Reframing prolonged negative mental health effects of COVID-19: Cognitive restructuring promotes posttraumatic growth

Regression analyses revealed that two coping styles, cognitive restructuring and problem analysis were negatively and positively associated, respectively, with both peritraumatic and posttraumatic stress. Two-step cluster analysis conducted on PTGI and IES scores yielded three clusters of posttraumatic changes: IES-low/PTGI-low, IES-high/PTGI-low and IES moderate/PTGI-high. Multinomial regression showed that cognitive restructuring and peritraumatic stress were significant predictors of cluster membership.

Our findings point out that cognitive restructuring may be effective for dealing with longer-term psychological results of traumatic life events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, even in highly exposed groups of the society Medical students and staff (n=1426) were recruited for the study. An online survey including the COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI), Ways of Coping, Impact of Events Scale (IES), and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and other questionnaires were administered across three waves of COVID-19.

Psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of CPDI were assessed and associations between peri/posttraumatic stress and coping were explored. In addition, cluster analysis based on posttraumatic stress and growth was used to identify subgroups. An increasing trend of peritraumatic stress over the waves was found.

Regression analyses revealed that two coping styles, cognitive restructuring and problem analysis were negatively and positively associated, respectively, with both peritraumatic and posttraumatic stress. Two-step cluster analysis conducted on PTGI and IES scores yielded three clusters of posttraumatic changes: IES-low/PTGI-low, IES-high/PTGI-low and IES moderate/PTGI-high. Multinomial regression showed that cognitive restructuring and peritraumatic stress were significant predictors of cluster membership.

Our findings point out that cognitive restructuring may be effective and suitable for dealing with longer-term psychological results of traumatic life events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, even in highly exposed groups of the society.