Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2021-10
“Normalizing” Everyday Life in the State of Emergency: Experiences,Well-Being and Coping Strategies of Emerging Adults in Serbia during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Although emerging adults are generally more physically resilient to the severe effects of COVID-19, they might be vulnerable to the psychological stressors brought about by the crisis. Using semi-structured interviews, this qualitative research aimed to explore the experiences, well-being, coping strategies and future expectations of 15 emerging adults in Serbia during the state of emergency caused by the global pandemic. As a result of thematic analysis, six main themes emerged, focusing on: 1) disruptions in everyday life and functioning; 2) the pandemic as a health crisis; 3) public reaction to the pandemic as a source of tension and frustration; 4) crisis as an opportunity; 5) coping strategies; 6) imagining the post-pandemic future. The present study points to the resilience and resourcefulness of emerging adults in the local context and emphasizes the heterogeneity of this age group and the vulnerability sources of those who might need additional support.
ArnettJ. J. (2007b). Socialization in emerging adulthood: From the family to the wider world, from socialization to self-socialization. In GrusecJ. E.HastingsP. D. (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 208–231). The Guilford Press.
4.
ArnettJ. J. (2013). Adolescence and emerging adulthood: Pearson new international edition. Pearson Higher Ed.
5.
ArnettJ. J. (2015). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. Oxford University Press.
ChawlaN.SharmaP.SagarR. (2020). Psychological impact of COVID-19 on children and adolescents: Is there a silver lining?The Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-020-03472-z
8.
CommodariE.La RosaV. L. (2020). Adolescents in quarantine during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: Perceived health risk, beliefs, psychological experiences and expectations for the future. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.559951
9.
DespotovićM. (2011). The interpretation and implementation of the bologna process in Serbia. European Education, 43(3), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.2753/EUE1056-4934430303
10.
ErlamG.SmytheL.Wright-St ClairV. (2018). Action research and millennials: Improving pedagogical approaches to encourage critical thinking. Nurse Education Today, 61, 140–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.11.023
11.
EzpeletaL.NavarroJ. B.De la OsaN.TrepatE.PeneloE. (2020). Life conditions during COVID-19 lockdown and mental health in Spanish adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 7327. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197327
12.
FolkmanS.LazarusR. S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.
13.
GarnefskiN.Van Den KommerT.KraaijV.TeerdsJ.LegersteeJ.OnsteinE. (2002). The relationship between cognitive emotion regulation strategies and emotional problems: Comparison between a clinical and a non-clinical sample. European Journal of Personality, 16(5), 403–420. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.458
14.
GermaniA.BurattaL.DelvecchioE.MazzeschiC. (2020). Emerging adults and COVID-19: The role of individualism-collectivism on perceived risks and psychological maladjustment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3497. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103497
15.
GruberJ.PrinsteinM. J.ClarkL. A.RottenbergJ. A.AlbanoA. M.AldaoA.BorelliJ. L.ChungT.DavilaJ.ForbesE. E.GeeD. G.Nagayama HallG. C.HallionL. S.HinshawG. C.HofmanS. G.HollonS. D.JoormanJ.KazdinA. E.KleinD. N.…WeinstockL. M. (2020). Mental health and clinical psychological science in the time of COVID-19: Challenges, opportunities, and a call to action. American Psychologist, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000707
16.
GuestG.BunceA.JohnsonL. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field methods, 18(1), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903
17.
HauschildtK.VogtleE. M.GwoscC. (2016-2018). Social and economic conditions of student life in Europe: Eurostudent IV. DZHW, German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies. W. Bertelsmann Verlag.
18.
IgnjatovićRistić, D.HinićD.BankovićD.KočovićA.RistićI.RosićG.RistićB.MilovanovićD.JanjićV.JovanovićM.SelakovićD.JovičićM.StevanovićN.MilanovićP.MilenkovićN.PaunovićM.Stašević KarličićI.NovakovićI.AleksićJ.GavrilovićJ. (2020). Levels of stress and resilience related to the COVID-19 pandemic among academic medical staff in Serbia. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 74, 602–631. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.13124
19.
KavčičT.AvsecA.KocjanG. Z. (2020). Psychological functioning of Slovene adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: Does resilience matter?Psychiatric Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09789-4
20.
KlikovacT.PetrovićN.Džamonja IgnjatovićT.Vukosavljević GvozdenT. (November27–28, 2020). Online psihološko savetovalište za studente[Paper presentation]. 68th congress of psychologists of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
21.
LobeB.MorganD.HoffmanK. A. (2020). Qualitative data collection in an era of social distancing. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920937875
22.
MacLeodK. B.BrownlieE. B. (2014). Mental health and transitions from adolescence to emerging adulthood: Developmental and diversity considerations. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 33(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2014-007
23.
MarkovićI.NikolovskiS.MilojevićS.ŽivkovićD.KneževićS.MitrovićA.ĐurđevićD. (2020). Public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia. Vojnosanitetski pregled, 108–108. https://doi.org/10.2298/VSP200713108M
PezdekK. (2003). Event memory and autobiographical memory for the events of September 11, 2001. Applied Cognitive Psychology: The Official Journal of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 17(9), 1033–1045. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.984
29.
Seiffge-KrenkeI. (2013). Stress, coping, and relationships in adolescence. Psychology Press.
30.
ScottS. R.RiveraK. M.RushingE.ManczakE. M.RozekC. S.DoomJ. R. (2020). “I hate this”: A qualitative analysis of adolescents’ self-reported challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.11.010
StepanovićI.VidenovićM.PlutD. (2009). Obrasci ponašanja mladih tokom slobodnog vremena. Sociologija/Sociology: Journal of Sociology, Social Psychology & Social Anthropology, 51(3). https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC0903247S
UNICEF. (2019). Situation analysis of children and adolescents in Serbia. UNICEF in Serbia.
35.
VeerI. M.RiepenhausenA.ZerbanM.WackerhagenC.PuhlmannL. M.EngenH.KalischR. (2021). Psycho-social factors associated with mental resilience in the corona lockdown. Translational Psychiatry, 11(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-01150-4
36.
VerityR.OkellL. C.DorigattiI.WinskillP.WhittakerC.ImaiN.Cuomo-DannenburgG.ThompsonH.WalkerP. G. T.FuH.DigheA.GriffinJ. T.BaguelinM.BhatiaS.BoonyasiriA.CoriA.CucunubáZ.FitzJohnR.GaythorpeK.DigheA. (2020). Estimates of the severity of coronavirus disease 2019: A model-based analysis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 20(6), 669–677. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30243-7
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
