Coping with a crisis: The intersection between spirituality and social media

This study examined the role of spiritual coping strategies and the impact of social media on stress, depression, anxiety, and resilience in a campus community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Spirituality, a sense of connection beyond oneself, often emerges during stress, illness, or confronting mortality, while resilience is the ability to adapt to challenges. Participants, including faculty, staff, and students, completed an online survey using various scales: the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale; a revised Facebook Intensity Scale; the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21; and the Brief Resilience Scale. Findings showed that spiritual coping correlated with lower depression (r = −0.28, P < 0.01), anxiety (r = −0.12, P < 0.05), and stress (r = −0.18, P < 0.01) scores and higher resilience (r = 0.29, P < 0.01). Social media use, however, was associated with increased anxiety (r = 0.41, P < 0.01), depression (r = 0.26, P < 0.01), and stress (r = 0.31, P < 0.05) and decreased resilience (r = −0.28, P < 0.01). Age was positively associated with resilience (r = 0.20, P < 0.01) and less social media use (r = −0.46, P < 0.01). Gender differences were noted: females reported higher spiritual coping, non-religious coping and anxiety, and a trend toward lower resilience than males. Fostering resilience depends largely on having a strong spiritual connection or social network consisting of supportive family and friends. Promoting alternative ways to build meaningful connections may enhance mental health for students, faculty, and staff in a university setting.