ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 outbreak is a new potentially traumatic event that may have some unknown effects on mental health. The aim of this study was to examine how two theoretical frameworks related to coping with trauma, including shattered assumptions and coping with trauma, could explain mental health and acute stress symptoms among the general population during the COVID-19 outbreak. The participants included 212 Iranian Muslims who filled out the online survey. Women and people with non-fixed jobs reported more mental health deterioration and acute stress symptoms. There were no significant differences between people with or without COVID-19 in terms of mental health symptoms, experiencing acute stress symptoms, and world assumptions. Results showed that world assumption and forward-focused coping could predict mental health symptoms and acute stress symptoms beyond COVID-19 specific stress. Assumptions related to the meaningfulness of the world and trauma-focused coping were associated with a higher score in general mental health symptoms and acute stress, but assumptions related to the benevolence of the world, self-worth, and forward-focused coping were associated with lower mental health and acute stress symptoms. This could suggest that world assumptions could buffer or endanger mental health during crises such as the pandemic. In addition, it seems that forward-focus coping is effective for managing new life challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak. In contrast, the more people address the negative and catastrophic effects of COVID-19 (such as trauma-focused coping), the more they are prone to developing mental health symptoms. This study showed that among Iranian Muslims, some world assumptions (for example, the meaningfulness of world) and some kinds of coping (for example, trauma-focused coping) were not as protective factor as in non-Muslim countries.
ABSTRACT
The current study was designed to examine the role of sense of community at the outset of COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdowns as a longitudinal predictor of anxiety in couples. We also sought to investigate whether self-reported changes in perceived levels of benevolent world assumptions would serve as an indirect conveyor of this association. Data were collected at three time points during the first 6-months of pandemic shutdowns in the US and the current study utilized responses from 535 heterosexual cisgender couples. Mplus was used to path model lagged associations between sense of community at wave 1, world assumptions at waves 1 and 2 and anxiety symptoms at all three waves for both partners. Findings demonstrated direct effects within men and women with a stronger sense of community at wave 1 relating to lower anxiety at waves 2, and within women this effect extended to wave 3. Further, we found that a higher sense of community at wave 1 in men associated with perceived strengthening of benevolent world assumptions at the next wave for men and women. We noted that perceived strengthened benevolent world assumptions at wave 2 associated with lower anxiety at wave 3 within men. Indirect effects showed that a stronger sense of community at wave 1 associated with lower anxiety at wave 3 within men.