The Effect of the Fear of COVID-19 on Healthcare Professionals' Psychological Adjustment Skills: Mediating Role of Experiential Avoidance and Psychological Resilience

Abstract

As the COVID-19 outbreak is rapidly spreading all over the world, it's secondary consequences will negatively affect both societies and individuals. The target group, expected to be exposed to the secondary negative consequences most intensely during the pandemic process and afterward, is undoubtedly the healthcare professionals. In this research, the impact of the fear that healthcare professionals in Turkey developed against the outbreak of COVID-19 on their psychological adjustment skills is examined, and in this context, the mediating role of experiential avoidance and psychological resilience is examined. In this context, an answer was sought for the question Does experiential avoidance and psychological resilience have a mediating role in the impact of COVID-19 fear on psychological adjustment skills of healthcare professionals? The research was carried out with a total of 370 healthcare professionals reached via online data collection method. Structural equation modeling was used in the data analysis process, and as a result, it was determined that the fear of COVID-19 had a negative effect on the psychological adjustment in healthcare professionals; however, psychological resilience was found to have a protective function that limits this effect, and experiential avoidance has a risk factor that aggravates this effect. Findings obtained from the research are discussed in the context of the literature.