Repertoire of coping strategies of students: longitudinal study of diary entries

Abstract

The article presents the results of a longitudinal study of 148 students’ diaries organized as daily descriptions of the emotional state and behavioral reactions in self-isolation from April 1 to 15 in years 2020–2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretical analysis of the concept of coping and the psychological practice of diary entries is carried out. A method of studying coping strategies used by respondents going through a stressful situation is described. Examples of students’ self-descriptions corresponding to certain coping strategies, according to R. Lazarus’ classification, are provided. Based on the results of comparative analysis, significant differences in the coping repertoire in years 2020–2021 are revealed, the frequency of use of the “distancing” strategy increasing and that of the “escape-avoidance” decreasing. It is noted that in general, students’ coping repertoire is characterized by the predominance of non-constructive coping strategies, their percentage being 75 %, and the dominance of the “distancing” strategy among them.

Keywords

• students
• stress
• coping strategies
• coping
• structured diary
• longitudinal study