COVID‐19 non‐death loss and acceptance coping: A 3‐wave cross‐lagged panel analysis

Abstract Numerous individuals have lost loved ones during the COVID‐19 pandemic while millions of others have also experienced ongoing pervasive non‐death loss. The understanding of how people deal with non‐death loss is still relatively limited. Incorporating theory of coping and loss, this study examines the reciprocal relationship between non‐death loss and acceptance coping. Based on the results of a cross‐lagged panel model involving 314 participants in China, we found that before the end of the zero‐Covid policy, non‐death loss at Time 1 predicted less acceptance coping at Time 2, but in the opening up stage in late 2022, non‐death loss at time 2 did not predict acceptance coping at time 3. The findings have significant implications for understanding the interplay between non‐death loss and acceptance coping and highlights abrupt psychological changes during the COVID‐19 pandemic.