Abstract
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health are now well documented, however, few studies have been focused on the role of coping strategies and resilience in counterbalancing these detrimental effects. Data are derived from the COvid Mental hEalth Trial (COMET), a national multicentric trial carried out in the Italian general population. The final sample consisted of 20,720 participants, 53.1% (n = 11,000) of the sample reported low levels of resilience. Adaptive coping strategies and resilience levels did not have any significant protective impact on the levels of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Only self-distraction was a risk factor for poor mental health (Beta Coefficient, B = 0.1, 95% Confidence Interval, CI: 0.003 to 0.267 for stress symptoms; B = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.077 to 0.324 for anxiety symptoms and B = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.105 to 0.382 for depressive symptoms). High levels of resilience were predicted by adaptive coping strategies, such as acceptance (B = 1.8, CI 95% = 1.4–2.7). Exposure to the different weeks of lockdown, being infected by COVID-19, and being a healthcare professional did not influence the levels of resilience. Our findings should be carefully considered, since the low levels of resilience may represent the missing link between the pandemic and the current increase in mental health problems.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented life-threatening event that is affecting the mental and physical health and well-being of the general population worldwide [1,2,3].It has been considered as a new traumatic experience, which is completely different from all other natural or man-made disasters [4,5,6]
Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health of the National Institute of Health in Rome has been involved in the study by supporting the dissemination and implementation of the project according to the clinical guidelines produced by the National Institute of Health for managing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Since the pandemic is leading to increased levels of mental health concerns among the general population [11,25], this finding suggests that there may be a link between psychiatric symptoms and low levels of resilience [39,74]
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented life-threatening event that is affecting the mental and physical health and well-being of the general population worldwide [1,2,3]. It has been considered as a new traumatic experience, which is completely different from all other natural or man-made disasters [4,5,6]. Trials carried out in the last year have identified differential effects in samples including the general population, health professionals, those affected by COVID-19, people with disabilities, or affected by chronic physical and mental health conditions. The psychiatric and psychological consequences of the pandemic on the general population mainly include high levels of distress, insomnia, depressive and anxiety symptoms [11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19]
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