Individual and community psychological experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic: The state of emergency in Portugal

Individuals have different ways of coping with crisis. Individual factors, family and contextual features, and community support may influence how individuals feel, think and act during a crisis. COVID-19 was an unexpected pandemic that forced many European countries to take confinement measures and restrict social face to face interactions. This study is an effort to understand how Portuguese residents dealt with the pandemic during the first confinement period, considering different sociodemographic characteristics and trauma exposure perceptions. Five hundred and five adults, between 18 and 79 years old participated in this study via an online self-report assessment protocol. Sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, employment status, and caring responsibilities had an impact on individuals' perceptions regarding their exposure to the pandemic and their quality of life. Perceived exposure to the pandemic was found to predict quality of life in the physical, psychological, and environmental domains. Results have practical implications for European and local policy-making, as well as for targeting psychological interventions for those whose mental health has been negatively affected by the pandemic and for those who may become more affected if confinement measures are implemented again.

Automated summary

Individual factors, family and contextual features, and community support may influence how individuals feel, think and act during a crisis. This study explores how Portuguese residents dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic during the first confinement period, and how sociodemographic characteristics and trauma exposure perceptions played a role. Findings suggest that perceived exposure to the pandemic predicts quality of life in different domains. The results have practical implications for policy-making and psychological interventions.