COVID-19 and flexible coping in Chileans. Role of perceived stress and anxiety

Introduction. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As the COVID-19 pandemic and its far-reaching implications continue to unfold globally, it is normal for people to experience a wide range of feelings and psychological reactions such as stress and anxiety. There are many ways of coping with stress. However, there is not enough information about what makes a person use one strategy or another, moreover during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective. The study aims to evaluate the relationship between stress, anxiety (state and trait respectively), and flexible coping (forward-focus and trauma-focus) in a sample of people in Chile during the current pandemic. Method. The final sample included 65 Chileans between 22 and 68 years old (M= 27.85, SD = 8.90) without diagnosis of COVID-19, recruited through an online survey. The study was carried out when the pandemic was spreading in Chile. Results. The results showed that both stress and anxiety are significantly and negatively related to coping flexibility. Only perceived stress was a significant predictor of forward-focus. Discussion. Results are discussed regarding the implications of future-oriented cognitive processing to further support recovery and mitigate the onset of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.