Mental resilience in the Corona lockdown: First empirical insights from Europe

09 May 2020 – The first results of how people are coping with the Corona crisis are in! Potential resilience factors, exposure to Corona-specific and general stressors, as well as internalizing symptoms were assessed online in 5000 adult Europeans: In comparison with other resilience factors, positive appraisal specifically of the consequences of the Corona crisis was the single strongest resilience factor. Positive appraisal style (PAS) was not only positively associated with resilience (p<0.001) but also mediated the positive association between perceived social support (PSS) and resilience (p<0.001). Resilience, as an outcome, was conceptualized as good mental health despite stressor exposure. Therefore, PAS and PSS can be seen as important modifiable protective factors that can be targeted by public mental health efforts in similar crisis situations in the future.

Associations of hypothesized resilience factors with outcome-based resilience (RES) and mediation effects.