Self-care behaviors, drinking, and smoking to cope with psychological distress during COVID-19 among Chinese college students: the role of resilience

Abstract

Objective College students are vulnerable to psychological distress during COVID-19 due to pandemic-related stressors. In response to psychological distress, college students engage in various coping behaviors, such as self-care behaviors and substance use. The transactional model of stress and coping depicts a cognitive appraisal process in the stress-coping association. Psychological resilience is an essential factor for the cognitive appraisal. This study aimed to investigate the mediation effects of resilience on psycho-behavioral health in response to COVID-19 stressors. Design Longitudinal data were collected from 1,225 Chinese college students via web-based anonymous surveys at wave 1 (T1, between Jan 31 and Feb 11, 2020) and wave 2 (T2, between Mar 20 and Apr 3, 2020). Main Outcome Measures Participants reported their COVID-19 stressors (T1), resilience (T1), psychological distress (depression and anxiety; T2), and coping behaviors (self-care behaviors, drinking, and smoking; T2). Path analysis was used for data analyses. Results Resilience mediated the association between COVID-19 stressors and psychological distress. Resilience together with psychological distress mediated the association of COVID-19 stressors with self-care behaviors or drinking. Conclusions Resilience appears to offer protection that promotes psycho-behavioral health in college students in the face of COVID-19 stressors. Interventions for college students should attend to resilience.