Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan-Apr;22(1):100256.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2021.100256. Epub 2021 Jul 14.

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

An international study on psychological coping during COVID-19: Towards a meaning-centered coping style

Nikolett Eisenbeck et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2022 Jan-Apr.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

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.

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Distress; Ex post facto study; Meaning-centered coping scale; Well-being.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Arslan G., Yildirim M. Coronavirus stress, meaningful living, optimism, and depressive symptoms: A study of moderated mediation model. PsyArXiv. 2020
    1. Baloran E.T. Knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and coping strategies of students during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Loss and Trauma. 2020;25:635–642.
    1. Batthyany A., Russo-Netzer P., editors. Meaning in positive and existential psychology. Springer Science + Business Media; 2014.
    1. Beaton D.E., Bombardier C., Guillemin F., Ferraz M.B. Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine. 2000;25:3186–3191. - PubMed
    1. Brooks S.K., Webster R.K., Smith L.E., Woodland L., Wessely S., Greenberg N., Rubin G.J. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet. 2020;395:912–920. - PMC - PubMed