Many ways of facing an extreme event: Profiling of different coping groups during the COVID-19

Abstract

Background. Numerous studies have examined the consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown on mental health. Nonetheless, there is no comprehensive analysis of different profiles of coping strategies based on relevant sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age and decreased income), maladaptive habits during lockdown (level of problematic use of social networks and unhealthy habits), and protective personality variables (resilience and optimism). Method. 1003 participants (75.5% women), aged 18-83 years (M = 42.33; SD = 14.32) completed an online questionnaire. A cluster analysis identified the different groups in the sample using variables of problematic social network use, unhealthy habits, gender, age, decreased income, resilience and optimism. Differences between the various groups were subsequently analysed using various ANOVAs. Results. Four coping groups were identified, labelled Young Optimists, Young Pessimists, Middle-aged Optimists and Resilient Elders, with significant differences between them in all of the study variables. Conclusions. This study identified fundamental characteristics of different coping groups during the COVID-19 lockdown. This result allows us to identify which behaviours and traits characterize the most-affected individuals.