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Emotional responses toward COVID-19: A longitudinal assessment of age differences

Malesza, M.

2021-03-22 psychiatry and clinical psychology
10.1101/2021.03.21.21254050 medRxiv
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The current study investigates the relation between age and emotional responses and coping strategies at two moments during the spread of COVID-19 in Poland, namely the first peak (March-May 2020) and the second pick (October-December 2020). A sample of 414 individuals between the ages of 18 and 81 were asked to rate the intensity of the shock, sadness, anger, and fear they experienced due to COVID-19 and respond to items from the Brief Cope questionnaire. The present findings demonstrate that anger was consistently less intense among older adults than younger ones. Emotion-focused coping strategies were more commonly used by younger adults than middle-aged or older ones at the first peak of the outbreak; however, this trend had reversed during the second peak of the pandemic, as the older age groups demonstrated a far greater increase in the use of this form of coping. Results indicate a greater ability to use emotional regulation among older adults than younger ones, as the former are less likely to react to a crisis through anger and more able to adapt coping mechanisms to a dynamic environment.

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