IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i6p3290-d768606.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceived Changes in Psychological Vulnerability, Resilience and Social Cohesion before, during and after Lockdown

Author

Listed:
  • Sarita Silveira

    (Sarita Silveira, Social Neuroscience Lab, Max Planck Society, Bertha-Benz-Strasse 3, 10557 Berlin, Germany)

  • Martin Hecht

    (Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany)

  • Hannah Matthaeus

    (Sarita Silveira, Social Neuroscience Lab, Max Planck Society, Bertha-Benz-Strasse 3, 10557 Berlin, Germany)

  • Mazda Adli

    (Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, CCM, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
    Fliedner Klinik Berlin, Center for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, 10117 Berlin, Germany)

  • Manuel C. Voelkle

    (Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Tania Singer

    (Sarita Silveira, Social Neuroscience Lab, Max Planck Society, Bertha-Benz-Strasse 3, 10557 Berlin, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have posed unique and severe challenges to our global society. To gain an integrative understanding of pervasive social and mental health impacts in 3522 Berlin residents aged 18 to 65, we systematically investigated the structural and temporal relationship between a variety of psychological indicators of vulnerability, resilience and social cohesion before, during and after the first lockdown in Germany using a retrospective longitudinal study design. Factor analyses revealed that (a) vulnerability and resilience indicators converged on one general bipolar factor, (b) residual variance of resilience indicators formed a distinct factor of adaptive coping capacities and (c) social cohesion could be reliably measured with a hierarchical model including four first-order dimensions of trust, a sense of belonging, social interactions and social engagement, and one second-order social cohesion factor. In the second step, latent change score models revealed that overall psychological vulnerability increased during the first lockdown and decreased again during re-opening, although not to baseline levels. Levels of social cohesion, in contrast, first decreased and then increased again during re-opening. Furthermore, participants who increased in vulnerability simultaneously decreased in social cohesion and adaptive coping during lockdown. While higher pre-lockdown levels of social cohesion predicted a stronger lockdown effect on mental health, individuals with higher social cohesion during the lockdown and positive change in coping abilities and social cohesion during re-opening showed better mental health recovery, highlighting the important role of social capacities in both amplifying but also overcoming the multiple challenges of this collective crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarita Silveira & Martin Hecht & Hannah Matthaeus & Mazda Adli & Manuel C. Voelkle & Tania Singer, 2022. "Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceived Changes in Psychological Vulnerability, Resilience and Social Cohesion before, during and after Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-30, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3290-:d:768606
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3290/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3290/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yukiko Uchida & Yoshiaki Takahashi & Kentaro Kawahara, 2014. "Changes in Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being After a Severe Nationwide Disaster: The Case of the Great East Japan Earthquake," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 207-221, February.
    2. Veronika Huta & Lance Hawley, 2010. "Psychological Strengths and Cognitive Vulnerabilities: Are They Two Ends of the Same Continuum or Do They Have Independent Relationships with Well-being and Ill-being?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 71-93, March.
    3. Greene, G. & Paranjothy, S. & Palmer, S.R., 2015. "Resilience and vulnerability to the psychological harm from flooding: The role of social cohesion," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(9), pages 1792-1795.
    4. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
    5. Gianmaria Bottoni, 2018. "A Multilevel Measurement Model of Social Cohesion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 835-857, April.
    6. Joseph Chan & Ho-Pong To & Elaine Chan, 2006. "Reconsidering Social Cohesion: Developing a Definition and Analytical Framework for Empirical Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 75(2), pages 273-302, January.
    7. Robert Cummins & Mark Wooden, 2014. "Personal Resilience in Times of Crisis: The Implications of SWB Homeostasis and Set-Points," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 223-235, February.
    8. Ivan Townshend & Olu Awosoga & Judith Kulig & HaiYan Fan, 2015. "Social cohesion and resilience across communities that have experienced a disaster," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 76(2), pages 913-938, March.
    9. Florian Dorn & Clemens Fuest & Marcell Göttert & Carla Krolage & Stefan Lautenbacher & Robert Lehmann & Sebastian Link & Sascha Möhrle & Andreas Peichl & Magnus Reif & Stefan Sauer & Marc Stöckli & Kl, 2020. "The Economic Costs of the Coronavirus Shutdown for Selected European Countries: A Scenario Calculation," EconPol Policy Brief 25, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    10. Paul Dickes & Marie Valentova & Monique Borsenberger, 2010. "Construct Validation and Application of a Common Measure of Social Cohesion in 33 European Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 98(3), pages 451-473, September.
