ABSTRACT
The psychological impact due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has been evidenced. Some of the variables associated with this have been the presence of previous financial problems, being students or being inactive, all of them issues related to the work and academic scope. Consequently, the main objective of the work was to analyze the mediating role that personal strengths for mental health have in the face of academic/work interference caused by lockdown due to COVID-19 in Spain based on work status (students, workers active and inactive), controlling in turn for other sociodemographic variables (sex and age). For the data collection of this descriptive cross-sectional study, an online survey was used, composed of instruments to assess the degree of interference in academic/work activities (ad hoc), maladaptive coping strategies (COPE-28), resilience (CD-RISC), covitality (SEHS), healthy habits (ad hoc), psychological well-being (WHO-5) and psychological distress (PHQ-4). The results showed: on the one hand, that the groups of students and inactivity showed worse mental health indicators and personal resources, while the opposite effect was found in the group of active workers;and, on the other hand, the PROCESS mediation models (model 4) evidenced a damping effect of personal resources between perceived academic/work interference and psychological adjustment indicators (well-being and psychological distress), regardless of the work category. In conclusion, the protective role of personal resources in psychological adjustment during lockdown due to COVID-19 is highlighted.