scholarly journals The interplay between maternal childhood maltreatment, parental coping strategies as well as endangered parenting behavior during the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 251610322110148
Author(s):  
Franziska Köhler-Dauner ◽  
Vera Clemens ◽  
Katherina Hildebrand ◽  
Ute Ziegenhain ◽  
Jörg M. Fegert

The SARS-CoV-2-pandemic is associated different challenges, especially for families. The disruption and challenges require parents to develop strategies to cope with the current situation. One factor that may influence how parents deal with pandemic-associated stressors are experiences of parental childhood maltreatment (CM), which represent a high risk of engaging in endangered parenting. A decisive candidate for the connection between parental CM and the transgenerational transmission could be the parental ability to employ coping strategies. Mothers of a well-documented birth cohort for investigating the pathways leading to resilience or vulnerability in the transgenerational transmission of CM were imbedded in an online “SARS-CoV-2 pandemic survey” assessing maternal ability for coping strategies and the dimension of endangered maternal parenting behavior. 91 mothers completed the online survey. To describe the maternal CM, data from a longitudinal survey were used. Our mediation analysis shows a significant positive relationship between the sum of maternal CM experiences, lack of coping strategies and endangered parenting behavior. This suggests a partial mediation of the association between CM and endangered parenting behavior as the direct effect remained significant when the maternal lack of coping strategies was included as the mediator. Parental CM is a risk factor for coping with stressful situation as well as for endangered parenting behavior. The ability to deal with stress seems to have a significant influence on the context of a possible transgenerational transmission of CM. The results underline the need to consider the unique needs of families with children and to support them as to how to overcome the current crisis.

Author(s):  
Vaishali Shanmugam

BACKGROUND: COVID -19 pandemic is a very stressful situation for doctors, who face the risk of infection in daily life. Coping is the process by which a person deals with stressful situations or demands. Identifying the coping strategies of our medical professionals will help us to understand their coping styles and to deliver effective interventions to enhance their mental well-being. METHODS: An online survey form with socio-demographic profile and BRIEF COPE tool for assessing different coping strategies was sent to interns, residents, and teaching faculty. The coping strategies were divided into emotion-based, problem-based, and dysfunctional coping, and spearman's correlation was done to determine any correlation between sociodemographic variables and the coping strategies. RESULTS: A total of 84 valid and complete responses were included in the study. There is a variable distribution of mean scores for problem-focused, emotion-focused, and dysfunctional strategies. Age and marital status had a positive correlation with problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies meaning that older adults and married people used these strategies predominantly. Higher designation used problem-focused coping predominantly. Dysfunctional coping strategies had no correlation with any of the sociodemographic variables. CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic factors affecting the coping mechanisms in medical professionals differ from those of the general population seen in previous studies. Within the group of medical professionals, those with higher age, higher designation and married had predominantly adaptive strategies. Interventions targetting maladaptive components of emotion-focused strategies and dysfunctional strategies should be aimed at a younger age group, unmarried people, interns, and residents among the medical professionals to better cope with this COVID scenario.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Orgilés ◽  
Alexandra Morales ◽  
Elisa Delvecchio ◽  
Rita Francisco ◽  
Claudia Mazzeschi ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine undergone by children in many countries is a stressful situation about which little is known to date. Children and adolescents' behaviors to cope with home confinement may be associated with their emotional welfare. The objectives of this study were: (1) to examine the coping strategies used out by children and adolescents during the COVID-19 health crisis, (2) to analyze the differences in these behaviors in three countries, and (3) to examine the relationship between different coping modalities and adaptation. Participants were 1,480 parents of children aged 3–18 years from three European countries (nSpain = 431, nItaly = 712, and nPortugal = 355). The children's mean age was 9.15 years (SD = 4.27). Parents completed an online survey providing information on symptoms and coping behaviors observed in their children. The most frequent coping strategies were accepting what is happening (58.9%), collaborating with quarantine social activities (e.g., drawings on the windows, supportive applauses) (35.9%), acting as if nothing is happening (35.5%), highlighting the advantages of being at home (35.1%), and not appearing to be worried about what is happening (30.1%). Compared to Italian and Spanish children, Portuguese children used a sense of humor more frequently when their parents talked about the situation. Acting as if nothing was happening, collaborating with social activities, and seeking comfort from others were more likely in Spanish children than in children from the other countries. Compared to Portuguese and Spanish children, Italian children did not seem worried about what was happening. Overall, an emotional-oriented coping style was directly correlated with a greater presence of anxious symptoms, as well as to mood, sleep, behavioral, and cognitive alterations. Task-oriented and avoidance-oriented styles were related to better psychological adaptation (considered a low presence of psychological symptoms). Results also show that unaffected children or children with a lower level of impact were more likely to use strategies based on a positive focus on the situation. This study provides interesting data on the strategies to be promoted by parents to cope with the COVID-19 health crisis in children.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (01) ◽  
pp. 28-33
Author(s):  
Vaishali Shanmugam

