MENTAL TOUGHNESS AND PSYCHO-SOCIAL REACTIONS IN COVID-19 SUFFERERS: A MEDIATING ROLE OF EMBITTERMENT
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Objective:
The objective of this paper was to explore the mediating role of embitterment in the association of mental toughness and psychosocial reactions in COVID-19 sufferers.
Methodology:
The cross-sectional study was conducted at three government and private universities of Islamabad Pakistan chosen through random selection and comprised a purposive sample of 202 young adults of BS degree, between ages limit 18-25. The overall mean age was 20.4 years with a standard deviation of 1.47. Boys constituted 49% and girls constituted 51% of the total sample. Study sample included 17% participants that had been infected with COVID-19, 52% whose family member had been infected and 15% had experienced the death of a family member due to COVID-19, 12% fell into 2 of the categories while 4% experienced all three circumstances.
Results:
Results show that male participants scored higher on psycho-social reactions as compared to females. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship of embitterment with psychosocial reactions (B=.49, SE=.06, p < .001). Embitterment also has a negative relationship with mental toughness (B = - .42, SE= .06, p <.001)
Conclusion:
COVID-19 sufferers faced psychological challenges along with health issues which led to extreme psychosocial reactions and feelings of embitterment, whereas mental toughness functioned as a protective factor.
Article Details
Work published in JPMI is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
References
Velavan TP, Meyer CG. The COVID-19 epidemic. Trop Med Int Health. 2020; 25(3): 278–80. DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13383.
Mamun MA, Griffiths MD. First COVID-19 suicide case in Bangladesh due to fear of COVID-19 and xenophobia: Possible suicide prevention strategies. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020; 51: 102-273.DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102073.
Daniel SJ. Education and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospects. 2020; 49: 91–6. DOI: 10.1007/s11125-020-09464-3.
Mumtaz, M. COVID-19 and mental health challenges in Pakistan. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021; 67(3): 303–4. DOI: 10.1177/0020764020954487.
Zada S, Wang Y, Zada M, Gul F. Effect of mental health problems on academic performance among university students in Pakistan. Int J Ment Health Promot. 2021; 23: 395-408. DOI: 10.32604/IJMHP.2021.015903.
Saleem S, Mahmood Z. Risk and protective factors of emotional and behavioral problems in school children: A prevalence study. Pak J Psych Res. 2013; 28(2): 239–260.
Arnett JJ. Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for? Child Dev Perspect. 2007; 1(2): 68–73. DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x.
Van de Velde S, Buffel V, Bracke P, Van Hal G, Somogyi NM, Willems B, et al. The COVID-19 international student well-being study. Scand J Public Health. 2021; 49(1): 114–22. DOI: 10.1177/1403494820981186.
Waris A, Atta UK, Ali M, Asmat A, Baset A. COVID-19 outbreak: Current scenario of Pakistan. New Microbes New Infec. 2020; 35. DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.2020.100681.
Adnan M, Anwar K. Online learning amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: students' perspectives. J Pedagogical Soc Psy. 2020; 2(1): 45-51. DOI: 10.33902/JPSP.2020.261309.
Sahu P. Closure of universities due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Impact on education and mental health of students and academic staff. Cureus. 2020; 12(4). DOI: /10.7759/cureus.7541.
Khattak SR, Saeed I, Rehman SU Fayaz M. Impact of fear of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of nurses in Pakistan. J Loss Trauma. 2021; 26(5): 421-435. DOI: 10.1080/15325024.2020.1814580.
Sun N, Wei L, Wang H, Wang X, Gao M, Hu X. Shi S. Qualitative study of the psychological experience of COVID-19 patients during hospitalization. J Affect Disord. 2020; 278: 15-22. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.040.
Koçak O, Koçak ÖE, Younis MZ. The psychological consequences of COVID-19 fear and the moderator effects of individuals’ underlying illness and witnessing infected friends and family. Int J Environ. 2021; 18(4): 18-36. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041836.
Singer J, Spiegel JA, Papa A. Preloss grief in family members of COVID-19 patients: Recommendations for clinicians and researchers. Psychol Trauma. 2020; 12(1): S90–3. DOI: 10.1037/tra0000876.
Selman LE, Chao D, Sowden R, Marshall S, Chamberlain C, Koffman J. Bereavement support on the frontline of covid-19: recommendations for hospital clinicians. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020; 60(2): 81-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.024.
Cherry K. Self-efficacy and why believing in yourself matters. Very Well Mind. 2020. Available from URL: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-efficacy-2795954
Dodek A, Barnow S. Personality as risk and resilience in embitterment reactions. In Linden M., Maercker A. (Eds) Embitterment. 2011;83-84. Springer, Vienna. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-211-99741-3
Pooley J, Cohen, L. Resilience: A Definition in Context. Australian Community Psychologist. 2010; 22: 30-37.
Görmez A, Yeni ER, Karatepe HT. Post-traumatic embitterment symptoms among woman victims of February 28th post-modern coup of Turkey after two decades: A comparative cross-sectional study. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021; 67(3): 269–6. DOI: 10.1177/0020764020946346
Tummala-Narra P. Conceptualizing trauma and resilience across diverse contexts. J Aggression Maltreat Trauma. 2007; 14(2): 33-53. DOI: 10.1300/J146v14n01_03.
Hipolito-Delgado CP, Cook JM, Avrus EM. and Bonham, E.J. Developing Counseling Students' Multicultural Competence Through the Multicultural Action Project. Couns Educ Superv. 2011; 50: 402-21. DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6978.2011.tb01924.x.
Sohil F, Sohail MU, Shabbir J. COVID-19 in Pakistan: Challenges and priorities. Cogent Med. 2021; 8(1). DOI: 10.1080/2331205X.2021.1966179.
Jin L, Wang CDC. International students’ attachment and psychological well-being: the mediation role of mental toughness. Couns Psychol Q. 2018; 31(1): 59-78. DOI: 10.1080/09515070.2016.1211510.
Muschalla B, Vollborn C, Sondhof A. Embitterment as a specific mental health reaction during the coronavirus pandemic. Psychopath. 2021; 54(5): 232-41. DOI: 10.1159/00051744
Khaliq NA, Jabeen A, Sadia S, Mahmood Z. Attachment styles, embitterment and psychosocial issues in eczema patients: A bio-psychosocial comorbidity of a cancerous emotion. Rawal Med J. 2019; 44(3): 565-8.