Dealing With the Pandemic of COVID-19 in Portugal: On the Important Role of Positivity, Experiential Avoidance, and Coping Strategies.

Maria José Ferreira,José Fernando A Cruz,Rui Sofia,Inês Jongenelen,Nikolett Eisenbeck,David F Carreno

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647984

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic crisis has caused an unprecedented impact on most areas of people’s lives. Thus, framed within the scope of Existential Positive Psychology (PP2.0), this study aimed at assessing the psychological distress of adults living in Portugal during the first national lockdown, how they are coping with stress, as well to contribute to a deeper understanding about the role that positivity, experiential avoidance, and coping strategies have in psychological distress and well-being. For this purpose, 586 Portuguese adults (73% females) ranging between 18 and 78 years old (M = 38.96, SD = 12.20) completed an online survey during the initial phase of the pandemic crisis in Portugal. Findings suggest that experiential avoidance was the strongest predictor of a negative response (depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and negative emotions), whereas positivity was a better predictor of psychological well-being and lower levels of depression. Additionally, self-blame, behavioral disengagement, and emotional venting were strong risk factors for psychological distress, whereas positive reframing, planning, and acceptance were associated with more positive outcomes. These findings highlight the critical role of experiential avoidance on individuals’ psychological distress and the essential contribution of positive life orientation in promoting flourishing. By offering a better understanding of the complex navigation through the dialectics between positive and negative life features, this study provides important and useful cues for psychological interventions directed at promoting a more positive and adaptive human functioning even through such potential adverse and painful life events.

Highlights

The pandemic crisis of COVID-19 is currently the more threatening situation most individuals have ever experienced
This study aims to: (1) evaluate the levels of psychological distress of adults living in Portugal during the first national lockdown associated with the COVID-19 outbreak; (2) analyze which coping strategies were more used among the participants of the current study to deal with de pandemic crisis, and ; (3) examine how positivity, experiential avoidance, and coping strategies are associated with well-being and psychological distress
In order to identify the main predictors of psychological adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic, descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were performed to explore the pattern of correlations

Summary

Introduction

The pandemic crisis of COVID-19 is currently the more threatening situation most individuals have ever experienced. Psychology should not restrict the study of individual problems and the solutions to such issues Instead, it must identify and better understand the factors and conditions that promote a more positive human, social, and organizational development (Csikszentmihalyi, 2009; Csikszentmihalyi, 2011). There is considerable growing evidence suggesting that mental stability and well-being are more influenced by how individuals attribute meaning to their internal experiences than by their actual negative impact (e.g., how negative they are; Lyubomirsky, 2001) Under this perspective, Existential Positive Psychology calls for the adoption of a dialectical way of coping with life demands, that is, responding effectively to both negative and positive aspects of living (Wong, 2011, 2012; Wong et al, 2006)

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