BACKGROUND: COVID -19 pandemic is a very stressful situation for doctors, who face the risk of infection in daily life. Coping is the process by which a person deals with stressful situations or demands. Identifying the coping strategies of our medical professionals will help us to understand their coping styles and to deliver effective interventions to enhance their mental well-being. METHODS: An online survey form with socio-demographic profile and BRIEF COPE tool for assessing different coping strategies was sent to interns, residents, and teaching faculty. The coping strategies were divided into emotion-based, problem-based, and dysfunctional coping, and spearman's correlation was done to determine any correlation between sociodemographic variables and the coping strategies. RESULTS: A total of 84 valid and complete responses were included in the study. There is a variable distribution of mean scores for problem-focused, emotion-focused, and dysfunctional strategies. Age and marital status had a positive correlation with problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies meaning that older adults and married people used these strategies predominantly. Higher designation used problem-focused coping predominantly. Dysfunctional coping strategies had no correlation with any of the sociodemographic variables. CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic factors affecting the coping mechanisms in medical professionals differ from those of the general population seen in previous studies. Within the group of medical professionals, those with higher age, higher designation and married had predominantly adaptive strategies. Interventions targetting maladaptive components of emotion-focused strategies and dysfunctional strategies should be aimed at a younger age group, unmarried people, interns, and residents among the medical professionals to better cope with this COVID scenario.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Orgilés ◽  
Alexandra Morales ◽  
Elisa Delvecchio ◽  
Rita Francisco ◽  
Claudia Mazzeschi ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 epidemic and the quarantine that children in many countries have had to undergo is a stressful situation about which little is known so far. The coping behaviors carried out by children and adolescents to face home confinement can be associated with their emotional welfare. The objectives of this study were: 1) to examine the coping strategies carried out by children and adolescents during the COVID-19 health crisis, 2) to analyze the differences in these behaviors in three countries, and 3) to examine the relationship between different modalities of coping and better adaptation. Participants were 1,480 parents of children aged 3-18 years from three European countries (n Spain = 431, n Italy = 712, and n Portugal = 355). The children’s mean age was 9.15 years (SD = 4.27). Parents completed an online survey providing information on symptoms and coping behaviors observed in their children. The most frequent coping strategies were accepting what is going on (58.9%), collaborating with quarantine social activities (e.g., drawings on the windows, supportive applauses) (35.9%), acting as if nothing is happening (35.5%), highlighting pros of being at home (35.1%), and not seeming worried about what is happening (30.1%). Compared to Italian and Spanish children, Portuguese children used a sense of humor more frequently when parents talked about the situation. Acting as if nothing happened, collaborating with social activities, and seeking comfort from others was more likely in Spanish children than in children from the other countries. Compared to Portuguese and Spanish children, those from Italy seem not worried about what was happening. Overall, an emotional-oriented coping style was directly correlated with a greater presence of anxious symptoms, as well as mood, sleep, behavioral, and cognitive alterations. Task-oriented and avoidance-oriented styles were related to better psychological adaptation, measured as the low presence of psychological symptoms. Results also show that unaffected children or children with a lower level of impact were more likely to use strategies based on a positive focus on the situation. This study provides interesting data on the strategies to be promoted by parents to cope with the COVID-19 health crisis in children.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milla Salin ◽  
Anniina Kaittila ◽  
Mia Hakovirta ◽  
Mari Anttila

During spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdowns fundamentally changed families’ everyday lives. This study aims to examine how families with children coped during the COVID-19 lockdown in Finland and what kind of coping strategies they developed. An online survey including both qualitative and quantitative questions was conducted between April and May 2020 to gather Finnish families’ experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. In this study, we focus on information from one open-ended question, and Huston’s social-ecological theory was used as an analytical framework. The results showed that Finnish families employed coping strategies on three levels: macroenvironmental, relationship, and individual. This supports the argument that to better understand families’ coping strategies, the macrosocietal environment surrounding families, their relationships, and the interactions between family members, as well as individual decisions and attitudes, should be taken into account.


2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisli H. Gudjonsson ◽  
Jon Fridrik Sigurdsson

Summary: The Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS), the COPE Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were administered to 212 men and 212 women. Multiple regression of the test scores showed that low self-esteem and denial coping were the best predictors of compliance in both men and women. Significant sex differences emerged on all three scales, with women having lower self-esteem than men, being more compliant, and using different coping strategies when confronted with a stressful situation. The sex difference in compliance was mediated by differences in self-esteem between men and women.


Author(s):  
Adrianos Golemis ◽  
Panteleimon Voitsidis ◽  
Eleni Parlapani ◽  
Vasiliki A Nikopoulou ◽  
Virginia Tsipropoulou ◽  
...  

