An international study on psychological coping during Covid-19: towards a meaning-centered coping style

• Nikolett Eisenbeck ^[1] ; David F. Carreno ^[2] ; Paul T.P. Wong ^[21] ; Joshua A. Hicks ^[3] ; María Ruíz-Ruano García ^[4] ; Jorge L. Puga ^[4] ; James Greville ^[5] ; Ines Testoni ^[22] ; Gianmarco Biancalani ^[22] ; Ana Carla Cepeda López ^[6] ; Sofía Villareal ^[6] ; Violeta Enea ^[23] ; Christian Schulz-Quach ^[7] ; Jonas Jansen ^[24] ; Maria-Jose Sanchez-Ruiz ^[8] ; Murat Yıldırım ^[25] ; Gökmen Arslan ^[9] ; José Fernando A. Cruz ^[10] ; Rui Manuel Sofia ^[11] ; Maria José Ferreira ^[26] ; Farzana Ashraf ^[27] ; Grażyna Wąsowicz ^[12] ; Shahinaz M. Shalaby ^[13] ; Reham A. Amer ^[13] ; Hadda Yousfi ^[14] ; John Bosco Chika Chukwuorji ^[28] ; Valeschka M. Guerra ^[15] ; Sandeep Singh ^[16] ; Samantha Heintzelman ^[29] ; Bonar Hutapea ^[30] ; Bouchara Béjaoui ^[31] ; Arobindu Dash ^[32] ; Karoly Kornel Schlosser ^[17] ; Malin K. Anniko ^[18] ; Martin Rossa ^[33] ; Hattaphan Wongcharee ^[34] ; Andreja Avsec ^[19] ; Gaja Zager Kocjan ^[19] ; Tina Kavčič ^[19] ; Dmitry A. Leontiev ^[20] ; Olga Taranenko ^[20] ; Elena Rasskazova ^[20] ; Elizabeth Maher ^[35] ; José Manuel García-Montes ^[2]
  1. [1] Universidad de Sevilla

     Universidad de Sevilla

     Sevilla, España

     
  2. [2] Universidad de Almería

     Universidad de Almería

     Almería, España

     
  3. [3] Texas A&M University

     Texas A&M University

     Estados Unidos

     
  4. [4] Universidad de Granada

     Universidad de Granada

     Granada, España

     
  5. [5] University of South Wales

     University of South Wales

     Pontypridd, Reino Unido

     
  6. [6] Universidad de Monterrey

     Universidad de Monterrey

     México

     
  7. [7] University of Toronto

     University of Toronto

     Canadá

     
  8. [8] Lebanese American University

     Lebanese American University

     Líbano

     
  9. [9] Mehmet Akif Ersoy University

     Mehmet Akif Ersoy University

     Turquía

     
  10. [10] Universidade do Minho

      Universidade do Minho

      Braga (São José de São Lázaro), Portugal

      
  11. [11] Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo

      Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo

      Viana do Castelo (Monserrate), Portugal

      
  12. [12] Kozminski University

      Kozminski University

      Warszawa, Polonia

      
  13. [13] Tanta University

      Tanta University

      Egipto

      
  14. [14] University of Batna

      University of Batna

      Argelia

      
  15. [15] Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo

      Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo

      Brasil

      
  16. [16] Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology

      Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology

      India

      
  17. [17] University of London

      University of London

      Reino Unido

      
  18. [18] Örebro University

      Örebro University

      Suecia

      
  19. [19] University of Ljubljana

      University of Ljubljana

      Eslovenia

      
  20. [20] Higher School of Economics, National Research University

      Higher School of Economics, National Research University

      Rusia

      
  21. [21] Meaning-Centered Counselling Institute Inc., Canada
  22. [22] University of Padova, Italy
  23. [23] Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Romania
  24. [24] Rheinland Klinikum Neuss GmbH, Germany
  25. [25] Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Turkey
  26. [26] Lusófona University of Oporto, Portugal
  27. [27] COMSATS University, Lahore, Pakistan
  28. [28] University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria
  29. [29] Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, US
  30. [30] Universitas Tarumanagara, Indonesia
  31. [31] Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, France
  32. [32] IUBAT—International University of Business Agriculture and Technology, Bangladesh
  33. [33] Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany
  34. [34] Pathumwan Institute of Technology, Thailand
  35. [35] New Zealand Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Training Ltd., New Zealand

