Communal coping and its association with marital relations and psychological outcomes among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Communal coping is a type of interdependency in which couples dealing with a health threat share assessment of a threat and respond together to the stress. The present study investigated communal coping in the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with psychological and relational outcomes among healthcare professionals. METHODS: In the present cross-sectional survey study, 242 healthcare professionals from hospitals and health centers were recruited via convenience sampling between August and October 2020. Communal coping with working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, dyadic adjustment, psychological distress, and fear of COVID-19 along with demographic and professional characteristics were assessed via an online survey. RESULTS: Multivariable linear regression showed that dyadic adjustment (β = 0.73), psychological distress (β = 0.16), fear of COVID-19 (β = 0.11), and support gap (β = −0.04) were significant independent variables associated with communal coping among healthcare professionals. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals coped communally within the family in dealing with working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dyadic adjustment was the strongest predictor of communal coping among healthcare professionals.