Sebastián A. Quintana-Rodríguez, HSDG, Laura P. La Luz-Barrios, HSDG, Paola M. Rivera-Arroyo, HSDG, & Eduardo Cumba-Avilés, PhD

Institute for Psychological Research, College of Social Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 pandemic management measures such as confinements, physical distance, curfews, and lockdowns disrupted people’s routines. Many adults engaged in activities to manage undesirable stress and emotions (AMUSE) to cope with their pandemic burden. We examined potential differences in physical and mental well-being among adults with different levels of engagement in AMUSE during the outbreak.

METHODS: Participants aged 21–79 years (N=1733) enrolled in an online survey (June/10/2020–June/9/2021). They had to be Puerto Rico residents for ≥3 months before enrollment, have access to the internet, and understand Spanish. Respondents rated their physical and mental well-being using a 0–10 scale and completed the Flourishing Scale (FS). We defined four groups based on their engagement in AMUSE in a typical week during the pandemic: zero, 1–2, 3–4, or ≥5 activities. We used Chi-square tests and One-way ANOVAs to compare groups on categorical and continuous sociodemographic variables. Using ANCOVA, adjusting for sex, age, education level, annual family income, and household size, we examined differences in well-being indicators.

RESULTS: Adults with no engagement in AMUSE had significantly lower FS scores than adults in other groups, which showed increasingly higher scores as their AMUSE engagement increased [F(3, 1718) = 32.78, p≤.001). We observed a similar pattern for self-ratings of mental well-being [F(3, 1699) = 12.70, p≤.001]. Although adults in the groups with lower AMUSE engagement rated their physical health similarly, respondents who practiced 3–4 or ≥5 activities obtained significantly higher scores than them, with the best ratings shown by the highest-engagement group [F(3, 1701) = 12.35, p≤.001].

CONCLUSION: Promoting engagement in AMUSE may enhance physical and psychological well-being of adults living in Puerto Rico during public health emergencies. Future studies may examine if increased engagement in AMUSE relates to lower levels of symptoms of mental health problems during pandemics.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This study was personally funded by the investigators.

IRB APPROVAL NUMBER: 1920-194 (UPR-Río Piedras) 

KEYWORDS: COVID-19, leisure activities, mental well-being, physical well-being, undesirable stress/emotions