Experiences of psychosocial coping in the context of compulsory social isolation, in family heads of Metropolitan Lima

ABSTRACT

This research seeks to analyze the experiences of psychosocial coping in the context of Obligatory Social Isolation, brough about by COVID-19, in heads of families of Metropolitan Lima, Peru. In order to do this, we developed a qualitative research with a phenomenological design;semi-structured interviews were carried out with 17 participants, heads of their families, from districts with high and low income. The results show that, on the one hand, participants experience styles focused on the problem, which encompass active coping, planning, restructuring their activities and routines, as well as displacement and change of priorities. On the other hand, we have the styles centered on emotions, such as acceptance and agency, search for emotional support, positive reinterpretation and the release of emotions. Likewise, there are differences in the ways in which people cope, both regarding their belonging to districts with higher or lower income, or in relation to whether they are men, women or non-binary people. We conclude that the coping experiences vary according to the different socioeconomic and gender characteristics of the participants, requiring an intersectional perspective in the analysis. © 2022 Universidad de Alicante. All rights reserved.