Background/Objective This study examined the role of different psychological coping mechanisms in mental and physical health during the initial phases of the COVID-19 crisis with an emphasis on meaning-centered coping. Method A total of 11,227 people from 30 countries across all continents participated in the study and completed measures of psychological distress (depression, stress, and anxiety), loneliness, well-being, and physical health, together with measures of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, and a measure called the Meaning-centered Coping Scale (MCCS) that was developed in the present study. Validation analyses of the MCCS were performed in all countries, and data were assessed by multilevel modeling (MLM). Results The MCCS showed a robust one-factor structure in 30 countries with good test-retest, concurrent and divergent validity results. MLM analyses showed mixed results regarding emotion and problem-focused coping strategies. However, the MCCS was the strongest positive predictor of physical and mental health among all coping strategies, independently of demographic characteristics and country-level variables. Conclusions The findings suggest that the MCCS is a valid measure to assess meaning-centered coping. The results also call for policies promoting effective coping to mitigate collective suffering during the pandemic.

Background In Germany, only limited data are available on attitudes towards death. Existing measurements are complex and time consuming, and data on psychometric properties are limited. The Death Attitude Profile- Revised (DAP-R) captures attitudes towards dying and death. The measure consists of 32 items, which are assigned to 5 dimensions (Fear of Death, Death Avoidance, Neutral Acceptance, Approach Acceptance, Escape Acceptance). It has been translated and tested in several countries, but no German version exists to date. This study reports the translation of the Death Attitudes Profile-Revised (DAP-R) into German (DAP-GR) using a cross-cultural adaption process methodology and its psychometric assessment. Methods The DAP-R was translated following guidelines for cultural adaption. A total of 216 medical students of the Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf participated in this study. Interrater reliability was investigated by means of Kendall’s W concordance coefficient. The internal consistency of the DAP-GR Scales was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. Split-half reliability was estimated using Spearman-Brown coefficients. Convergent validity was measured by Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Content validity was assessed by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 24 and AMOS 22. Results The items showed fair to good interrater reliability, with W-values ranging from .30 to .79. Internal consistency of the five subscales ranged from .61 (Neutral Acceptance) to .94 (Approach Acceptance). Split-half reliability was good, with a Spearman-Brown-coefficient of .83. The results of CFA slightly diverged from the original scale. Conclusion Our results suggest overall good reliability of the German version of the DAP-R. The DAP-GR promises to be a robust instrument to establish normative data on death attitudes for use in German-speaking countries.

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