Summary COVID-19 and the related quarantine disrupted young adults’ academic and professional life, daily routine and socio-emotional well-being. This cross-sectional study focused on the emotional and behavioural responses of a young adult population during the COVID-19-related quarantine in April 2020, in Greece. The study was conducted through an online survey. A total of 1559 young adults, aged 18−30 years, completed Steele’s Social Responsibility Motivation Scale and the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and answered questions about compliance with instructions, quarantine-related behaviours and coping strategies. According to the results, participants displayed a relatively high sense of social responsibility (M = 16.09, SD = 2.13) and a trend towards moderate feeling of loneliness (M = 2.65, SD = 1.62); young women reported significantly higher levels of loneliness than men. The majority complied with instructions often (46.4%) or always (44.8%). Significantly more women created a new social media account and used the social media longer than 5 h/day, compared with men. Resorting to religion, practicing sports and sharing thoughts and feelings about COVID-19 with others predicted higher levels of social responsibility; humour, practicing sports and sharing thoughts and feelings about COVID-19 with others predicted lower levels of loneliness. Conclusively, COVID-19 is expected to have a significant psychological impact on young adults. Currently, Greece is going through the second quarantine period. This study raises awareness about loneliness in young adults during the COVID-19-related quarantine and highlights the importance of developing online programmes, attractive to younger people, to nurture adaptive coping strategies against loneliness.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peta Stapleton ◽  
Sarah Garby ◽  
Debbie Sabot

Teaching professionals report higher levels of work-related stress and symptoms of psychological health problems than the general population. This study examined psychological distress, coping styles and wellbeing in 166 Australian teachers (aged 22–65 years; M =  37.74 years, SD =  10.84 years). Participants completed an online survey comprising demographic items and four empirical measures (The Satisfaction with Life Scale, Subjective Happiness Scale, The Brief COPE Inventory and The Patient Health Questionnaire). Work, workload and finances were identified as leading sources of stress. Moreover, above-average clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression and physical concerns were reported, and 17% of respondents met criteria for probable alcohol dependence. Results suggested that maladaptive coping strategies employed by teachers may contribute to their risk of increased psychological distress, and decreased life satisfaction and happiness. These findings indicate the need for work-based programmes to enhance teachers’ coping strategies in an effort to reduce psychological distress and improve overall wellbeing in teaching professionals.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaz Aazami ◽  
Khadijah Shamsuddin ◽  
Syaqirah Akmal

We examined the mediating role of behavioral coping strategies in the association between work-family conflict and psychological distress. In particular, we examined the two directions of work-family conflict, namely, work interference into family and family interference into work. Furthermore, two coping styles in this study were adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 429 Malaysian working women using self-reported data. The results of mediational analysis in the present study showed that adaptive coping strategy does not significantly mediate the effect of work-family conflict on psychological distress. However, maladaptive coping strategies significantly mediate the effect of work-family conflict on psychological distress. These results show that adaptive coping strategies, which aimed to improve the stressful situation, are not effective in managing stressor such as work-family conflict. We found that experiencing interrole conflict steers employees toward frequent use of maladaptive coping strategies which in turn lead to psychological distress. Interventions targeted at improvement of coping skills which are according to individual’s needs and expectation may help working women to balance work and family demands. The important issue is to keep in mind that effective coping strategies are to control the situations not to eliminate work-family conflict.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya M. Veer ◽  
Antje Riepenhausen ◽  
Matthias Zerban ◽  
Carolin Wackerhagen ◽  
Lara M. C. Puhlmann ◽  
...  

AbstractThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is not only a threat to physical health but is also having severe impacts on mental health. Although increases in stress-related symptomatology and other adverse psycho-social outcomes, as well as their most important risk factors have been described, hardly anything is known about potential protective factors. Resilience refers to the maintenance of mental health despite adversity. To gain mechanistic insights about the relationship between described psycho-social resilience factors and resilience specifically in the current crisis, we assessed resilience factors, exposure to Corona crisis-specific and general stressors, as well as internalizing symptoms in a cross-sectional online survey conducted in 24 languages during the most intense phase of the lockdown in Europe (22 March to 19 April) in a convenience sample of N = 15,970 adults. Resilience, as an outcome, was conceptualized as good mental health despite stressor exposure and measured as the inverse residual between actual and predicted symptom total score. Preregistered hypotheses (osf.io/r6btn) were tested with multiple regression models and mediation analyses. Results confirmed our primary hypothesis that positive appraisal style (PAS) is positively associated with resilience (p < 0.0001). The resilience factor PAS also partly mediated the positive association between perceived social support and resilience, and its association with resilience was in turn partly mediated by the ability to easily recover from stress (both p < 0.0001). In comparison with other resilience factors, good stress response recovery and positive appraisal specifically of the consequences of the Corona crisis were the strongest factors. Preregistered exploratory subgroup analyses (osf.io/thka9) showed that all tested resilience factors generalize across major socio-demographic categories. This research identifies modifiable protective factors that can be targeted by public mental health efforts in this and in future pandemics.


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