Coping Mechanisms and Emotional Distress for Young People and Adults in Pandemic Context

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic context put to test all adaptive skills of human beings around the world. In this disruptive context, a sample of 401 respondents (173 male and 228 female), aged between 19 and 65 years old, were assessed using the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), the Emotional Distress Profile (PDE) and the Autonomy Questionnaire, from Cognitrom Assessment System. The main objectives of the study aimed at identifying the significant differences in emotional distress, coping mechanisms, autonomy and self-acceptance based on gender and age as grouping variables, and the significant relationships between all these variables. Statistics show differences in behavioural and emotional autonomy between male and female, differences related to catastrophizing and blaming others as resilience mechanisms between male and female, differences in self-acceptance and positive assessment (as coping mechanism) between young people and adults, and significant negative correlations between emotional distress and all types of autonomy (value, cognitive, behavioural and emotional), significant positive correlation with coping mechanisms like blaming others, catastrophizing, self-blame and acceptance, and significant negative correlation with positive assessment and refocusing on planning. All results are discussed in the context of the disruption caused by the pandemic context and in relationship with the necessity of supporting people to maintain their mental health and well-being, now more than ever, with the new turning back to the previous way of life caused by the lifting of the state of alert by the authorities.