Meaning-Making Coping With COVID-19 in Academic Settings: The Case of Sweden

Fereshteh Ahmadi; Önver A Cetrez; Sharareh Akhavan; Saeid Zandi

doi:10.1177/10541373211022002

Meaning-Making Coping With COVID-19 in Academic Settings: The Case of Sweden

Illn Crises Loss. 2022 Oct;30(4):770-794. doi: 10.1177/10541373211022002.

Authors

Fereshteh Ahmadi¹, Önver A Cetrez², Sharareh Akhavan³, Saeid Zandi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, University of Gävle, Sweden.
² Faculty of Theology, Uppsala University, Sweden.
³ School of Health and Welfare, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden.
⁴ Faculty of Psychology and Education, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

In this study, we map and describe the coping methods used by members of the university community in Sweden to deal with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. This study, which used simple random sampling, was quantitative. It employed a modified version of the RCOPE instrument as well as items from earlier studies of meaning-making coping in Sweden. Among participants (n = 277, 64% women), the most frequently used coping method was nature as a resource in dealing with stress and sadness, followed by listening to the sounds of surrounding nature and thinking of life as part of a greater whole; these coping methods were the most common in all subgroups studied. We used a cultural perspective to better understand the application of certain meaning-making coping methods.

Keywords: coping methods; coronavirus; crisis; pandemic, universities in Sweden.