How does stress affect our life satisfaction during COVID-19 pandemic? Moderating mediation analysis of sense of coherence and fear of coronavirus.

BackgroundCOVID-19 is a significant threat to human life and health. It makes people experience fear, stress, anxiety and mood disor-ders, which have a negative impact on their psychological well-being. The aim of the study was to determine the relation-ship between fear of COVID-19, perceived stress, and life satisfaction during the coronavirus pandemic.Participants and procedure907 Polish people (522 women and 385 men) participated in this study. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FOC-6) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used in the study.ResultsFear of COVID-19 and perceived stress were positively correlated with each other and both negatively related to life satis-faction. Moderation analysis showed that fear of COVID-19 acted as a buffer between perceived stress and life satisfaction – people with a high level of fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress had greater life satisfaction than those with high levels of stress but low levels of fear of COVID-19.ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, people experience significant stress and fear of infection, which negatively affect their life satisfaction. It can be assumed that during a global pandemic, most stressors are not directly linked to the risk of infection. Loss of job, isolation, lack of social support, or a total change in lifestyle may be more threatening to the well-being than the risk of infection, which many people do not consider as dangerous. Therefore, it can be assumed that people who expe-rience a strong fear of COVID-19 may perceive inconveniences resulting from restrictions as less oppressive than people who do not feel fear.

COVID-19 is a significant threat to human life and health, which makes people experience fear, stress, anxiety and mood disorders, which have a negative impact on their psychological well-being. One of the resources that makes people manage stress better is a sense of coherence, which also has a positive impact on quality of life. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between fear of COVID-19, stress, a sense of coherence, and life satisfaction during the coronavirus pandemic. 907 Polish people (522 women and 385 men) participated in this study. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FOC-6), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used in the study. It was verified that the relationship between stress and life satisfaction was mediated by sense of coherence. The relationship between stress and sense of coherence was moderated by fear of COVID-19. The fear of COVID-19 acted as a buffer in the relationship between stress and a sense of coherence - it weakened the impact of stress on the sense of coherence. This study is the first to verify the proposed model of moderated mediation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses were performed on a very large sample. This manuscript draws attention to the important role of fear of COVID-19 and the sense of coherence in our functioning. The sense of coherence can, by effectively managing stress and reducing the level of anxiety, affect subjective well-being.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is contributing to increased fear and anxiety throughout society, which may affect life satisfaction. Health-related hardiness and sense of coherence (SOC) are personal resources that help people adapt to difficult circumstances. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between fear of COVID-19, SOC, health-related hardiness, and life satisfaction.Methods: A total of 907 Polish people (522 women and 385 men) participated in this study. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FOC-6), the Health-Related Hardiness Scale, the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were used.Results: Correlation showed that fear of COVID-19 was negatively related to health-related hardiness, SOC, and life satisfaction. Health-related hardiness and SOC were positively related to life satisfaction. Both SOC and hardiness were mediators between fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction during the current pandemic.Conclusion: SOC and health-related hardiness are personal resources that are important for dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to our study, SOC and hardiness can mediate between fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction. Presented cross-sectional results have to be verified in future longitudinal studies in order to strengthen the conclusions presented in this manuscript. This study verified the role of only two personal resources, so more research is needed on the role of other personal resources during COVID-19 pandemic.