The role of threat appraisal and coping style in psychological response to the COVID-19 pandemic among university students.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to psychological distress among community samples and university students. Some coping behaviors and cognitive appraisals allow individuals to experience positive psychological growth amid such a crisis (Folkman et al. 1986). In the event of continuing waves of COVID-19 infection and future viral outbreaks, understanding the relationships between coping behaviors, stress appraisals, and COVID-related distress and growth can empower public health officials and university leadership to mitigate negative consequences and encourage growth.

METHODS

774 undergraduate students completed online self-report measures of coping (Brief COPE; emotion, problem, avoidant), stress appraisal (SAM; threat/centrality, challenge/self-efficacy, uncontrol, other-control), neuroticism (NEO-N), health anxiety (SHAI), and COVID-19 exposure/impact (C-PIQ; distress and growth). Hypotheses were examined via simple regressions and interactions.

RESULTS

Increased utilization of avoidant coping was associated with high levels of distress regardless of whether it was perceived as threatening or not. Emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies were associated with more growth, whereas avoidant coping was associated with less growth. Higher emotion-focused coping and challenge appraisal together predicted the most growth.

LIMITATIONS

Cross-sectional design precludes the tracking of distress and growth over time; this study relied on self-report data.

CONCLUSIONS

These results underscore the impact of stress appraisals on the mental health of students navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings may inform public health messaging-or have clinical implications, as successful interventions exist for improving coping strategies and stress appraisals.