The purpose of this study is to examine the association of anxiety with self-rated general health, satisfaction with life, stress and coping strategies of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Poland. Participants and Methods: A total of 914 university students, ranged in age between 18 and 40 years old (M = 23.04, SD = 2.60), participated in an online survey. The study was performed between 30 March and 30 April 2020, during the general coronavirus quarantine. Participants completed a standard psychological questionnaire, including General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), General Self-Rated Health (GSRH), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Results: The majority of students (65%) showed mild to severe GAD and a high level of perceived stress (56%). Those students who had the worst evaluated current GSRH, in comparison to the situation before the COVID-19 outbreak, also demonstrated higher levels of anxiety, perceived stress, and emotion-oriented coping styles. The study indicates that the variance of anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak may be explained for about 60% by such variables, like high stress, low general self-rated health, female gender, and frequent use of both emotion-oriented and task-oriented coping styles. Conclusion: University students experience extremely high stress and anxiety during quarantine period and they need professional help to cope with COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study may help prepare appropriate future intervention and effective prevention programs at universities.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of family factors as predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among adolescents, a substantial period of time after a natural disaster. It was hypothesized that a lack of parental support, family conflict, and overprotectiveness are all risk factors with regard to levels of PTSD symptoms. A group of 533 schoolchildren and high-school students was investigated 28 months after a huge flood, which was one of the most devastating disasters in Poland. The results of a hierarchical regression analysis indicate that the extent of traumatic exposure, parental support, family conflict, and overprotectiveness, all predicted levels of PTSD symptoms in the group investigated. Furthermore, parental overprotectiveness moderated the effect of trauma, thus augmenting the impact of stress experienced during the disaster on the level of PTSD symptoms. The findings suggest that excessive parental control and infantilization of children for a long time after a disaster are harmful for adolescents' health and could be an obstacle in the recovery process. The results highlight the importance of studying parental ways of coping in order to predict how adolescents cope with a traumatic event.

The present study examined the prevalence and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD) in a sample of 533 students (aged 11 to 21), 28 months after the 1997 Flood in southwestern Poland. The results show that 18% of the participants met all diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Based on hierarchical multiple regression analyses, PTSD criteria symptoms were positively correlated with the degree of exposure to trauma experienced during the disaster. A three-way interaction of trauma, age, and gender showed that more PTSD symptoms were observed among the younger participants and girls than among the older boys. The results confirm the need of research testing culturally sensitive implementation of mental health programs for young victims of disasters, taking into account their age and gender.

Heightened levels of support provision are systematically observed in adults immediately following natural disasters, yet knowledge about adolescents' social support provision is less extensive. This longitudinal study of 262 adolescents assessed their help-providing behaviors during and after a flood. It was hypothesized that social support provided by adolescents would relate to subsequent perceptions of their relationships with others and perceptions of the self. Descriptive analyses demonstrated that the majority of respondents reported that they provided tangible, emotional, and informational support to others in need. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that higher levels of support provided following the flood were subsequently associated with higher levels of perceived social support, a stronger sense of community at school, and greater propensity to engage in proactive coping. These associations were statistically significant, controlling for the impact of exposure to disaster stressors, age, gender, and received social support. Theoretical considerations and practical implications related to processes of social support provisions in times of stress are discussed.