  Mostrar afiliaciones +
• Localización: International journal of clinical and health psychology, ISSN 1697-2600, Vol. 22, Nº. 1, 2022, págs. 11-20
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2021.100256
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Estudio internacional sobre afrontamiento psicológico durante el COVID-19: hacia un afrontamiento centrado en el sentido
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo  1    2  
• Dialnet Métricas: 2 Citas
• Resumen
  • español

    Antecedentes/Objetivo Este estudio examinó el papel de diferentes estrategias de afrontamiento psicológico en la salud mental y física durante las fases iniciales de la crisis de COVID-19.

    Método 11,227 personas de 30 países representando todos los continentes participaron en el estudio y completaron medidas de malestar psicológico (depresión, estrés y ansiedad), soledad, bienestar, salud física, medidas de afrontamiento centrado en el problema y en la emoción, y una medida denominada Escala del Afrontamiento Centrado en el Sentido (MCCS) que fue desarrollada en este estudio. El análisis de validación de la MCCS se realizó en todos los países, y los datos se evaluaron mediante un modelo multinivel.

    Resultados La MCCS mostró una estructura unifactorial en 30 países con buenos resultados de validez test-retest, concurrente y divergente. Los análisis mostraron resultados mixtos en cuanto a las estrategias de afrontamiento centradas en la emoción y en el problema. La MCCS fue el predictor positivo más fuerte de salud física y mental, independientemente de las características demográficas y las variables a nivel de país.

    Conclusiones Los resultados sugieren que la MCCS es un insrumento fiable para medir afrontamiento centrado en el sentido. Estos resultados pueden servir para dirigir políticas que promuevan un afrontamiento eficaz con el fin de mitigar el sufrimiento colectivo durante la pandemia

  • English

    Background/Objective This study examined the role of different psychological coping mechanisms in mental and physical health during the initial phases of the COVID-19 crisis with an emphasis on meaning-centered coping.

    Method A total of 11,227 people from 30 countries across all continents participated in the study and completed measures of psychological distress (depression, stress, and anxiety), loneliness, well-being, and physical health, together with measures of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, and a measure called the Meaning-centered Coping Scale (MCCS) that was developed in the present study. Validation analyses of the MCCS were performed in all countries, and data were assessed by multilevel modeling (MLM).

    Results The MCCS showed a robust one-factor structure in 30 countries with good test-retest, concurrent and divergent validity results. MLM analyses showed mixed results regarding emotion and problem-focused coping strategies. However, the MCCS was the strongest positive predictor of physical and mental health among all coping strategies, independently of demographic characteristics and country-level variables.

