Psychological resistance of student youth to information stress in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction. Self-isolation, accompanied by intensive inclusion in the digital information environment, has led to a deterioration in students’ psychological well-being and the emergence of information stress. Information stress is associated with the compulsive use of social networks, viewing aggressive news content, disseminating misinformation. The purpose of the study was to study the features of information behavior, psychological stability and ways to cope with information stress for Russian students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study participants and methods. The sample consisted of 218 students from Moscow and Ivanovo aged 18 to 26 (M=19.5) (33% men, 67% women). A specially developed questionnaire was used to identify the features of students’ information behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic; to assess psychological stability and determine coping strategies in conditions of information stress, the methodology “Questionnaire of Coping Methods” (QCM) was used (R. Lazarus, S. Folkman, in Russian-language adaptation by T.L. Kryukova, E.V. Kuftyak, M.S. Zamyshlyaeva). Results and scientific novelty. The cluster analysis allowed identifying four types of students’ information behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: phobic (20%), cognitive (45%), nihilistic (20%) and circulating behavior (15%). To a greater extent, in order to cope with information stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, student youth use constructive coping strategies for planning (xave = 58.5±21.7), positive reassessment (xave = 51.9±19.3), self-control (xave = 47.5±17.8), characterized by a purposeful analysis of the situation and possible behavior options, including the determination of personal development directions. Besides, a significant part of students resort to the use of destructive coping strategies of avoidance, confrontation, distancing, caused by negative experiences, leading to the circulation of unofficial information about the pandemic. Half of the respondents need social support. The regression analysis made it possible to identify predictors of psychological resistance (coping strategies) to information stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical significance. The identified types of information behavior can be used in educational work with students and their psychological support in order to personalize the communicative impact, as well as in the monitoring system of students’ psychological state and their perception of risks, the level of awareness and trust in the information received, the adoption of established rules and the willingness to follow them.

Physical Activity, Life Satisfaction, Stress Perception and Coping Strategies of University Students in Belarus during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The severity of the scales of coping behavior was classified as the following: (1) active coping (actions to eliminate, reduce the stressor or its consequences), (2) planning (thinking about and planning what to do), (3) positive reframing (thinking about a negative or challenging situation in a more positive way), (4) acceptance (accepting the situation as irreversible, which you need to get used to), (5) humor (as a way to soften unwanted emotions), ( 6) religion (as a source of emotional support and a pointer to a positive reappraisal), (7) the use of emotional support (sympathy, understanding, moral support), (8) the use of instrumental support (the desire to get advice, help or reliable information), ( 9) self-distraction (avoiding thoughts about the situation by engaging in other activities), (10) denial (denial of the reality of a stressful situation, ignoring it), (11) venting (focus on emotions and their manifestation, worry about your emotions, a tendency to discharge them), (12) substance use (use of alcohol or other psychoactive drugs), ( 13) behavioral disengagement (helplessness, submission, refusal of efforts), ( 14) self-blame. The α-Cronbach coefficient amounted to α = 0.895, and yielded satisfactory results.…”

“…The level of coping among the respondents ranged from 0 (no use of this coping strategy) to 3 (the most frequent use) for each coping strategy. All of the responses were grouped into three main coping strategies: active coping (scales 1-3), coping by avoidance (4,5,9,10,12,13) and problem-oriented coping (6-8, 11, 14) [40].…”

“…When choosing the three integral coping strategies, it was noted that students almost equally, and more often, resort to active coping (Complex coping scenario "Active coping" (scales 1-3)). Among the rarely used coping strategies were avoidance, blaming oneself, denial of the reality of a stressful situation, ignoring it, turning to religion, and behavioral withdrawal ("helplessness", "submission", "refusal of efforts", and Complex coping scenario "Avoidance coping" (scales 4,5,9,10,12,13). The respondents associated coping with stress with turning to alcohol and other psychoactive substances.…”

“…It was recommended in the country to maintain the previous organization of social life without serious restrictions on movement, the regime of blocking social contacts was not introduced, and the population was persistently informed about the need to comply with security measures, which was supposed to minimize panic, ease anxiety and reduce the psychological burden in society [ 9 ]. In educational institutions, the transition to hybrid learning was recommended, that is, the traditional mode in combination with the use of information and communication technologies [ 10 ]. Of all European countries, a similar situation was typical only for Sweden [ 11 ], which carried out similar activities based on the extensive advertising of prevention and the offer of voluntary vaccination.…”

Experiencias de afrontamiento psicosocial en el contexto de aislamiento social obligatorio, en jefes de familia de Lima Metropolitana

“…Los estilos centrados en el problema hacen referencia al manejo directo sobre las demandas internas o ambientales que generan estrés (Lazarus & Folkman, 1986). Diversos estudios han hecho referencia a estrategias de afrontamiento enfocadas en la planificación, tales como la reevaluación positiva, el autocontrol y las posibles opciones de comportamiento (Kislyakov, 2020); así como también el afrontamiento activo y la búsqueda de apoyo social emocional (Park et al, 2020) y la resolución de problemas y apoyo online (Hao et al, 2020). Lo anterior concuerda con Cerami et al (2020), quienes señalan que las estrategias de afrontamiento orientadas a problemas y las capacidades empáticas aumentan la conciencia de las personas sobre la gravedad del impacto de la pandemia.…”