Factors associated with fear and coping strategies during pandemic in female university students: The moderator role of physical activity and infection status.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated widespread psychological distress worldwide, with fear emerging as a central emotional response; however, its role in shaping coping processes, particularly among female university students, remains unclear. The present study investigates the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and coping strategies in female university students, with a specific focus on the moderating role of various variables. Participants were 1000 female university students aged 21.5 (2.5) years, who completed a self-report questionnaire about levels of fear regarding COVID-19 and the coping strategies employed during the post-emergency phase. The result showed that fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) was positively related to coping with the outbreak (COS). Physical activity status and COVID-19 positive or negative experiences moderated the relationship between FCV-19S and COS. These findings suggest that individual characteristics such as sedentary lifestyle habits and firsthand infection experiences, may continue to shape COVID-19-related fear and coping responses even after the acute emergency phase has subsided. An intervention such as regular exercise that aims to develop and improve coping dynamics among people in response to new challenges posed by stressful events or public health crises, like COVID-19 infection, seems warranted.