Longitudinal Prediction of Individual Resilience and Difficulties in Coping with the COVID-19-Pandemic and its Consequences

• Applicant: Dr. Ann-Katrin Job
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 456315053

Within in a few weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the life of many people all over the world. It is not yet known, which long-term psychological and physical effects the COVID-19 outbreak will have in Germany and which groups of people will prove to be resilient or vulnerable. For the prevention and alleviation of the pandemic’s consequences, it is of great importance to identify factors that have an influence on the development and stability of mental and somatic symptoms. The planned study is an additional project to the current DFG Project “Zukunft Familie IV”, in which the 18-year catamnesis of approximately 360 families is currently being carried out. Since kindergarten age, parent and child variables have been collected repeatedly (at the age of approx. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14 years). While the children are currently in young adulthood (21-24 years) and thus in the critical phase of their career entry, the parents represent a risk group for a severe course of COVID-19 due to their age (50-60 years), so that both groups have an increased vulnerability. The planned additional project aims to collect data on (1) the development of the psychological burden of the pandemic, (2) life satisfaction, and (3) the long-term negative and positive consequences of the crisis for the young adults and their parents. Furthermore, the institutional trust as well as the participants handling of the actions to contain the pandemic ordered by the authorities will be analyzed. The assessment will take place at three points of measurements over a period of one year. Due to the prospective design of the “Zukunft Familie” project, the additional project offers the possibility to uncover longitudinal relationships between different risk and protective factors and individual stress and life satisfaction. Comparisons of the results with German and international studies are planned.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants