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Coping strategies and mental health trajectories during the first 21 weeks of COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom.
- Source :
-
Social science & medicine (1982) [Soc Sci Med] 2021 Jun; Vol. 279, pp. 113958. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Apr 22. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Rationale: The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health is well evidenced. However, there is little research on how individuals' coping strategies were related to changes in mental health over time.<br />Methods: The current study used data from the COVID-19 Social Study in the United Kingdom (N = 26,505) to explore whether coping strategies (problem-focused, emotion-focused, avoidant, and socially-supportive) were associated with (i) better mental health as lockdown was introduced, and (ii) faster recovery over time.<br />Results: People with greater use of problem-focused, avoidant, and supportive coping displayed more mental health symptoms, while greater use of emotion-focused coping was associated with fewer mental health symptoms. Symptoms decreased over time for all coping strategies, but only socially-supportive coping was associated with a faster decrease in anxiety and depressive symptoms, indicating a potential protective effect of social support on psychological distress.<br />Conclusions: Problem-, avoidant- and emotion-focused coping strategies were not associated with faster improvements in mental health. Suggesting the adoption of one of these coping styles in itself is not necessarily a driver of improvements in mental health; rather, specific attributes of the behaviours expressed as part of this coping style appear to be important in and of themselves.<br /> (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1873-5347
- Volume :
- 279
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Social science & medicine (1982)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 33965772
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113958