IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/clnure/v33y2024i7p530-537.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Individuals with Mental Health Challenges Coped During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Devon Richardson
  • Frances Aranda
  • Judith A. Cook
  • Margaret Swarbrick

Abstract

There is growing awareness of the significant mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on many Americans. Less is known about the effects on individuals who were living with mental health conditions prior to the pandemic’s onset. In addition, little research has explored how this group is coping positively with the challenges of COVID-19. Understanding the strengths these individuals bring to pandemic demands and disruptions can inform recovery for these individuals in the aftermath of this public health emergency. Using results from a cross-sectional, online survey administered during April and May 2020, we use qualitative methods to examine how individuals with symptoms of depression and anxiety were coping with COVID-19. Participants were recruited from two networks of statewide behavioral health community programs in New Jersey and New York. Data come from 48 participants who reported current symptoms of anxiety assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 Scale and/or depression assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-2. These respondents demonstrated resilience in navigating disruptions brought on by COVID-19 and reported a range of healthy coping strategies. We identified three themes characterizing successful coping strategies, including utilizing social support systems, practicing self-care, and adjusting one’s mindset to deal with challenging experiences. When designing programs, policies, and clinical approaches to support people with mental health conditions, it is essential to focus on strengths. The coping strategies shared by the individuals in this study demonstrate and build on their resilience. More research is needed to discover the strengths people exhibit to deal with the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Devon Richardson & Frances Aranda & Judith A. Cook & Margaret Swarbrick, 2024. "How Individuals with Mental Health Challenges Coped During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 33(7), pages 530-537, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:clnure:v:33:y:2024:i:7:p:530-537
    DOI: 10.1177/10547738241273294
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10547738241273294
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/10547738241273294?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tommasina Pianese & Patrizia Belfiore, 2021. "Exploring the Social Networks’ Use in the Health-Care Industry: A Multi-Level Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-14, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Yolanda Álvarez-Pérez & Lilisbeth Perestelo-Pérez & Amado Rivero-Santanta & Alezandra Torres-Castaño & Ana Toledo-Chávarri & Andrea Duarte-Díaz & Vinita Mahtani-Chugani & María Dolores Marrero-Díaz & , 2022. "Co-Creation of Massive Open Online Courses to Improve Digital Health Literacy in Pregnant and Lactating Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Yohannes Kurniawan & Samuel Ivan Santoso & Regina Rolanda Wibowo & Norizan Anwar & Ganesh Bhutkar & Erwin Halim, 2023. "Analysis of Higher Education Students’ Awareness in Indonesia on Personal Data Security in Social Media," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-23, February.
    3. Cong Cao & Dan Li & Qianwen Xu & Xiuyan Shao, 2022. "Motivational Influences Affecting Middle-Aged and Elderly Users’ Participation Intention in Health-Related Social Media," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-21, September.

    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:sae:clnure:v:33:y:2024:i:7:p:530-537. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.