The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is currently a global health threat attributed to negatively affecting the mental health and well-being of people globally. The purpose of the present study is to examine the mediating role of optimism-pessimism and psychological inflexibility in the relationship of coronavirus stress with psychological problems among Turkish adults. The sample of the study included 451 adults (55% women). Participants mainly consisted of young adults with a mean age of 23.30 years, ranging from 18 to 65 years (SD = 6.97). A mediation model indicated that coronavirus stress had a significant predictive effect on optimism-pessimism, psychological inflexibility, and psychological problems. Further, optimism-pessimism and psychological inflexibility mediated the effect of coronavirus stress on psychological problems in adults. Lastly, optimism-pessimism predicted the psychological problems of adults through psychological inflexibility. These results elucidate our understanding of the role of mediators in coronavirus stress and psychological health problems. The findings are useful in terms of providing evidence for tailoring interventions and implementing preventative approaches to mitigate the psychopathological consequences of COVID-19. Based on the present findings, the potential utility of acceptance and commitment therapy is discussed within the context of COVID-19.

During coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare professionals were particularly at high-risk of developing symptoms of mental health problems due to being on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19. This study examined the mediating roles of resilience and coronavirus fear in the relationship between perceived risk and mental health problems among healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses who were actively treating patients confirmed with COVID-19. We recruited 204 healthcare professionals (50% females) with a mean age of 32.92 years (SD = 7.01). Results showed that perceived risk and coronavirus fear positively predicted depression, anxiety, and stress while resilience negatively predicted those mental health problems. Coronavirus fear mediated the relationship between perceived risk and resilience, depression, anxiety, and stress. Additionally, resilience mitigated the effect of coronavirus fear on depression, anxiety, and stress. This study is among the first indicating the importance of resilience and fear as a critical mechanism that explains the relationship between perceived risk and mental health problems among health professionals directly caring for COVID-19 patients.

There has been a call to action from much of the community to urgently investigate stress and well-being during the global health crisis instigated by COVID-19. This study seeks to investigate well-being, meaning in life, and psychological flexibility in relation to COVID-19 stress. Participants of the study consisted of 417 students from a public university, and they were 40.3% male and 59.7% female, ranging in age from 18 to 40 years (M = 23.36, SD = 5.96). The study’s findings indicated that meaning in life and psychological flexibility mediated the effect of coronavirus stress on student well-being. Psychological flexibility also mitigated the effect of stress on meaning in life. The study findings offer implications for mental health professionals and officials responding to COVID-19 and provide insights into future planning and preparedness for disasters of this scale that may occur in future years.