Adult experience of stress and anxiety and coping in the first phase of the lockdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine adults’ coping with risks and losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account: anxiety level, gender, age and place of residence.
 Method: For this purpose, research was carried out on a total of 235 adults, divided into five groups based on Levinson's (1978) model of life development, recruited using the snowball technique via remote communication technology. Self-report data was collected using the Covid-19-RL (Risks and Losses) open interview, polish adaptation of Spielberger’s STAI Inventory (assessing anxiety as a state) by Sosnowski et al (2011) and Carver’s COPE inventory adapted by Juczyński and Ogińska (2009). Comparative analyses were performed using the ANOVA model in the SPSS Program.
 Results: The results show the pandemic is a considerable deprivation factor and a threat to a broad spectrum of needs, and it generates a high level of anxiety in men and women in all adult age groups. Simultaneously, the perception of stressors depends on gender, age and place of residence. It was also found that age and place of residence differentiated people’s choice of the type of coping (confrontational, defensive and ignoring). The paper ends with the discussion of the results and limitations of the study.