    Conclusions The findings suggest that the MCCS is a valid measure to assess meaning-centered coping. The results also call for policies promoting effective coping to mitigate collective suffering during the pandemic.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Arslan, G., & Yildirim, M. (2020). Coronavirus stress, meaningful living, optimism, and depressive symptoms: A study of moderatedmediation...
  • Baloran, E. T. (2020). Knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and copingstrategiesof students during COVID-19 pandemic.Journal ofLoss and Trauma,25,...
  • Batthyany, A., & Russo-Netzer, P. (Eds.). (2014).Meaningin positiveand existential psychology. Springer Science + Business Media.
  • Beaton, D. E., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., & Ferraz, M. B. (2000).Guidelinesfor the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report...
  • Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L.,Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psycholog-ical impact...
  • Brown, T. A., Chorpita, B. F., Korotitsch, W., & Barlow, D. H. (1997).Psychometricproperties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales(DASS)...
  • Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessingmodelfit.SageFocus Editions,154, 136.
  • Bueno-Notivol, J., Gracia-García, P., Olaya, B., Lasheras, I.,López-Antón,R., & Santabárbara, J. (2021). Prevalence ofdepression during...
  • Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler:A brief multidi-mensional measure offlourishing.International Journal of Well-being,6,1–48.
  • Cai, H., Tu, B., Ma, J., Chen, L., Fu, L., Jiang, Y., &Zhuang,Q. (2020). Psychological Impact and Coping Strategiesof Frontline...
  • Carreno, D. F., Eisenbeck, N., Cangas, A. J., García-Montes, J. M.,DelVas, L. G., & María, A. T (2020). Spanish adaptation of the Per-sonal...
  • Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’-toolong: Consider the Brief COPE.International Journal ofBehavioral Medicine,4Article...
  • Cattell, R. B. (1966). The scree test for the number of factors.Mul-tivariateBehavioral Research,1, 245–276.
  • Chao, M., Chen, X., Liu, T., Yang, H., & Hall, B. J. (2020). Psycholog-icaldistress and state boredom during the COVID-19 outbreak inChina:...
  • Clay, J. M., & Parker, M. O. (2020). Alcohol use and misuse duringtheCOVID-19 pandemic: A potential public health crisis?TheLancet Public...
  • Crum, A. J., Jamieson, J. P., & Akinola, M. (2020). Optimizing stress:Anintegrated intervention for regulating stress responses.Emo-tion,20Article...
  • Davis, C. G., Lehman, D. R., Silver, R. C., Wortman, C. B., &Ellard,J. H. (1996). Self-blame following a traumatic event: Therole of perceived...
  • Dawes, J. (2008). Do data characteristics change according to thenumberof scale points used? An experiment using 5-point, 7-point and 10-point...
  • Dawson, D. L., & Golijani-Moghaddam, N. (2020). COVID-19: Psycho-logicalflexibility, coping, mental health, and wellbeing in the UKduring...
  • De Vaus, J., Hornsey, M. J., Kuppens, P., & Bastian, B. (2018).Exploring the East-West divide in prevalence of affective dis-order: A...
  • Feldman, D. B., & Snyder, C. R. (2005). Hope and the meaningfullife:Theoretical and empirical associations between goal dir-ected thinking...
  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1984).Stress,appraisal, and coping.Springer Publishing Company
  • Frankl, V. E. (1969).Thewill to meaning: Foundations and applica-tions of logotherapy. Meridian.
  • Fredrickson, B. L., Tugade, M. M., Waugh, C. E., &Larkin,G. R. (2003). What good are positive emotions in cri-sis? A prospective...
  • Gan, Y., Guo, M., & Tong, J. (2013). Scale development of meaning-focusedcoping.Journal of Loss and Trauma,18,10–26.
  • Gerhold, L. (2020). COVID-19: Risk perception and Coping strate-gies.PsyArXiv.https://doi.org/10.31234/OSF.IO/XMPK4.
