An international study on psychological coping during COVID-19: towards a meaning-centered coping style

none44siBackground/Objective: This study examined the role of different psychological coping mechanisms in mental and physical health during the initial phases of the COVID-19 crisis with an emphasis on meaning-centered coping. Method: A total of 11,227 people from 30 countries across all continents participated in the study and completed measures of psychological distress (depression, stress, and anxiety), loneliness, well-being, and physical health, together with measures of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, and a measure called the Meaning-centered Coping Scale (MCCS) that was developed in the present study. Validation analyses of the MCCS were performed in all countries, and data were assessed by multilevel modeling (MLM). Results: The MCCS showed a robust one-factor structure in 30 countries with good test-retest, concurrent and divergent validity results. MLM analyses showed mixed results regarding emotion and problem-focused coping strategies. However, the MCCS was the strongest positive predictor of physical and mental health among all coping strategies, independently of demographic characteristics and country-level variables. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the MCCS is a valid measure to assess meaning-centered coping. The results also call for policies promoting effective coping to mitigate collective suffering during the pandemic.openNikolett Eisenbeck, David F. Carreno, Paul T.P. Wong, Joshua A. Hicks, Ruíz-Ruano García María, Jorge L. Puga, James Greville, Ines Testoni, Gianmarco Biancalani, Ana Carla Cepeda Lopez, Sofía Villareal, Violeta Enea, Christian Schulz-Quach, Jonas Jansen, Maria-Jose Sanchez-Ruiz, Murat Yildirim, Gokmen Arslan, Jose Fernando A. Cruz, Rui Manuel Sofia, Maria Jose Ferreira, Farzana Ashraf, Grazyna Wasowicz, Shahinaz M. Shalaby, Reham A. Amer, Hadda Yousfi, JohnBosco Chika Chukwuorji, Valeschka M. Guerra, Sandeep Singh, Samantha Heintzelman, Bonar Hutapea, Bouchara Bejaoui, Arobindu Dash, Karoly Kornel Schlosser, Malin K. Anniko, Martin Rossa, Hattaphan Wongcharee, Andreja Avsec, Gaja Zager Kocjan, Tina Kavcic, Dmitry A. Leontiev, Olga Taranenko, Elena Rasskazova, Elizabeth Maher, Jose Manuel García-MontesEisenbeck, Nikolett; Carreno, David F.; Wong, Paul T. P.; Hicks, Joshua A.; García María, Ruíz-Ruano; Puga, Jorge L.; Greville, James; Testoni, Ines; Biancalani, Gianmarco; Carla Cepeda Lopez, Ana; Villareal, Sofía; Enea, Violeta; Schulz-Quach, Christian; Jansen, Jonas; Sanchez-Ruiz, Maria-Jose; Yildirim, Murat; Arslan, Gokmen; Cruz, Jose Fernando A.; Manuel Sofia, Rui; Jose Ferreira, Maria; Ashraf, Farzana; Wasowicz, Grazyna; Shalaby, Shahinaz M.; Amer, Reham A.; Yousfi, Hadda; Chika Chukwuorji, Johnbosco; Guerra, Valeschka M.; Singh, Sandeep; Heintzelman, Samantha; Hutapea, Bonar; Bejaoui, Bouchara; Dash, Arobindu; Kornel Schlosser, Karoly; Anniko, Malin K.; Rossa, Martin; Wongcharee, Hattaphan; Avsec, Andreja; Zager Kocjan, Gaja; Kavcic, Tina; Leontiev, Dmitry A.; Taranenko, Olga; Rasskazova, Elena; Maher, Elizabeth; Manuel García-Montes, Jos