PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN CONFINEMENT DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE RELEVANT ROLE OF RESILIENCE

The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by government measures to restrict activity and social interaction, with negative consequences for the population’s psychological well-being. The objective of this study was to examine, in the context of lockdown, the relationships of the participant’s living space (size of house/number of residents) and their level of education with their psychological well-being, as well as the mediating role of resilience in these relationships. The study was carried out at the time of the severe lockdown of the Spanish population (April 2020). 507 adults answered an online questionnaire. Path analysis was carried out to test the theoretical model of relationships. The model presented a good fit. The results showed the relationships of living space and educational level with resilience, which in turn was related to psychological well-being (positive relationship with life satisfaction and inverse relationship with psychological distress), revealing the mediating role of resilience in these relationships. The findings report the relationship of two sociodemographic factors with psychological distress and life satisfaction in the lockdown. But, above all, they highlight the relevance of resilience as an intervening factor and whose strengthening could help a better psychological adaptation during the pandemic.