Direct and indirect relationships between cognitive flexibility and COVID-19 related psychological distress: The mediating role of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies

Abstract

Objective: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are remarkable on individuals' mental health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increase in mental health problems and psychological distress in uninfected healthy people. The present study aimed to examine the mediator role of maladaptive cognitive emotion regula-tion strategies in the relationship between cognitive fle-xibility and COVID-19 related psychological distress experienced during the current pandemic. Method: The sample consisted of 351 young adults (86% female and 14% male) who were not infected with COVID-19 aged between 18 to 25 years old. Participants completed the self-report questionnaires, including the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and COVID-19 Related Psychological Distress Scale. Mediation analysis estimated total, indi-rect, and direct effects between cognitive flexibility and COVID-19 related psychological distress. Results: The correlation analyses showed that cognitive flexibility -control dimension was negatively associated with both COVID-19 related psychological distress and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Also, maladap-tive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and COVID-19 related psychological distress was found to be posi-tively correlated. In the study sample, the results of the bootstrap mediation indicated that maladaptive cogni-tive emotion regulation strategies, including self-blame, acceptance, rumination, catastrophizing, and blaming others, fully mediated the relationship between cogni-tive flexibility -control and COVID-19 related psycholog-ical distress. Discussion: Our findings would help psy-chological interventions designed for COVID-19 unin-fected healthy people who have lower-level cognitive flexibility -control dimension by highlighting the promi-nence that the fewer people use maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, the less they feel COVID-19 related psychological distress.