Abstract
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a great impact on public mental health. However, loneliness during the lockdown related to depression and whether the relationship would be mediated by coping style or whether sex moderates loneliness and coping style are not clear. The study aimed to examine the mediating role of coping style in the relationship between state loneliness and depression as well as the moderating role of sex in the relationship between state loneliness and coping styles during the COVID-19 lockdown. Participants were 337 college students in China during the COVID-19 pandemic (January–February 2020). States of depression and anxiety, state loneliness, and coping styles with COVID-19 were measured. The results show that loneliness was an effective predictor of depression during self-quarantine. Moreover, coping style mediated the relationship between state loneliness and depression although sex did not moderate the relationship between state loneliness and coping style. Youths were inclined to use more positive coping strategies than negative coping strategies. Our results indicate less loneliness is an effective way to relieve depression, and coping strategies, especially the positive ones, are important for youths to prevent depression and loneliness during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
A severe pandemic of infectious diseases suddenly broke out in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, and it was named the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization later
Sex difference was not found on loneliness (t = −0.16, p = 0.88, d = −0.02), state anxiety (t = −0.77, p = 0.44, d = −0.09), positive coping style (t = −1.06, p = 0.29, d = −0.17), or negative coping style (t = −0.13, p = 0.9, d = −0.02)
We found that loneliness effectively predicted depression, and coping style played a mediating role, sex did not moderate the relationship between state loneliness and coping styles
Summary
A severe pandemic of infectious diseases suddenly broke out in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, and it was named the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization later. The pandemic had a huge impact on people’s mental health and caused problems, such as panic, anxiety, and depression. An extended lockdown policy due to COVID-19 has had a huge effect on college students. The extended lockdown has limited their social practice as well as social activities. In terms of social development, college students are sensitive, impulsive, dependent, and not good at dealing with frustrations. They are more likely to Coping Loneliness During COVID-19 experience emotional problems than people at other developmental stages, which is not profitable for them to go through the pandemic and adjust their lifestyles
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