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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Social support, psychological flexibility and coping mediate the association between COVID-19 related stress exposure and psychological distress
Scientific Reports, Vol.12, pp.1-11
2022
Appears in COVID-19 Research
Abstract
The COVID‑19 pandemic has contributed to an increase in psychological distress. However, protective factors such as social support, psychological flexibility, and coping mechanisms can help individuals cope with the effects of psychological distress. This study aimed to test a recent hypothesis suggesting that psychological flexibility is not necessarily a coping strategy but a mechanism that can influence the coping strategies an individual employs during stressful events. We tested a mediation model that COVID‑19 concerns would contribute to higher levels of perceived social support, which would directly increase psychological flexibility, and finally test if the effect of psychological flexibility on distress was mediated by approach and avoidant coping strategies. The results show that social support facilitates higher levels of psychological flexibility. Further, that psychological flexibility indirectly reduces psychological distress by reducing avoidant coping and increasing approach coping strategies. Within the context of COVID‑19, we have shown the importance of social support and psychological flexibility for reducing distress. We have provided further evidence that psychological flexibility might not be a coping mechanism but a strategy that leads individuals to engage in more approach coping strategies and fewer avoidant coping strategies.
Details
- Title
- Social support, psychological flexibility and coping mediate the association between COVID-19 related stress exposure and psychological distress
- Authors
- Richard Tindle (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - LegacyAlla Hemi (Author) - Bar-Ilan UniversityAhmed A Moustafa (Author) - Bond University
- Publication details
- Scientific Reports, Vol.12, pp.1-11
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-022-12262-w
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Organisation Unit
- Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99640679102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Web Of Science research areas
- Psychology, Clinical
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