Background: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic led to uncertainty, stress, significant losses, and concern for physical and mental health. University students are a vulnerable subgroup affected by the...Show moreBackground: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic led to uncertainty, stress, significant losses, and concern for physical and mental health. University students are a vulnerable subgroup affected by the outbreak. It has adversely affected their academic and social lives. Previous findings indicate heightened anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms. Negative coping strategies such as alcohol consumption were used to overcome the effects of pandemic fear. The aim of the study is to investigate the link between pandemic fear and negative mental health issues, and alcohol use. Methods: The study had a cross-sectional design, involving 139 university students. Online self-report measures were used to assess pandemic fear, alcohol use, depressive, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. The covariates age, gender, and educational level were controlled for in the statistical analyses. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the relationship between pandemic fear and depressive, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. Moderated regression was used to examine the moderating effect of alcohol use on the above-mentioned link. Bonferroni correction was used to adjust alpha levels. Results: Pandemic fear was positively linked with depressive, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms among university students. However, although alcohol use might be used as a negative coping strategy, its moderating role on the link between pandemic fear and mental health outcomes was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Overall, as pandemic fear increased, mental health issues increased in university students. Future studies with longitudinal design and larger statistical power that considers other covariates, and has measures other than self-report might be more reliable in evaluating this further.Show less
Dispositional optimism is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to mental and physical health. The role of resilient coping on the relationship between dispositional optimism and...Show moreDispositional optimism is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to mental and physical health. The role of resilient coping on the relationship between dispositional optimism and anxiety symptoms has not yet been examined. In this study, the potential mediating role of resilient coping in the relationship between dispositional optimism and anxiety symptoms has been tested using PROCESS macro. The Life Orientation Test Revised, the Brief Resilient Coping Scale, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaires were used for the assessment of optimism, resilient coping, and anxiety symptoms, respectively. The total, direct, and indirect effects were estimated using data from a healthy population (N = 248). The results showed that the level of dispositional optimism significantly predicted the level of anxiety symptoms (b = -.36, p < .001) such that higher levels of dispositional optimism were associated with lower levels of anxiety symptoms. No significant evidence was found for the mediating role of resilient coping in this relationship, possibly due to the low internal consistency of the questionnaire in this sample. As the sample in this study had an overrepresentation of students within the age range of 20-25, it is likely that the results might not apply to the larger population, given that there are differences in what students have to cope with compared to people who are in other phases of their lives. Future research may complement findings by investigating whether there is a causal relationship between coping skills and anxiety symptoms.Show less
