Surviving COVID-19: Biopsychosocial Impacts, Death Anxiety, and Coping Strategies

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, attempts to contain the spread of the virus took two concurrent forms, including mobility restrictions (aka lockdowns) and the race to produce a vaccine. However, it is quite striking that, amidst both the lockdown and the race to produce a vaccine, the question of how COVID-19 survivors/patients coped with the disease has not received the degree of attention it deserved. To navigate this issue, we employed a sample consisting of 100 COVID-19 survivors; this paper explores the relationship between the biopsychosocial (BPS) impacts of COVID-19, death anxiety, and coping strategies. In this context, the mediating role of death anxiety is placed in the spotlight. The analysis reveals a significant positive association between the BPS impact of COVID-19 and death anxiety and a significant negative association between death anxiety and coping strategies among COVID-19 survivors. Thus, death anxiety mediates the relationship between the BPS impact and the coping strategies that COVID-19 survivors adopt. Given the general recognition of the validity of the BPS model in contemporary medical science and practice, a thorough examination of COVID-19 survivors and their experiences related to surviving is necessary to match the challenges of today, including the increased probability of pandemics.