Estudio Cualitativo: La Experiencia Subjetiva de Personas con Diferentes Niveles de Mentalización Durante la Pandemia por COVID-19

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In order to understand the unrest caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, a mixed-design research was carried out, the general objective was to determine the relationship between mentalization, loneliness and internalizing symptoms. OBJECTIVE: This article corresponds to the third, qualitative phase. It proposed to explore the subjective experience of people with different levels of mentalization during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: For this, 14 semi-structured interviews, designed according to the variables were carried out. The Consensus Qualitative Consensus Research (CQR) methodology (Hill et al., 1997, 2005) was used for data analysis. RESULTS: According to the frequency of appearance of the categories, it was found, as a general category, that it was the relationship with others that allowed the participants to cope with the situation. Typically, strategies to cope with discomfort, the negative impact of the pandemic on work, and feelings of sadness and anxiety were highlighted. Discursive differences were found according to the level of mentalization, reflecting a progression in relation to the person's register and possibilities of agency. DISCUSSION: We propose the implementation of mentalization interventions to moderate the negative effects of this and future crises.