AUTHOR=Kołodziejczyk Agata , Misiak Błazej , Szcześniak Dorota , Maciaszek Julian , Ciułkowicz Marta , Łuc Dorota , Wieczorek Tomasz , Fila-Witecka Karolina , Chladzinska-Kiejna Sylwia , Rymaszewska Joanna 

TITLE=Coping Styles, Mental Health, and the COVID-19 Quarantine: A Nationwide Survey in Poland

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.625355

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2021.625355

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> The outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 that began from March 2020 is yet to be contained. Consequences of the ongoing pandemic may have a negative impact on the mental health of affected individuals. This particularly refers to those quarantined. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is currently one of the biggest health issues worldwide, a higher demand emerges for research concentrating on the worsening of psychological well-being among the general and the quarantined population, as well as on individual coping strategies that may moderate the occurrence of psychopathologies.</p><p><bold>Method:</bold> Data were collected within the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. Participants represented quarantine (+) and quarantine (–) groups. Quarantine (+) group, different from quarantine (–), consisted of people who experienced it themselves or someone close to them did after contacting an infected individual. To measure psychopathological symptoms a General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used. For measuring PTSD symptoms, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used. This study followed the coping strategies manifested among the participants using the MiniCope questionnaire.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A total of 2,036 individuals participated in this study. Quarantine (+) individuals had significantly higher total and subscales GHQ-28 scores (anxiety, insomnia, and somatic symptoms) as well as a higher IES-R arousal score. The quarantine (+) individuals were more likely to use self-distraction as a coping strategy. This research identified positive and negative correlations between presented coping styles and manifested psychopathology.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> This nationwide study suggests occurrence of negative effects on mental health due to the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine. It is observed on most of the measured psychopathological symptoms. The present research provides a line of action that should be followed in the future in case of another epidemic and in the event restrictions like quarantine have to be introduced again.</p>