Discursive, Communal, and Individual Coping Strategies: How U.S. Adults Co-constructed Coping During Preliminary COVID-19 Stressors

Alaina C. Zanin, Brianna L. Avalos, Sophia Town, Sarah J. Tracy, B. Liahnna Stanley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

This interpretive research study explores U.S. adults’ lived experiences during the beginning months of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Participants (N= 44), recruited from a convenience sample of U.S. adults, engaged in in-depth semi-structured interviews or focus groups. Through an iterative analysis of participants’ experiences and the theoretical model of communal coping (TMCC), the authors identified three convergent stressors (i.e., isolation, uncertainty, conflict) and several coping strategies related to participants’ stressor appraisal (i.e., individual or joint) and action orientation (i.e., individual or joint). Based on these findings, this study offers the novel theoretical concept of Discursive coping and proposes a model for how this perspective might be integrated with current theorizing about individual and communal coping. Implications for communal coping and discursive theory are discussed as well as practical recommendations for public health messaging.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1373-1387
Number of pages15
JournalHealth Communication
Volume38
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Communication

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