Author(s): Sousa, Cristina de ; Vinagre, Helena ; Viseu, João ; Ferreira, João ; José, Helena ; Rabiais, Isabel ; Almeida, António ; Valido, Susana ; Santos, Maria João ; Severino, Sandy ; Sousa, Luis
Date: 2024
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/57692
Origin: Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa
Subject(s): emotions; adaptation; psychological traits; coping skills; health vulnerability; COVID-19
Background: Personal emotions and affects have been identified and studied in the context of pandemics, as well as coping strategies centered on emotional regulation or the balance between positive and negative emotions. Objectives: The objectives of this paper are to identify an emotion and affect structure in our sample and analyze the relationship of these dimensions with resilient coping in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This study employed a cross-sectional design that involved a non-probabilistic sample with 598 participants over the age of 18, with 51.1% being female, and an average age of 40.73 years. First, the emotional structure was identified through principal component analysis (PCA). Secondly, a linear regression analysis was performed to investigate emotional dimensions as predictors of coping. Results: A valid and reliable emotional structure with four dimensions was identified. The regression model revealed that coping is positively associated with the active and positive dimension and negatively correlated with the negative and moral dimensions. Conclusions: Emotional dimensions are predictors of coping, with moral and negative dimensions having a negative effect, while active and positive dimensions have a positive effect. When designing interventions for coping strategies, multiple dimensions of emotions and affective states in people who are in vulnerable situations must be considered.
