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A qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic

While much research has focused on challenges that younger and older people have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to the capacity for resilience among these groups. We therefore explored positive psychological experiences and coping behaviours that protected mental...

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Autores principales: Ooi, Liyann, Paul, Elise, Burton, Alexandra, Fancourt, Daisy, McKinlay, Alison R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9870142/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36689484
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279205
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author Ooi, Liyann
Paul, Elise
Burton, Alexandra
Fancourt, Daisy
McKinlay, Alison R.
author_facet Ooi, Liyann
Paul, Elise
Burton, Alexandra
Fancourt, Daisy
McKinlay, Alison R.
author_sort Ooi, Liyann
collection PubMed
description While much research has focused on challenges that younger and older people have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to the capacity for resilience among these groups. We therefore explored positive psychological experiences and coping behaviours that protected mental health and well-being. Participants were 40 young people (aged 13–24) and 28 older adults (aged 70+) living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were held between May 2020 and January 2021. We generated six themes using qualitative thematic analysis, including: engagement in self-fulfilling activities, increased sense of social cohesion, personal growth, use of problem-focused strategies to manage pandemic-related stressors, giving and receiving social and community support, and utilising strategies to regulate thoughts and emotions. While all six themes were relevant both to younger and older adults, there were nuances in how each was experienced and enacted. For example, many older adults adjusted their routines given worries about virus vulnerability, while some young people experienced greater personal growth amidst increased awareness of mental health as they navigated the various lockdown restrictions.
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spelling pubmed-98701422023-01-24 A qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic Ooi, Liyann Paul, Elise Burton, Alexandra Fancourt, Daisy McKinlay, Alison R. PLoS One Research Article While much research has focused on challenges that younger and older people have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to the capacity for resilience among these groups. We therefore explored positive psychological experiences and coping behaviours that protected mental health and well-being. Participants were 40 young people (aged 13–24) and 28 older adults (aged 70+) living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were held between May 2020 and January 2021. We generated six themes using qualitative thematic analysis, including: engagement in self-fulfilling activities, increased sense of social cohesion, personal growth, use of problem-focused strategies to manage pandemic-related stressors, giving and receiving social and community support, and utilising strategies to regulate thoughts and emotions. While all six themes were relevant both to younger and older adults, there were nuances in how each was experienced and enacted. For example, many older adults adjusted their routines given worries about virus vulnerability, while some young people experienced greater personal growth amidst increased awareness of mental health as they navigated the various lockdown restrictions. Public Library of Science 2023-01-23 /pmc/articles/PMC9870142/ /pubmed/36689484 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279205 Text en © 2023 Ooi et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Ooi, Liyann
Paul, Elise
Burton, Alexandra
Fancourt, Daisy
McKinlay, Alison R.
A qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
title A qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full A qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr A qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed A qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short A qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort qualitative study of positive psychological experiences and helpful coping behaviours among young people and older adults in the uk during the covid-19 pandemic
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9870142/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36689484
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279205
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