AUTHOR=Oviedo Diana C. , Tratner Adam E. , Pinzón María Sofía , Rodríguez-Araña Sofía , Pauli-Quirós Elianne , Chavarría Carlos , Rodríguez Camilo Posada , Britton Gabrielle B. 

TITLE=Resilience mediates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in a sample of adults in Panama

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1235935

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1235935

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=The COVID-19 pandemic was characterized by global increases in depression, anxiety, and stress 25 symptoms. Previous studies have shown that resilience mitigates these symptoms, however there is 26 limited research exploring the link between resilience and mental illness during the COVID-19 27 pandemic in Central America. To examine the role of resilience in relation to the perceived effect of 28 the pandemic on mental health, a sample of 480 adults in Panama were recruited from March to May 29 2021 to complete an online survey. The online survey consisted of sociodemographic questions and 30 scale measures assessing depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, resilience, and social support. 31Results indicated that resilience mediated the relationship between the perceived effect of the 32 COVID-19 pandemic and mental health symptoms; participants who felt more personally affected by 33 the pandemic reported more depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms via decreased resilience. 34Further analyses revealed that resilience was moderated by sex and social support, showing that the 35 indirect effect of resilience was greater for women and individuals who perceived low social support. 36These findings contribute to a growing body of research documenting the adverse effects of the 37 COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, and reveal potential mechanisms through which pandemic-38 related distress decreases resilience, thereby increasing symptoms of mental illness.