Coping Styles, Mental Health, and the COVID-19 Quarantine: A Nationwide Survey in Poland

Abstract

Background: The outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 that began from March 2020 is yet to be contained. Consequences of the ongoing pandemic may have a negative impact on the mental health of affected individuals. This particularly refers to those quarantined. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is currently one of the biggest health issues worldwide, a higher demand emerges for research concentrating on the worsening of psychological well-being among the general and the quarantined population, as well as on individual coping strategies that may moderate the occurrence of psychopathologies.Method: Data were collected within the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. Participants represented quarantine (+) and quarantine (–) groups. Quarantine (+) group, different from quarantine (–), consisted of people who experienced it themselves or someone close to them did after contacting an infected individual. To measure psychopathological symptoms a General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used. For measuring PTSD symptoms, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used. This study followed the coping strategies manifested among the participants using the MiniCope questionnaire.Results: A total of 2,036 individuals participated in this study. Quarantine (+) individuals had significantly higher total and subscales GHQ-28 scores (anxiety, insomnia, and somatic symptoms) as well as a higher IES-R arousal score. The quarantine (+) individuals were more likely to use self-distraction as a coping strategy. This research identified positive and negative correlations between presented coping styles and manifested psychopathology.Conclusion: This nationwide study suggests occurrence of negative effects on mental health due to the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine. It is observed on most of the measured psychopathological symptoms. The present research provides a line of action that should be followed in the future in case of another epidemic and in the event restrictions like quarantine have to be introduced again.

Coping and Anxiety During Lockdown in Spain: The Role of Perceived Impact and Information Sources

“…Our results corroborate the idea that acceptance and positive reframing (as measured by secondary coping), rather than active attempts to control or remove the source of stress, predicted lower levels of negative mental health outcomes in times of COVID-19, which fits well with prior data from other western countries. 2 , 14 , 15 , 32 Thus, our study provides valuable supporting evidence for the generalizability of coping strategies that played a helpful role in reducing anxiety during lockdown.…”

“…Recent research examining the connection between certain coping actions and mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland observed that responses such as positive reframing or acceptance, which are considered secondary coping strategies, yielded stronger negative correlations with multiple indices of mental health than active coping or planning actions, which are considered primary coping strategies. 14 Along the same lines, an empirical investigation conducted with an Australian sample population showed that positive reframing and acceptance-based responses were predictive of better mental health status in the COVID-19 context, whereas active coping or planning were unrelated to mental health. 15 In the same vein, a study in Portugal found that the use of acceptance coping and positive reframing was associated with fewer mental health problems in times of COVID-19.…”

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“…It has been revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected social functioning from its beginning. This has resulted in an increase in anxiety and depression symptoms in Poland compared to the pre-pandemic period (52)(53)(54)(55)(56).…”

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“…Our participants were active healthcare workers during the pandemic. Studies during the pandemic demonstrate that individuals under quarantine 55 and those with job loss or salary reduction 56 show a higher increase in GHQ-28 scores (especially in anxiety and insomnia subscale) relative to those without these experiences.…”