The Association Between Positive Religious Coping, Perceived Stress, and Depressive Symptoms During the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Among a Sample of Adults in Palestine: Across Sectional Study

OBJECTIVES: The current study was designed to investigate the relationship between positive religious coping, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms among Palestinian adults in response to the emergence of coronavirus (COVID-19), and the quarantine system implemented in the city of Tulkarem, Palestine. METHODS: A correlational study was conducted to examine the relationship between study variables. Participants were 400 Palestinian adults, involving 172 males and 228 females, living in the city of Tulkarem, Palestine, during the spread of coronavirus. Participants were selected using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. RESULTS: Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to test the relationship between positive religious coping, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress. Findings revealed a statistically significant negative correlation between positive religious coping and depressive symptoms (r = − .17, p < .01). Results also indicated a statistically significant negative correlation between positive religious coping and perceived stress (r = − .15, p < .01). The regression analysis for predicting depressive symptoms found that both positive religious coping (B = − .21, SE = .05, β = − .18) and perceived stress (B = .41, SE = .05, β = .35) were statistically significant toward explaining variance in depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: The importance of developing intervention programs that take into consideration religious/spiritual struggles and positive religious strategies may help improve resilience and well-being among affected populations. With the recent spread of COVID-19, findings of this current study have presented important practical implications for improving the mental health and well-being among Palestinians, especially since Palestinian society continues to face different types of stressors, such as illegal occupation. Further studies are recommended to test the relationship between current study variables and other related variables.