Stories of Life during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy : A Qualitative Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on people the need to find meaning in many unprecedented ways. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how the general Italian population dealt with government restrictions and to understand personal experiences connected with the first wave of the pandemic in light of the personal construct theory (PCT) framework. One hundred and sixteen people (over 18 years old) completed an online survey between May and June 2020. Two independent researchers ran inductive thematic content analysis on data using a specifically developed international codebook. Five major themes were identified in the participants' narrations: difficulties, emotions, coping with lockdown measures, going back to normal, and change. The results, interpreted within the PCT transitions, showed that the pandemic represented a threat to participants' life plans, beliefs, and certainties. Some coped with it mainly by waiting for the pandemic to end and remaining firm in their beliefs and certainties, whereas others coped by trying to find alternative ways of giving sense to this experience and reconstructing personal meanings, claiming a change in their life and in society. Differentiating personal experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic is fundamental for designing personalised strategies to promote well-being.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2021

Erschienen:

2021

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:18

Enthalten in:

International journal of environmental research and public health - 18(2021), 14 vom: 18. Juli

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Tomaino, Silvia Caterina Maria [VerfasserIn]
Cipolletta, Sabrina [VerfasserIn]
Kostova, Zlatina [VerfasserIn]
Todorova, Irina [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

COVID-19
Coronavirus
Health psychology
Journal Article
Personal construct theory
Qualitative research

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 29.07.2021

Date Revised 20.09.2023

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.3390/ijerph18147630

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM328449512