Psychosocial Coping Resources and the Toll of COVID-19 Bereavement

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a bereavement crisis unparalleled in a generation, with devastating consequences for the mental health of those who lost a loved one to the virus. Using national survey data ( n = 2,000) containing detailed information about people’s experiences of pandemic-related stressors, coping resources, and mental health, in this study we examine whether and how three psychosocial coping resources—mastery, self-esteem, and social support—moderate the association between COVID-19 bereavement and psychological distress. We find that coping resources have both expected and unanticipated effects on the relationship between bereavement and mental health. Consistent with the stress process model, higher levels of mastery uniformly reduce the damaging effects of bereavement on depressive symptoms and anger, whereas self-esteem mitigates the positive association between losing a close tie to the virus and reports of anger. Contrary to the stress-buffering hypothesis, however, higher levels of perceived support exacerbate the positive associations between bereavement and each indicator of psychological distress. Our findings suggest that the putatively advantageous aspects of social support may be compromised, or even reversed, in the context of constrained social engagement. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for sociological research on the stress process.

Cumulative Pandemic Stressors, Psychosocial Resources, and Psychological Distress: Toward a More Comprehensive Test of a Pandemic Stress Process

“…Decades of research have established the noxious impact of stressors on mental health, with a great deal of scholarly attention documenting the impact of chronic stressors, traumatic stressors, and discrimination on health and well-being ( Pearlin and Bierman 2013 ; J. Taylor and Turner 2002 ; Turner and Lloyd 1995 ; Williams 2018 ). The burgeoning study of pandemic stressors and mental health has sparked new interest in the stress process by confirming and extending the general patterns of pre-pandemic research ( Bierman, Upenieks, Glavin, and Schieman 2021 ; Donnelly and Farina 2021 ; Grace 2021 ; Grace and VanHeuvelen 2022 ; Moen 2022 ; Qian and Fan 2022 ; Witteveen and Velthorst 2020 ).…”

“…Although recent research has made significant and timely contributions to our understanding of the mental health consequences of specific pandemic stressors (e.g., bereavement, job conditions, or financial strain) ( Bierman, Upenieks, Glavin, and Schieman 2021 ; Bo et al 2021 ; Brown and Ciciurkaite 2022 ; Craparo et al 2022 ; Donnelly and Farina 2021 ; Fang, Thomsen, and Nayga 2021 ; Grace 2021 ; Grace and VanHeuvelen 2022 ; Han et al 2022 ; Matalon et al 2021 ; Qian and Fan 2022 ; Taquet et al 2021 ; Witteveen and Velthorst 2020 ), little is known about the cumulative toll of experiencing multiple COVID-19 stressors. Over three decades ago, Leonard I. Pearlin (1989 :25) warned that because “stressors typically surface as groups or constellations of stressors,” focusing on particular stressors “may incorrectly assume more similarity in exposure to stressful experience than actually exists.” By this logic, broader assessments of COVID-19 stressors are needed to better estimate the mental health sequelae of pandemic social stress, including the similarly understudied role of coping resources in the moderation of the cumulative stress experience.…”

“…COVID-19 deaths may be especially traumatic because these losses were mostly sudden or unexpected ( Eisma et al 2021 ). There is also some speculation that the early stages of the pandemic altered rituals of mourning, with safety guidelines preventing individuals from saying goodbye in-person or even holding traditional funerals for the deceased ( Burrell and Selman 2022 ; Grace 2021 ; Grace and VanHeuvelen 2022 ).…”

“…The categorical treatment of CPS allows us to evaluate whether the coping resources examined in the current study are efficacious at all levels of pandemic stress or whether some coping resources become ineffective after a certain threshold of stress exposure. The elastic limit concept is untested in prior studies of the stress process, including recent studies of pandemic stress, coping, and distress ( Grace and VanHeuvelen 2022 ).…”

“…Although recent research has made significant and timely contributions to our understanding of the mental health consequences of specific pandemic stressors (e.g., bereavement, job conditions, or financial strain) (Bierman, Upenieks, Glavin, and Schieman 2021;Bo et al 2021;Brown and Ciciurkaite 2022;Craparo et al 2022;Donnelly and Farina 2021;Fang, Thomsen, and Nayga 2021;Grace 2021;Grace and VanHeuvelen 2022;Han et al 2022;Matalon et al 2021;Qian and Fan 2022;Taquet et al 2021;Witteveen and Velthorst 2020), little is known about the cumulative toll of experiencing multiple COVID-19 stressors. Over three decades ago, Leonard I.…”