; symptom levels were higher among adults who reported more COVID-19-related stress. As hypothesized, multiple regression analyses indicated that greater use of primary and secondary control coping was associated with lower symptom levels, whereas greater use of disengagement coping was associated with higher symptom levels, above and beyond the association of stress with symptoms. Race and ethnicity emerged as important moderators of these associations, indicating that what constitutes adaptive coping varies according to characteristics of the individual. Implications for public health policy and clinical practice are discussed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02444-6.

Stress, internet use, substance use and coping among adolescents, young-adults and middle-age adults amid the 'new normal' pandemic era

Background

Globally, there is a constant state of flux amid the 'new normal' period of the COVID-19 pandemic. People try to accommodate to uncertainty, stress, and the threat of facing subsequent waves. It is crucial to explore and compare the psychological and behavioral processes of adolescents, young adults, and middle-aged adults amid such an era in a developing country like India.

Aim

The present study compared the stress, internet use, substance use, and coping among adolescents, young adults, and middle-aged adults amid India's 'new normal' era.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was used on an online platform. The sample included 1027 participants [ 456 adolescents; 347 young adults, and 224 middle age-adults] using PerceivedStress Scale, Internet Gaming Disorders-9, DSM-5 Self-Rated Level-1, and Brief-COPE scale.

Results

Results showed moderate stress among all participants across all ages. Adolescent females perceived the highest stress (20.91, SD = 8.65); Adolescents reported higher internet use (Females: M = 3.59, S.D. = 2.44; Males: M = 3.40, S.D. = 2.30); Young and middle-aged adults Males reported significantly higher substance use (M = 1.60, S.D. = 2.96; M = 1.17, S.D. = 2.21). Maladaptive coping was used more by Young Adult Males (M = 10.83, S.D. = 4.66). Internet use was positively correlated with perceived stress (0.40) and maladaptive coping (0.40). Substance Use was also moderately positively correlated with maladaptive coping (0.38).

Discussion

The study reveals significant variations in perceived stress, internet use, substance use, and coping based on gender and age variations. Adolescent females were the most affected and reported high perceived stress, whereas middle-aged adults were the least affected.

Conclusion

The study provides further avenues to understand the stress and coping in different sections of society amid the 'new normal' era. It also gives an idea about resilience and identifies the sections of society which require focused interventions.