Association of sense of coherence and resilience with distress and infection prevention behaviors during the coronavirus disease pandemic

This cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between the sense of coherence (SOC) and resilience and between distress and infection prevention behaviors during the early phase of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The study recruited 1,484 participants (male: 686, female: 798; mean age = 45.1 years, SD = 8.3 years) to complete the SOC-L9 scale, the Adolescent Resilience Scale, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and the measurement scale of practices of infection prevention behaviors against COVID-19, originally developed by the study in addition to other control variables. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrated that greater SOC was associated with less distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, even after resilience was controlled for. Additionally, logistic regression analysis revealed that greater resilience was associated with the majority of greater COVID-19 related infection prevention behaviors (IPBs). These results suggest that SOC and resilience were related to degree of distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, such that those with higher resilience tended to engage in IPB. Furthermore, differences in the association of both factors with distress and IPB may indicate a few points of discrimination between SOC and resilience, which include similar concepts.