  • Gloria, C. T., & Steinhardt, M. A. (2016). Relationships among posi-tiveemotions, coping, resilience and mental health.Stress andHealth,32,...
  • Guo, M., Gan, Y., & Tong, J. (2013). The role of meaning-focusedcopingin significant loss.Anxiety, Stress & Coping,26,87–102.
  • Hayton, J. C., Allen, D. G., & Scarpello, V. (2004). Factor retentiondecisionsin exploratory factor analysis: A tutorial on parallelanalysis.Organizational...
  • Heintzelman, S. J., & King, L. A. (2019). Routines and meaning inlife.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,45, 688–699.
  • Hicks, J. A., & Routledge, C. (Eds.). (2013).Theexperience ofmeaning in life: Classical perspectives, emerging themes, andcontroversies....
  • Holingue, C., Kalb, L. G., Riehm, K. E., Bennett, D., Kapteyn, A.,Veldhuis, C. B.,...Thrul, J. (2020). Mental distress in the UnitedStates...
  • Hu, L.-t., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Fit indices in covariance structuremodeling:Sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecifi-cation.Psychological...
  • Huang, L., Xu, F., & Liu, H. (2020). Emotional responses and copingstrategiesof nurses and nursing college students during COVID-19 outbreak.MedRxiv.
  • Ivtzan, I., Lomas, T., Hefferon, K., & Worth, P. (2015).Secondwavepositive psychology: Embracing the dark side of life. New York:Routledge.
  • Jans-Beken, L., & Wong, P. T. (2019). Development and preliminaryvalidationof the Existential Gratitude Scale (EGS).CounsellingPsychology...
  • King, L. A., & Hicks, J. A. (2021). The science of meaning in life.AnnualReview of Psychology,72, 561–854.
  • Kirzinger, A., Kearny, A., Hamel, L., & Brodie, M. (2020).KFFHealthTracking Poll Early April 2020: The Impact f Coronavirus onLife in...
  • Kleiman, E. M., Adams, L. M., Kashdan, T. B., &Riskind,J. H. (2013). Gratitude and grit indirectly reduce risk ofsuicidal ideations...
  • Klein, N. (2017). Prosocial behavior increases perceptions of mean-ingin life.The Journal of Positive Psychology,12, 354–361.
  • Lambert, N. M., Stillman, T. F., Hicks, J. A., Kamble, S.,Baumeister, R. F., & Fincham, F. D. (2013). To belong is to mat-ter:...
  • Lazarus, R. S. (2000). Toward better research on stress and coping.AmericanPsychologist,66, 665–673.
  • Liu, N., Zhang, F., Wei, C., Jia, Y., Shang, Z., Sun, L., Wu, L., Sun, Z.,Zhou, Y, Wang, Y., & Liu, W. (2020). Prevalence and predictors...
  • Maddi, S. R. (2013). Hardiness astheexistential courage to growthrough searching for meaning. In J. A. Hicks, &C. Routledge (Eds.),The...
  • Main, A., Zhou, Q., Ma, Y., Luecken, L. J., & Liu, X. (2011).Relations of SARS-related stressors and coping to Chinese col-lege students’psychological...
  • Man, M. A., Toma, C., Motoc, N. S., Necrelescu, O. L., Bondor, C. I.,Chis,A. F., Lesan, A., Pop, C. M., Todea, D. A., Dantes, E,Puiu, R, &...
  • McKnight, P. E., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Purpose in life as a systemthatcreates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative,testable...
  • Milman, E., Lee, S. A., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2020). Social isolation andthemitigation of coronavirus anxiety: The mediating role ofmeaning.Death...
  • Muth en,L., & Muth en, B. (2016).Mplus.The comprehensive model-ling program for applied researchers: User’s guide, 5. Muthen &Muthen.
  • Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003). The construction ofmeaningthrough vital engagement. In C. L. M. Keyes, &J. Haidt (Eds.),Flourishing....
  • Odriozola-Gonz alez,P., Planchuelo-G omez, A., Irurtia, M. J., &de Luis-García, R. (2020). Psychological effects of the COVID-19outbreak...
  • Oni, O., Harville, E. W., Xiong, X., & Buekens, P. (2012). Impact ofcopingstyles on post-traumatic stress disorder and depressivesymptoms...
  • Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An inte-grativereview of meaning making and its effects on adjustmentto stressful...
