Religious Coping and Life Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Polish Catholics. The Mediating Effect of Coronavirus Anxiety

Abstract

Recent data have indicated that people may have experienced fear during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to deepen our understanding of the relationship between religious coping and life satisfaction by analysing the indirect effects of fear of COVID-19. Methods: This study included 365 people (75% women) aged 18–78 years. The procedure consisted of completing questionnaires to measure religious coping, COVID-19 anxiety, satisfaction with life, and satisfaction with social support. Results: Structural equation modelling showed that positive religious coping was related to greater life satisfaction and greater satisfaction with social support during the pandemic. Moreover, fear of COVID-19 mediated the relationship between negative religious coping and life satisfaction and social support satisfaction. Conclusions: The data suggest a need for practitioners to focus on interventions that enhance positive religious coping to improve life satisfaction during the spread of infectious diseases.

Keywords

• religious coping
• life satisfaction
• COVID-19
• fear of COVID-19