Magdalena Łozińska
Developmental Psychology, Volume 27 Issue 1, 2022, pp. 99-115
https://doi.org/10.4467/20843879PR.22.006.16681The theory of selective optimization with compensation (SOC), developed by Paul Baltes, and a relational position in the psychological analysis of stress were chosen as the basis for the assumptions of the research study reported on in this article. Additionally, it was assumed that a sense of well-being in seniors may be reduced by crises, which are a response to difficult and unexpected life events. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between selected strategies of coping with stress and the well-being of seniors during the period of forced social isolation that was introduced in the spring of 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The participants of this on-line study consisted of 190 late adulthood individuals with a mean age of 68.7 (SD = 5.24). The measurement tools included assessment of the following areas: perceived stress (PSS-10), ways of coping with stress (MINI COPE), the sense of efficacy (GSES) and life satisfaction (SWLS).
The results showed that the most common coping methods in the group of seniors studied were active coping, planning, positive revaluation and acceptance. Correlation-regression analysis showed that the level of stress of seniors during a pandemic negatively depends on a sense of efficacy and two ways of coping with stress which include acceptance and active coping, and positively depends on a denial and psychoactive substance use.
These results are predominantly consistent with other research studies reported during the pandemic period, which indicate the directions of possible preventive as well as intervention measures for seniors.