Coping strategies and symptoms of psychological disorders in Peruvian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: an explanatory model

The present study allows us to know the explanatory potential of coping strategies on the symptoms of psychological disorders in university students in Peru in the context of COVID-19 in 2021. The methodology used is quantitative and we worked with a model of structural equations. The multidimensional inventory of coping strategies COPE and the self-report questionnaire of symptoms of mental disorders SRQ were applied to 699 university students. Results: three explanatory models were developed the second model was considered because it obtained better goodness of fit indices and due to the principle of parsimony it was selected as the most optimal to predict the interaction between the variables. The explanatory model reflects that the symptoms of psychological disorders develop through avoidance-oriented strategies, since they are risk factors. On the other hand, coping strategies behave as a protective factor that prevents the appearance of these disorders. Conclusions: the dimensions of coping strategies showed a moderate association with strategies focused on the social environment and feelings, this explains that when confronting a problem, we seek to respond to obtain a social and emotional balance. Furthermore, avoidant strategies presented a low association with strategies focused on the social environment and feelings, this supports that avoidance alters social and emotional balance.