(PS7-D78) Negative Cognitions, Social-problem Solving Skills, and Rumination: A Closer Look the Mental Health Impact of COVID-19

It is well established that pandemics pose unique challenges and can have negative psychological impacts. Simultaneously, however, less research has sought to investigate individual characteristics that might exacerbate the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prominent cognitive theories emphasize the role negative cognitions play in the onset and maintenance of depression and anxiety. Thus, individuals with greater negative cognitions might be more psychologically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, it will be important to understand the context in which negative cognitions influences the mental health impact of COVID-19, as it can create multiple avenues for interventions.

Research on psychological stress has emphasized social problem-solving ability and its relation to depression symptomatology. Importantly, rumination has been found to increase perceived health concerns, such that it might enable negative cognitions to influence mental health. Accordingly, the present study hypothesizes that negative cognition will be related to greater COVID-19 mental health impact, and social problem-solving ability will moderate this association such that a strong association is found for those with greater maladaptive social problem-solving skills. It is further hypothesized that this interactive effect will operate in part through rumination.

By the end of March 2022, we will have a sample of 100 college students from Catholic University who have completed validated measures assessing for negative cognitions, social problem-solving skills, rumination, and mental health impact of COVID-19, respectively. These measures were obtained through an online self-report survey on Qualtrics.

Participants were recruited through the university’s psychology participant pool and flyers around campus. Analyses will be conducted using SPSS to examine the correlation between the negative cognition and mental health impact of COVID-19. Similarly, the potential moderating effect of social problem-solving skills and the mediation effect of rumination on the relationship between negative cognitions and mental health impact of COVID-19 will be examined using linear regression and the Process Macros v3.5.3. for SPSS (Hayes, 2017). Results from this study will provide a better understanding of how the context in which negative cognitions influence the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, inform intervention and prevention efforts, particularly early intervention.