    11. David Schiefer & Jolanda Noll, 2017. "The Essentials of Social Cohesion: A Literature Review," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 579-603, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Audrone Dumciene & Jurate Pozeriene, 2022. "The Emotions, Coping, and Psychological Well-Being in Time of COVID-19: Case of Master’s Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Ilaria Cataldo & Dora Novotny & Alessandro Carollo & Gianluca Esposito, 2023. "Mental Health in the Post-Lockdown Scenario: A Scientometric Investigation of the Main Thematic Trends of Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-21, July.
    3. Jordi Miró & Elisabet Sánchez-Rodríguez & M. Carme Nolla & Rui M. Costa & J. Pais-Ribeiro & Alexandra Ferreira-Valente, 2022. "The Role of Resilience, Happiness, and Social Support in the Psychological Function during the Late Stages of the Lockdown in Individuals with and without Chronic Pain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-10, May.
    4. Saule Sipaviciene, 2022. "The Relationships between Psychological Well-Being, Emotions and Coping in COVID-19 Environment: The Gender Aspect for Postgraduate Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.
    5. Siyao Liu & Bin Yu & Chan Xu & Min Zhao & Jing Guo, 2022. "Characteristics of Collective Resilience and Its Influencing Factors from the Perspective of Psychological Emotion: A Case Study of COVID-19 in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Hanson, S. & Belderson, P. & Ward, E. & Naughton, F. & Notley, C., 2023. "Lest we forget. Illuminating lived experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marek Walesiak & Grażyna Dehnel, 2023. "A Measurement of Social Cohesion in Poland’s NUTS2 Regions in the Period 2010–2019 by Applying Dynamic Relative Taxonomy to Interval-Valued Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Marek Walesiak & Grażyna Dehnel, 2020. "The Measurement of Social Cohesion at Province Level in Poland Using Metric and Interval-Valued Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Anna Busłowska & Jacek Marcinkiewicz, 2023. "Social Cohesion of Functional Urban Areas (Example of Eastern Poland)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 451-473, June.
    4. Francesco Burchi & Markus Loewe & Daniele Malerba & Julia Leininger, 2022. "Disentangling the Relationship Between Social Protection and Social Cohesion: Introduction to the Special Issue," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1195-1215, June.
    5. Tricia Qian Hui Tok & Orlando Woods & Lily Kong, 2024. "What is Beyond Measurement for Social Cohesion?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 109-127, October.
    6. AJ Golio, 2024. "Whose Neighborhood Now? Gentrification and Community Life in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods," Working Papers 24-29, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    7. Snower, Dennis J., 2019. "Toward global paradigm change: Beyond the crisis of the liberal world order," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 13, pages 1-19.
    8. Francesco Burchi & Armin von Schiller & Christoph Strupat, 2020. "Social protection and revenue collection: How they can jointly contribute to strengthening social cohesion," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(3), pages 13-32, July.
    9. Gaël Giraud & Cécile Renouard & Hélène L'Huillier & Raphaële de La Martinière & Camille Sutter, 2012. "Relational Capability: A Multidimensional Approach," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00827690, HAL.
    10. Ollendorf, Franziska & Sieber, Stefan & Löhr, Katharina, 2023. "Societal dynamics of sustainability certification in Ghanaian cocoa producing communities: Assessing social cohesion effects and their implications for collective action," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(2), pages 212-238.
    11. Kustov, Alexander & Pardelli, Giuliana, 2024. "Beyond Diversity: The Role of State Capacity in Fostering Social Cohesion in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    12. Betts, Alexander & Flinder Stierna, Maria & Omata, Naohiko & Sterck, Olivier, 2023. "Refugees welcome? Inter-group interaction and host community attitude formation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    13. Strupat, Christoph, 2021. "The preserving effect of social protection on social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Kenya," IDOS Discussion Papers 33/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), revised 2021.
    14. Sung-Geun Kim, 2023. "What can we talk about social cohesion in Korea? An item response theory approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 2409-2427, June.
    15. Fehr, Alexandra & Muela, Joan & Nieto-Sanchez, Claudia & Manneh, Ebrima & Baldeh, Dullo & Ceesay, Omar & Bardají, Azucena & Zuiderent-Jerak, Teun & Bunders-Aelen, Joske, 2021. "The role of social cohesion in the implementation and coverage of a mass drug administration trial for malaria control in the Gambia: An in-depth comparison of two intervention villages," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    16. Bujar Aruqaj, 2023. "An Integrated Approach to the Conceptualisation and Measurement of Social Cohesion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 227-263, August.
    17. Gianmaria Bottoni, 2018. "A Multilevel Measurement Model of Social Cohesion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 835-857, April.
    18. Julia S. Granderath & Andreas Martin & Laura Froehlich, 2021. "The Effect of Participation in Adult Education on Life Satisfaction of Immigrants and Natives: A Longitudinal Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 3043-3067, October.
    19. Walle, Yabibal Mulualem, 2022. "Determinants of social cohesion: Cross-country evidence," IDOS Discussion Papers 18/2022, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    20. Silke Goubin, 2018. "Is Inequality a Latent Construct? An Assessment of Economic Inequality Indicators and Their Relation with Social Cohesion in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 21-40, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3290-:d:768606. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.