Examining the impact of COVID-19 on stress and coping strategies in individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions.

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the perceived stress levels and coping mechanisms related to COVID-19, and whether coping is related to well-being in people with self-reported chronic conditions and disabilities. Research Method/Design: A cross-sectional survey design was implemented. The total number of participants were 269 individuals with self-reported disabilities and chronic conditions (M age ϭ 39.37, SD age ϭ 12.18). We examined the relationship between perceived stress and coping strategies related to COVID-19, and which COVID-19 coping strategies were associated with well-being after controlling for demographic and psychological characteristics. Results: Correlation analyses demonstrated that perceived stress related to COVID-19 was positively associated with coping strategies including self-distraction, denial, substance use, behavioral disengagement, venting, planning, religion, and self-blame. Further, hierarchical regression results demonstrated that active coping, denial, use of emotional support, humor, religion, and self-blame were associated with participants' well-being after controlling for demographic and psychological characteristics. Conclusions/Implications: This exploratory study findings suggest that measuring and quantifying COVID-19 related stress and coping strategies in individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities can help clinicians and researchers understand potential effects of COVID-19 among people with chronic conditions and disabilities. Impact and ImplicationsThe current exploratory study extends the literature by exploring the perceived impact of COVID-19, stress levels and coping mechanisms related to COVID-19, and which coping strategies are associated with well-being in individuals with self-reported chronic conditions and disabilities. Active coping, denial, use of emotional support, humor, and religion coping were found to be positively correlated with well-being scores. Self-blame was found to be negatively correlated with well-being scores.

Socio-Cognitive Factors Associated With Lifestyle Changes in Response to the COVID-19 Epidemic in the General Population: Results From a Cross-Sectional Study in France

“…In the context of COVID-19 epidemic and mobility restrictions, rural residents possibly had greater access to outdoor exercise areas than urban dwellers, while garden owners could enjoy open air without much effort, which fostered sedentary. Conversely, avoiding thinking about the COVID-19 ( Umucu and Lee, 2020 ) somewhat limited unhealthy changes in lifestyles, probably by reducing the fear to go out.…”

Heightened Levels of Maladaptive Daydreaming Are Associated With COVID-19 Lockdown, Pre-existing Psychiatric Diagnoses, and Intensified Psychological Dysfunctions: A Multi-country Study

“…Beyond adherence to social distancing recommendations, respondents in one study distracted themselves by surfing the internet, listening to music, being active in meditation and prayer, and seeking social support (34). Acceptance and self-distraction were the most frequent coping strategies among participants with disabilities and chronic conditions (35).…”

Estrategias de afrontamiento en apoderados durante el confinamiento por la COVID-19

“…Aunque estos resultados son iguales a estudios previos disponibles en la literatura, por ejemplo, un estudio [11] el cual tuvo como objetivo describir los mecanismos de afrontamiento relacionados con COVID-19 en personas con afecciones crónicas y discapacidades, encontrando en sus resultados que las estrategias más usadas son la autodistracción (M=2.66; DE=0.75), el afrontamiento activo (M=2.52; DE=0.79), religión (M=2.62; DE=0.85), y apoyo emocional (M=2.47; DE=0.90). De estas cuatro estrategias, coincide que en el presente estudio el apoyo emocional fue el más usado, sin embargo, el desahogo no apareció dentro de las más altas (M=1.96; DE=0.95).…”

“…Sin duda, este estudio exploratorio se considera un aporte en el contexto nacional y la región latinoamericana, dado que medir e identificar las estrategias de afrontamiento utilizadas por apoderados durante el periodo de COVID-19, también puede ayudar a las instituciones educativas e investigadores a comprender los posibles consecuencias de esta pandemia entre los miembros de las comunidades escolares [11].…”