The Resilience of South African School Teachers in the Time of COVID-19: Coping with Risk of Infection, Loneliness, and Anxiety

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated an overall increase in the global prevalence of mental health disorders and psychological distress. However, against this backdrop, there was also evidence of adaptation and coping, which suggested the influence of protective factors. The current study aims to extend previous research on the role of protective factors by investigating the health-sustaining and mediating roles of resilience in the relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease, loneliness, and anxiety. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of schoolteachers (N = 355) who completed the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire, the short form of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, and the trait scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale, through an online link created with Google Forms. The results of path analysis indicated significant negative associations between resilience and both loneliness and anxiety. These results indicate the health-sustaining role of resilience. In addition, resilience mediated the relationships between germ aversion and perceived infectability, on the one hand, and loneliness and anxiety, on the other hand. The findings confirm that resilience can play a substantial role in counteracting the negative impact of the pandemic on mental health.

Perceptions of Emerging Adults Having a Fear of Covid-19 Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Metaphor Analysis

“…For this reason, COVID-19 is a process that affects both individuals' mental and physical health in Turkey and around the world, and it is considered that its psychological impacts on people will continue even if the pandemic ends (Aşkın et al, 2020). Studies conducted not only in Turkey but also in other parts of the world reveal that the fear of COVID-19 affects individuals' mental health (Cao et al, 2020;Goyal et al, 2020;Li et al, 2020;Mamun & Griffiths, 2020;Qiu et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020a;Altıparmak et al, 2021;Kara & Çanakçı, 2022;Padmanabhanunni & Pretorius, 2023). Therefore, it is believed that the impacts of COVID-19 will last due to the changes it has caused in individuals' lives, although it is not considered a major concern in some countries.…”

Japanese youth athletes’ mental health and psychological resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In light of these multifaceted challenges, understanding factors such as psychological resilience – i.e., the ability to adapt to internal and external stressors, particularly through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility [17, 18] – is imperative [19]. Indeed, resilience plays a vital role in protecting individuals from psychological issues such as depression and anxiety during pandemics [20].…”