Emotion-focused coping mediates the relationship between COVID-related distress and compulsive buying.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: COVID-19 posits psychological challenges worldwide and has given rise to nonadaptive behavior, especially in the presence of maladaptive coping. In the current study, we assessed whether the relationship between COVID-related distress and compulsive buying is mediated by task-focused and emotion-focused coping. We also examined whether these associations were invariant over time as the pandemic unfolded. METHODS: Self-report surveys were administered online in the United States in the first six months of the pandemic (March-October 2020) in sampling batches of 25 participants every three days, resulting in a total sample of N = 1,418 (40% female, mean age = 36.6). We carried out structural equation modeling to assess whether the relationship between distress related to COVID-19 and compulsive buying is mediated by task-focused and emotion-focused coping. Time was used as a grouping variable based on events related to the pandemic in the U.S. to calculate model invariance across three time periods. RESULTS: The results indicated significant mediation between distress, emotion-focused coping, and compulsive buying, but not between task-focused coping and compulsive buying. The mediation model showed excellent fit to the data (χ² = 1119.377, df = 420, RMSEA = 0.059 [0.055-0.064], SRMR = 0.049, CFI = 0.951, TLI = 0.947). Models were not invariant across the three examined time periods. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that compulsive buying is more likely to occur in relation to emotion-focused coping as a response to COVID-related distress than in relation to task-focused coping, especially during periods of increasing distress. However, model paths varied during the course of the pandemic.

Potentially addictive behaviours increase during the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In this study we aimed to assess multiple potentially addictive behaviours simultaneously for an extended period of time during the Covid-19 pandemic and their relation to distress. METHODS: Data were collected every three days from Amazon's MTurk between 26.03.2020 and 02.10.2020 in repeated cross-sectional samples of 25 participants resulting in a total sample of 1430 US adults (60% men, mean age 36.6 years, SD = 11). General distress and Covid-19 related fear were assessed as well as self-reported frequency of eight potentially addictive behaviours: shopping (compulsive buying), alcohol, smoking, legal substances, illegal substances, gambling, gaming and overeating. RESULTS: We found a positive relationship between time and the frequency of each self-reported potentially addictive behaviour ( τ = 0.15-0.23, all P < 0.001), and their frequency is linearly related to the intensity of (Covid-19-related and general) distress ( τ = 0.12-0.28, all P < 0.001). Most popular activities were gaming and compulsive buying, and the relative frequency of the behaviours remained about the same during the data collection period. DISCUSSION: It is possible that people seek other maladaptive substitutes when other coping mechanisms (e.g. social recreation) are hindered depending on their level of distress. CONCLUSION: Given the evidence for the increasing frequency of potentially addictive behaviours and their relevance to distress, special attention needs to be paid to reduce potential harmful effects of maladaptive coping during and after this demanding period.