Changes in Stress, Coping Styles, and Life Satisfaction between the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Study in a Sample of University Students

In this study, we aimed to explain the interplay mechanism between stress, life satisfaction, and coping styles among university students. A cohort study was performed during the first (wave 1; W1) and second (wave 2; W2) waves of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The total sample included 231 university students, of which 59.31% were women. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) were included in one online survey. Stress, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping styles increased from W1 to W2 of the COVID-19 pandemic, while life satisfaction and task-oriented coping decreased. The partial mediation effect of all three coping styles during W1 and W2 (in a cross-sectional approach) on the relationship between perceived stress and life satisfaction was confirmed in this study. The task-oriented and emotion-oriented coping styles can play a mediating role in the reciprocal relationship between life satisfaction and perceived stress during W1 and W2 of the pandemic. There were no mutual interactions between stress and life satisfaction from a longitudinal approach. Coping styles changed subsequently due to stressful environmental changes related to lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a wide range of coping strategies from which to choose during an unstable situation should help manage stress and well-being.