  • Polizzi, C., Lynn, S. J., & Perry, A. (2020). Stress and coping in thetimeof COVID-19: Pathways to resilience and recovery.ClinicalNeuropsychiatry,17,59–62.https://doi.org/10.36131/CN20200204.
  • Puterman, E., DeLongis, A., Lee-Baggley, D., &Greenglass,E. (2009). Coping and health behaviours in times ofglobal health...
  • Qian, M., Wu, Q., Wu, P., Hou, Z., Liang, Y., Cowling, B. J., &Yu, H. (2020). Psychological responses, behavioral changes andpublic perceptions...
  • Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., Wang, Z., Xie, B., & Xu, Y. (2020). Anationwidesurvey of psychological distress among Chinese peo-ple in...
  • Reker, G. T., & Wong, P. T. P. (1988). Aging as an individual process:Toward a theory of personal meaning. In J. E. Birren, &V. L....
  • Riley, K. E., & Park, C. L. (2014). Problem-focused vs. meaning-focusedcoping as mediators of the appraisal-adjustment rela-tionship in...
  • Rosa-Alc azar, A., García-Hern andez, M. D., Parada-Navas, J. L.,Olivares-Olivares, P. J., Martínez-Murillo, S., &Rosa-Alc...
  • Satre, D. D., Hirschtritt, M. E., Silverberg, M. J., &Sterling,S. A. (2020). Addressing problems with alcohol andother substances...
  • Savitsky, B., Findling, Y., Ereli, A., & Hendel, T. (2020). Anxiety andcopingstrategies among nursing students during the covid-19pandemic.Nurse...
  • Sch€onbrodt, F. D., & Perugini, M. (2013). At what sample size do cor-relations stabilize?Journal of Research in Personality,47, 609–612.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2013.05.009.
  • Schreiber, J. B., Nora, A., Stage, F. K., Barlow, E. A., &King, J. (2006). Reporting structural equation modeling and con-firmatory...
  • Schueller, S. M., & Seligman, M. E. (2010). Pursuit of pleasure,engagement,and meaning: Relationships to subjective andobjective measures...
  • Steger, M. F., Oishi, S., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Meaning in lifeacrossthe life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in lifefrom emerging...
  • Trzebi nski,J., Caba nski, M., & Czarnecka, J. Z. (2020). Reaction tothe COVID-19 pandemic: The influence of meaning in life, lifesatisfaction,...
  • Umucu, E., & Lee, B. (2020). Examining the impact of COVID-19 onstressand coping strategies in individuals with disabilities andchronic...
  • Updegraff, J. A., Silver, R. C., & Holman, E. A. (2008). Searching forandfindingmeaning in collective trauma: Results from a nationallongitudinal...
  • Van Tongeren, D. R., Green, J. D., Davis, D. E., Hook, J. N., &Hulsey, T. L. (2016). Prosociality enhances meaning in life.TheJournal...
  • Wang,C.,Pan,R.,Wan,X.,Tan,Y.,Xu,L.,Ho,C.S.,&Ho,R. C. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associatedfactors during the initial...
  • Witters, D., & Harter, J. (2020).InU.S., Life Ratings Plummet to 12-Year Low..https://news.gallup.com/poll/308276/life-ratings-plummet-year-low.aspx.
  • Wong, P. T. P. (1993). Effective management of life stress: Theresource congruencemodel.Stress Medicine,9,51–60.
  • Wong, P. T. P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balancedinteractivemodel of the good life.Canadian Psychology/Psycho-logie Canadienne,52Article...
  • Wong, P. T. P. (Ed.). (2012).Thehuman quest for meaning: Theories,research, and applications. Routledge.
  • Wong, P. T. P. (2019). Second wave positive psychology’s(PP 2.0)contribution to counselling psychology.Counselling PsychologyQuarterly,32,...
  • Wong, P. T. P. (2020). Meaning and evil and a two-factor model of searchformeaning.Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture,4,63–67.
  • Wong, P. T. P., Reker, G. T., & Peacock, E. J (2006). A resource-con-gruencemodel of coping and the development of the copingschema inventory....
  • Yeung, D. Y.-L., & Fung, H. H. (2007). Age differences in coping andemotionalresponses toward SARS: A longitudinal study of HongKong Chinese.Aging...