The Future Looks Good: Examining the Associations Between Coping, Psychological Distress, and Optimism

Abstract

The recent pandemic and consequent lockdown had a substantial impact on mental health and optimism regarding the future. Previous research showed that levels of depression, anxiety, and stress had increased throughout the pandemic. Nonetheless, how individuals cope when faced with adversity may be associated with positive expectations regarding the future. A sample of 274 Portuguese workers (female = 54) with a mean age of 40.86 (SD = 0.70) and work experience of 19.68 years (SD = 12.07) met inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the proposed study. They represented a variety of working classes (i.e., arts, engineering, marketers, transportation and logistic, clerks, personal trainers, managers, lawyers, accountants, directors, journalism, health care). We investigated the associations between depression, stress, anxiety, adaptive and maladaptive coping, and optimism while controlling for working experience, gender, and work type. We found that depression was related to lower levels of optimism. However, for participants scoring high on adaptive coping and anxiety, higher scores of optimism were reported. Gender, work type, and experience did not significantly influence the results. These results provide evidence through which positive mental health can be promoted after the pandemic.

Testing the Associations between Coping, Mental Health, and Satisfaction with Life in Portuguese Workers

“…This suggests that increased levels of depressive symptoms are associated with a decreased perception of satisfaction with life. Santos et al [25] also found similar results, indicating that workers with higher levels of depressive symptoms and stress exhibit lower levels of optimism regarding the future, which is an indicator of well-being. The association between symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress with life satisfaction can be understood through theoretical frameworks that emphasize the impact of mental distress on subjective well-being.…”

“…By examining the relationship between each coping strategy, psychological distress, and life satisfaction, this study will contribute to the existing literature in health psychology [5,27,28]. Previous studies conducted among workers have typically treated coping strategies as a unifying construct rather than considering them as multiple dimensions of mental health [25]. Based on this rationale, we propose the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1 (H1).…”

“…Despite the imperative to comprehend how workers cope with mental distress resulting from past lockdowns, the investigation of coping within this population and its associations with mental health and well-being remains limited [5]. While some research has explored the relationship between coping strategies and mental health indicators [16,25,26], there is a paucity of information regarding the hypothesis that adaptive coping strategies function as a mechanism to mitigate psychological distress indicators, consequently fostering greater life satisfaction, especially among workers who have experienced significant negative effects on mental health due to social isolation [6]. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, existing studies have predominantly examined general dimensions of coping [25], thereby failing to elucidate the individual contributions of each coping mechanism in ameliorating symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, and their associations with life satisfaction.…”

The Role of Emotional Eating as Relief Mechanism from Psychological Distress and its Impact on Overall Wellbeing

“…This issue seems to be common for individuals with mental disorders, such as people with schizophrenia, depression and/or anxiety. These individuals have demonstrated a shared pattern of difficulties when relating and responding to emotional distress [12], characterized by an increased tendency to engage with maladaptive strategies, such as behavioral disengagement, denial, self-distraction, and self-blame [13], which have been associwww.jpublichealth.org ated with emotional eating. This process, known as emotional eating, serves as a tangible manifestation of the intricate interplay between emotions and dietary choices.…”

Psychometric properties of the Stress Coping Scale Brief-COPE 28 in a Peruvian population

“…Currently, there are highly stressful events that generate mental health problems in the world and national population, related to a high incidence of stress, anxiety, depression, decreased optimism (Santos et al, 2022), negative psychological impact (Brooks et al, 2020) and overflow in the capacity to respond to stress (Guillén-Díaz et al, 2021). In complex situations of such magnitude, coping with stress provides evidence of how people act to a stressful event.…”