Psychological resilience factors and their association with weekly stressor reactivity during the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe (preprint)

Recently, cross-sectional relationships between psycho-social resilience factors (RFs) and resilience, operationalized as an outcome of low reactivity of mental health to stressor exposure (low ‘stressor reactivity’) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, were reported. Extending these findings, we here examine prospective relationships and weekly dynamics between the same RFs and stressor reactivity in a longitudinal sample during the aftermath of the first wave in several European countries. Over five weeks of app-based assessments, participants weekly reported stressor exposure, mental health problems, RFs, and demographic data, in one of six different languages. As (partly) preregistered, hypotheses were tested cross-sectionally at baseline (N=558) and longitudinally (N=200), using mixed effects models and mediation analyses. RFs at baseline, including positive appraisal style, optimism, self-efficacy, perceived good stress recovery, and perceived social support, were negatively associated with stressor reactivity (SR) scores, not only cross-sectionally (baseline SR scores) but also prospectively (average SR scores across subsequent weeks). In both analyses, positive appraisal style mediated the effects of perceived social support on SR. In the analyses of weekly RF-SR dynamics, RFs positive appraisal (of stressors generally and specifically of the Corona crisis) and general self-efficacy were negatively associated with SR in a contemporaneous, but not lagged fashion. We identify psychological RFs which prospectively predict resilience and co-fluctuate with weekly stressor reactivity within individuals. The prospective results endorse that the previously reported RF-SR associations do not exclusively reflect mood-congruency or other temporal bias effects. We further confirm an important role for positive appraisal in resilience.  

Psychological resilience factors and their association with weekly stressor reactivity during the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe (preprint)

Recently, cross-sectional relationships between psycho-social resilience factors (RFs) and resilience, operationalized as an outcome of low reactivity of mental health to stressor exposure (low ‘stressor reactivity’) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, were reported. Extending these findings, we here examine prospective relationships and weekly dynamics between the same RFs and stressor reactivity in a longitudinal sample during the aftermath of the first wave in several European countries. Over five weeks of app-based assessments, participants weekly reported stressor exposure, mental health problems, RFs, and demographic data, in one of six different languages. As (partly) preregistered, hypotheses were tested cross-sectionally at baseline (N=558) and longitudinally (N=200), using mixed effects models and mediation analyses. RFs at baseline, including positive appraisal style, optimism, self-efficacy, perceived good stress recovery, and perceived social support, were negatively associated with stressor reactivity (SR) scores, not only cross-sectionally (baseline SR scores) but also prospectively (average SR scores across subsequent weeks). In both analyses, positive appraisal style mediated the effects of perceived social support on SR. In the analyses of weekly RF-SR dynamics, RFs positive appraisal (of stressors generally and specifically of the Corona crisis) and general self-efficacy were negatively associated with SR in a contemporaneous, but not lagged fashion. We identify psychological RFs which prospectively predict resilience and co-fluctuate with weekly stressor reactivity within individuals. The prospective results endorse that the previously reported RF-SR associations do not exclusively reflect mood-congruency or other temporal bias effects. We further confirm an important role for positive appraisal in resilience.

Coping with COVID: Risk and Resilience Factors for Mental Health in a German Representative Panel Study (preprint)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic might affect mental health. Data from population-representative panel surveys with multiple waves including pre-COVID data investigating risk and protective factors are still rare. Methods: In a stratified random sample of the German household population (n=6,684), we conducted survey-weighted multiple linear regressions to determine the association of various psychological risk and protective factors with changes in psychological distress (PD; measured via PHQ-4) from pre-pandemic (average of 2016 and 2019) to peri-pandemic (both 2020 and 2021) time points. Control analyses on PD change between two pre-pandemic time points (2016 and 2019) were conducted. Regularized regressions were computed to inform on which factors were statistically most influential in the multicollinear setting. Results: PHQ-4 in 2020 (M=2.45) and 2021 (M=2.21) was elevated compared to 2019 (M=1.79). Several risk factors (catastrophizing, neuroticism, asking for instrumental support) and protective factors (perceived stress recovery, positive reappraisal, optimism) were identified for the peri-pandemic outcomes. Control analyses revealed that in pre-pandemic times, neuroticism and optimism were predominantly related to PD changes. Regularized regression mostly confirmed the results and highlighted perceived stress recovery as most consistent influential protective factor across peri-pandemic outcomes. Conclusions: We identified several psychological risk and protective factors related to PD outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparison to pre-pandemic data stress the relevance of longitudinal assessments to potentially reconcile contradictory findings. Implications and suggestions for targeted prevention and intervention programs during highly stressful times such as pandemics are discussed.