Coping with fashion for mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Part II on motivations and effects

Understanding clothing’s role in coping and managing daily needs and stressors is critical in understanding its therapeutic possibilities and effects on mental health. Part II of the study involved 576 Canadian emerging adults, exploring their motivations behind clothing engagement whilst navigating the peaks of the pandemic, and how clothing affected their mental health. Individuals reported multiple motivations in their use of clothing, including comfort, self-assurance, individuality, fashion, camouflage, motivation and normalcy. The quantitative analysis found no relationship between the practice of enhancing mood through clothing and mental health. The qualitative analysis revealed several positive and negative effects clothing had on mental health through self-esteem, mood, self-efficacy, distraction, self-congruency and self-empowerment. Findings provide partial evidence that clothing practices and COVID-19’s disruptions to clothing engagement effected perceived mental health. Future research is encouraged to further explore the relationship between clothing and mental health.