When a Pandemic Strikes: Resilience of Swedish Academics in the Face of Coronavirus

Önver Andreas Cetrez (), Saeid Zandi and Fereshteh Ahmadi
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Önver Andreas Cetrez: Department of Psychology of Religion, Faculty of Theology, Uppsala University, Box 511, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
Saeid Zandi: Department of Social Work and Criminology, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, University of Gävle, 80176 Gävle, Sweden
Fereshteh Ahmadi: Department of Social Work and Criminology, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, University of Gävle, 80176 Gävle, Sweden

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: Background: The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world with severe health consequences, affecting some populations more than others. One understudied population is the academic community. This study, part of a larger project looking at COVID-19 in Sweden and internationally, aims to understand the individual and collective dimensions of resilience among academics in Sweden during the early wave of the pandemic. Method: A quantitative research design was applied for this cross-sectional study. We used simple random sampling, administered through an online survey, on academics at Swedish universities ( n = 278, 64% women). We employed the CD-RISC 2 (the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale) to measure personal/individual resilience, additional items for social/collective resilience, and a meaning-making coping instrument (meaning, control, comfort/spirituality, intimacy/spirituality, life transformation). Results: The results revealed a strong level of personal/individual resilience among men ( M = 6.05) and a level just below strong among women ( M = 5.90). By age group, those 35–49-year-olds showed strong resilience ( M = 6.31). Family was the dominant social/collective resilience factor, followed by friends, nature, work/school, and, lastly, religion/spirituality. There was a positive and significant correlation between self-rated health and personal/individual resilience ( r = 0.252, p = 0.001) and positive but weak correlations and negative significant correlations between personal/individual resilience and religious coping methods. Conclusions: During the pandemic, the family took priority in meaning-making, which is an interesting change in a strong individual-oriented society such as Sweden.

Keywords: coping methods; COVID-19; crisis; culture; epidemic; higher education; resiliency; Sweden; university community; university staff (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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