Psychological distress and coping skills used by individuals in the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Psychological distress, as a key indicator, describes a person's emotional problems and psychological reactions to adapt to the environment. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological distress and coping strategies used by individuals during the crisis caused by COVID-19.

Materials and methods: The current research is an analytical cross-sectional study that was designed in 2021. The sampling area included the three cities of Lar, Gerash, and Evaz in the south of Fars province in the south of Iran. The study population was the residents of these three cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The final sample size in the present study was 384 people. Individuals were selected through available sampling. By answering questions from the self-assessment system of COVID-19 disease, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education filled out the necessary information for individual screening and registration of the symptoms of COVID-19 disease. Then, they completed the Coping Methods Questionnaire and the Psychological Distress Questionnaire.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 40.90 years. One hundred sixty-seven (43.5%) participants were male, and 217 (56.5%) were female. The mean score of problem-oriented coping style was significantly different between the levels of education (P = 0.001). The mean score of problem-solving coping style for the participants suspected of being infected with COVID-19 was 6.18 scores lower than others, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Multiple regression with a forward selection also showed that among the studied variables, age, problem-oriented, and emotion-oriented coping strategies were important variables affecting mental distress.

Conclusion: People who were not suspected of having COVID-19 symptoms had a higher mean problem-oriented coping score than those who were suspected of having COVID-19. Therefore, early identification of suspects and the implementation of counseling and training programs can be very effective.