IntroductionParamedics play a vital role in the healthcare system by providing professional support in situations of direct threat to patient health and life. They experience numerous difficulties during their work, which result in occupational stress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their work has become even more demanding. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of resilience in the subjective experience of stress among paramedics during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methodsThe study was carried out in two phases, in October-November 2019 (N = 75) and in May-June 2020 (N = 84), using the Sense of Stress Questionnaire (Skala Poczucia Stresu) and the Resilience Scale (Skala Pomiaru Prężności).ResultsParamedics exhibited higher intrapsychic stress before the COVID-19 pandemic. Tolerance of failure and treating life as a challenge were higher during the pandemic, in contrast to optimism and the ability to mobilize in difficult situations. Paramedics who were in contact with patients with COVID-19 experienced higher stress. Perseverance and determination, openness to new experiences and sense of humor, as well as competences and tolerance of negative emotions were revealed to play a key part in mitigating subjectively experienced stress.ConclusionParamedics’ subjectively experienced stress was lower during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paramedics who were in direct contact with patients with COVID-19 experienced higher stress. They had sufficient psychological resources, in the form of resilience (perseverance and determination, openness to new experiences, sense of humor, and competences and tolerance of negative emotions), which allowed them to cope with the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The quality of life of individuals, groups and communities depends on many factors, starting with what each person and family undertake, continuing with the interventions at the community level and ending with the public policy measures. Purpose: This study makes a quantitative and qualitative analysis of overall quality of life as perceived by young people who practice sports, and it also highlights the differences in perception of the quality of life among youth, according to gender and the sport practiced (individual or team sport), for the 16 life domains. Methods: The participants were 69 athletes. Quality of life has been measured using the Quality of Life Inventory (QoLI) for Romania, developed by Michael B. Frisch. Results: After processing the data, it has been found that the highest weighted satisfaction is obtained for Goals and Values, Play, Health and Self-Esteem, and the lowest satisfaction is recorded for Children, Money, Community and Neighborhood. Statistical processing also reveals an average overall quality of life for the study participants, regardless of gender and the practiced sport. Conclusions: It has been concluded that the influence of practicing individual sports on the overall quality of life for the participants in the study is at a higher level than in team sports.

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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affected numerous aspects of human functioning. Social contacts, work, education, travel, and sports have drastically changed during the lockdown periods. The pandemic restrictions have severely limited professional athletes’ ability to train and participate in competitions. For many who rely on sports as their main source of income, this represents a source of intense stress. To assess the dynamics of perceived stress as well as coping strategies during different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, we carried out a longitudinal study using the Perception of Stress Questionnaire and the Brief COPE on a sample of 2020 professional athletes in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The results revealed that in all three countries, the highest intrapsychic stress levels were reported during the fourth wave (all, p < 0.01) and the highest external stress levels were reported before the pandemic (p < 0.05). To analyze the data, analyses of variance were carried out using Tukey’s post hoc test and η2 for effect size. Further, emotional tension was the highest among Polish and Slovak athletes in the fourth wave, while the highest among Romanian athletes was in the pre-pandemic period. The coping strategies used by the athletes in the fourth wave were more dysfunctional than during the first wave (independent t test and Cohen’s d were used). The dynamics of the coping strategies—emotion focused and problem focused—were also discussed among Polish, Romanian, and Slovak athletes. Coaches and sports psychologists can modify the athletes’ perceived stress while simultaneously promoting effective coping strategies.

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