Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Contribution of Self-Control Skills and Religiosity in Arab Israeli-Palestinian Students in Israel

The reported high rates of deaths and negative psychological outcomes of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have led to an increased empirical interest in examining the contributing factors of coping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adolescents living in Arab societies have unique challenges that may increase the likelihood of exhibiting symptoms of stress during this crisis. However, this population has been understudied in this context. The current research aims to elucidate factors that may contribute to Arab Israeli-Palestinian students’ coping abilities during the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating the relationship between coping with stress during the COVID-19 outbreak and both self-control and religiosity. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to investigate the relationship of coping with stress during the COVID-19 outbreak with self-control skills and religiosity among Arab Israeli-Palestinian college students in Israel (n = 465). Correlational analyses and stepwise multiple regression models were used to examine these relationships. The stepwise multiple regression model demonstrated that (1) higher levels of self-control (β = .19, p < .01) and religiosity (β = .16, p < .01) predicted higher levels of adaptive, problem-focused coping, and (2) higher levels of self-control (β = −.21, p < .01) and religiosity (β = −.17, p < .01) predicted lower levels of maladaptive, emotion-focused coping. Thus, the current research demonstrates the importance of these variables in countering stress resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak in non-Western societies. These findings are consistent with previous literature that has addressed the impact of self-control and religiosity in improving coping behaviours in Western societies.