The Stress Burden and Positive Coping Among the United Arab Emirates Population During Crisis: A Cross-sectional Study from the Pandemic Era

Introduction: The pandemic crisis created a psychosocial and public health crisis that affected the lives of millions globally. This cross-sectional study aims to examine the stress burden during the pandemic crisis and positive coping among the general population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: This study employed a crosssectional design to examine the stress burden of the pandemic crisis and positive coping among the general population in the UAE. The study questionnaires were sent to potential participants as an online survey. A total of 465 UAE residents were enrolled between October and December 2021. The stress burden and positive coping were measured using the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 Pandemic Mental Health Questionnaire (CoPaQ). Results: Regarding stress burdens related to the pandemic crisis, only 20.9% (n = 97) of the participants reported no stress burden, while most of the participants had mild to moderate stress burden (124 (26.7%) and 188 (40.4%), respectively). In contrast, 56 participants (12.0%) had severe stress burden related to the pandemic crisis. Positive coping with daytime structure was reported as 102 participants (21.9%) reported highly effective coping, 123 participants (26.5%) reported moderately effective coping, 137 participants (29.5%) reported slightly effective coping, and 103 participants (22.2%) reported ineffective coping. Positive coping with inner resources was reported where most of the participants reported either highly or moderately effective coping (110 (23.7%) and 155 (33.3%), respectively), while only 62 participants (13.3%) reported ineffective coping. Being symptomatic quarantined was significantly associated with positive coping categories of daytime structure but not inner resources, while being infected was significantly associated with both positive coping categories of daytime structure and inner resources. Stress burden was significantly associated with demographic variables (marital status, gender, and age) pandemic-specific variables (quarantined, infected, and symptomatic), and psychological variables (pre-existing conditions and undergoing psychotherapy). Conclusion: The pandemic crisis has significantly affected the stress burden of the UAE population. The individual differences identified in this study underscore the importance of anticipating the impact of future crises and implementing personalized interventions that address the needs of vulnerable groups.