OBJECTIVE

This study is the first to adopt a cultural and contextual coping model to examine the impact of forbearance coping on compliance and psychological health and unravel the psychosocial mediator and moderator among community-dwelling residents in the post-pandemic era in China.

METHODS

A multistage cluster convenience sampling strategy was conducted to recruit 402 community-dwelling residents of ten cities in Guangdong province who completed an online survey measuring forbearance coping, anti-pandemic compliance behaviours, family resilience, community resilience and psychological distress.

RESULTS

The study results showed an unexpected negative influence of forbearance coping on psychological distress. Nevertheless, forbearance coping facilitated personal compliance with coronavirus disease-2019 mitigation measures and improved psychological health. More importantly, meaning-making of adversity within families partially mediated the negative effect of forbearance on mental health only when respondents perceived higher levels of community resilience.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to apply the cultural and contextual model of coping to Chinese individuals during a significant public health crisis. It expands the model by uncovering mechanisms like behavioural compliance and family meaning-making, and highlights the moderating role of community resilience. The findings emphasize the importance of building resilient communities and supporting mental health, providing evidence for future policy interventions and pandemic/disaster prevention measures in China.