The co-moderating effect of social support and religiosity in the association between psychological distress and coping strategies in a sample of lebanese adults

BACKGROUND: Coping involves attempts to mitigate the negative repercussions of stressful situations including psychological distress. The aim of this study was to assess factors affecting coping and examine the role of social support and religiosity in moderating the association between psychological distress and coping strategies in a sample of Lebanese adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out between May and July 2022, enrolling 387 participants. The study participants were asked to complete a self-administered survey containing the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Arabic Version, the Mature Religiosity Scale, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and the Coping Strategies Inventory-Short Form. RESULTS: Higher levels of social support and mature religiosity were significantly associated with higher problem- and emotion-focused engagement scores and lower problem- and emotion-focus disengagement scores. In people experiencing high psychological distress, having low mature religiosity was significantly associated with higher problem-focused disengagement, seen at all levels of social support. In people experiencing high psychological distress, having moderate mature religiosity was significantly associated with higher problem-focused disengagement, seen at both moderate and high levels of social support. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide novel insight into the moderating effect of mature religiosity in the association between psychological distress and coping strategies affecting adaptive behavior to stress.