Family Communication and Psychological Distress in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediating Role of Coping

Abstract

This study aims to examine the association between family communication and psychological distress with coping as a potential mediator. The study also developed and validated the Family Communication Scale (FCS) in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (n = 658; 74.9% female) were general public ranged in age between 18 and 58 years (mean age = 26.38, SD = 10.01). The results showed that family communication directly influenced psychological distress and indirectly influenced through approach coping. However, avoidant coping was not directly associated with psychological distress, nor did it mediate the association between family communication and psychological distress. The findings suggest that people, who have better family communication, highly engage in approach coping which in turn leads to better psychological health in face of adversity. The findings have important empirical and theoretical implications.