Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic: Distress and resilience

Abstract

The current study analyzed repeated responses to the coronavirus. Data for the first phase was gathered during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in Israel (T1), which included the overall lock-down of the Israeli society. The repeated measurement was conducted approximately two months later, on the initial phase of lifting the lock-down (T2). The sample size was 300 people. Results indicated four significant differences between the first and the second measurements: Sense of danger, distress symptoms, and national resilience significantly decreased, while perceived well-being increased at T2. No significant differences were noted between the two measurements regarding individual and community resilience and economic difficulties. The data indicated that the highest decrease in national resilience was accounted for by low respondent trust in governmental decisions during the COVID-19 crisis. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the participants was determined by two indicators: level of distress symptoms and sense of danger. Path analyses showed that five variables significantly predicted these two indicators. Their best predictor at T1 and T2 was well-being followed by individual resilience, economic difficulties due to the pandemic crisis, community resilience, and gender. It was concluded that psychological attributes may help in decreasing the impact of the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Socio-ecological determinants of distress in Filipino adults during COVID-19 crisis

“…Recent research using Filipino samples showed stable four factors of national resilience (Callueng, Aruta, Antazo, & Diato, 2020 ). Previous studies using Israeli adults demonstrated reliability coefficients of α = .88 (Kimhi, Eshel, et al, 2020a ) and α = .91 (Kimhi, Marciano, et al, 2020b ) for national resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the current study, the overall reliability of national resilience was α = .95.…”

“…Participants reported the extent to which they feel secured at home during the Coronavirus crisis by answering one item ( “How safe are you at your home during this period of the Coronavirus crisis?” ) using a 5-point scale (1 = Not at all to 5 = To a very great extent ). Recent studies have used this item in assessing people’s sense of safety at home in times of adversities including, during the COVID-19 crisis (Kimhi, Marciano, et al, 2020b ).…”

“…In terms of family level factors, safety at home, parenthood, and financial difficulties in the family were selected as predictors of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence suggests that sense of safety at home in times of stressful life events reduced COVID-19 distress among adult Israeli Jews (Kimhi, Marciano, Eshel, & Adini, 2020b ). Moreover, parenthood or having children was found to boost adults’ well-being, meaning in life, life satisfaction, positive emotions (Nelson, Kushlev, & Lyubomirsky, 2014 ), and decrease distress during challenging life events (Kimhi, Marciano, et al, 2020b ).…”

“…Evidence suggests that sense of safety at home in times of stressful life events reduced COVID-19 distress among adult Israeli Jews (Kimhi, Marciano, Eshel, & Adini, 2020b ). Moreover, parenthood or having children was found to boost adults’ well-being, meaning in life, life satisfaction, positive emotions (Nelson, Kushlev, & Lyubomirsky, 2014 ), and decrease distress during challenging life events (Kimhi, Marciano, et al, 2020b ). On the other hand, financial difficulties in the family were found to be a strong predisposing factor for mental health problems, including depression and anxiety (DeForge, Belcher, Orourke, & Lindsey, 2008 ; Robbins, Dollard, Armstrong, Kutash, & Vergon, 2008 ).…”

Changing Research Paradigm in the Face of a Global Pandemic: Foreseeable Impact and Adaptive Measures in Academic Research in the Future

“…The research regarding COVID-19 is the need of the hour. However, post COVID, research concentrating on community health, disaster management and pandemic prediction may increase [40,41].…”