3.1.3. Satisfaction with Life

Apart from experiencing positive emotions and the lack of negative emotions, satisfaction with life is an element of good mood. The results of the SWLS are presented in Table 4.

**Table 4.** The characteristics of the study participants regarding the level of satisfaction with life.


No difference was observed in the number of people with low, medium, and high levels of satisfaction with life.

### 3.1.4. Optimism

Dispositional optimism is a generalized tendency to expect good outcomes in future. Research shows that such optimism is an important predictor of a person's wellbeing and that it facilitates success and resistance to stressful life situations, e.g., the pandemic [27]. The results of the LOT-R are presented in Table 5.

**Table 5.** The characteristics of the study participants regarding life orientation.


The optimistic orientation was most common among the respondents, while the pessimistic one was the second most common and the neutral one was the least frequent.

#### 3.1.5. Styles of Coping with Stressful Situations

In psychological literature, different definitions of "stress" and "coping with stress" can be found. In this research, the authors assumed that stress results from the lack of balance between demands and abilities to cope with them. Coping with stress, in turn, includes "constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the

person" [33] (p. 141). The results obtained by the research participants in terms of their coping with stress styles are presented in Table 6.


**Table 6.** The characteristics of the study participants regarding styles of coping with stress.

<sup>1</sup> TOC—task-oriented coping, <sup>2</sup> EOC—emotion-oriented coping, <sup>3</sup> AOC—avoidance-oriented coping, <sup>4</sup> D—distraction, <sup>5</sup> SD—social diversion.

The avoidance-oriented style was slightly dominant among the participants. Avoidanceoriented coping may take the form of distraction and social diversion. Both forms are aimed at avoiding a stressful situation [29]. Of the two forms, distraction is more often chosen. The second most frequently indicated is an emotion-oriented coping style, which includes focusing on one's emotions and taking up actions aimed at lowering emotional tension. The least frequently chosen style is task-oriented coping (which includes taking actions aimed at solving a problem (e.g., through planning or taking up particular activities).

### *3.2. Predictors of Positive and Negative Emotions*

Another issue that was analyzed was the influence of demographical variables, health situation related to COVID-19, mood, optimism, satisfaction with life, as well as styles of coping with stress, on experiencing positive and negative emotions. The results of the analyses are presented in the Table 7.


**Table 7.** Predictors of positive and negative emotions—linear regression results.


**Table 7.** *Cont.*

\* *p* —values below 0.05; <sup>1</sup> PA—Positive Affect, <sup>2</sup> NA—Negative Affect, <sup>3</sup> HT—Hedonic Tone, <sup>4</sup> TA—Tense Arousal, <sup>5</sup> EA—Energetic Arousal, <sup>6</sup> TOC—task-oriented coping, <sup>7</sup> EOC—emotion-oriented coping, <sup>8</sup> AOC—avoidance-oriented coping, <sup>9</sup> D—distraction, <sup>10</sup> SD—social diversion.

#### 3.2.1. Predictors of Positive Emotions (PA)

The multivariate model of linear regression confirmed that significant (*p* < 0.05) independent predictors of PA included: an emotion-oriented style of coping with stress (beta = −0.104; *p* = 0.001) and task-oriented coping (beta = 0.18; *p* < 0.001), level of satisfaction with life (beta = 0.235; *p* < 0.001), and level of energetic arousal in the description of mood (beta = −0.8; *p* < 0.001). A weaker predictor of experiencing positive emotions was being a man (beta = 1.935; *p* = 0.002), hedonic tone in the description of mood (beta = 0.357; *p* = 0.008), and being an employed student (beta = 2.198; *p* = 0.016). The R2 coefficient for this model (PE) was 54.57%, which means that 54.57% of PA variability was explained by the variables used in the model. The remaining 45.43% depends on the variables that were not taken into account in the model and accidental factors.

#### 3.2.2. Predictors of Positive of Negative Emotions (NA)

The multivariate model of linear regression confirmed that the significant (*p* < 0.05) independent predictors of NA were: tense arousal in the description of mood (beta = 1.545; *p* < 0.001) and an emotion-oriented coping with stress (beta = 0.103; *p* < 0.001). Other significant predictors included being over 60 years old (beta = 3.282; *p* = 0.047), living in a medium-sized city (beta = −1.606; 0.022), living in a village (beta = −1.37; *p* = 0.013), as well as decreased (beta = 1.452; *p* = 0.007) and increased (beta = 2.314; *p* = 0.007) level of life in the recent time. The R2 coefficient for this model was 63.42%, which means that 63.42% of NA variability was explained by the variables used in the model. The remaining 36.58% depends on the variables that were not taken into account in the model and accidental factors.

#### **4. Discussion**

Experiencing negative emotions during the pandemic is a fully understandable phenomenon. In the case of 60% of respondents, the intensification of negative emotions reached a high level. Such emotions may result from a variety of factors, the importance of which may be different in various cultural contexts. In the case of the Polish respondents,

this may include the following factors: the threat to one's health and to the health of family members; isolation and, at the same time, the inability to distance oneself from people with whom we live; and economic uncertainty, together with a simultaneous crisis of trust in public institutions [8]. The objective of this research was to search for predictors of the experience of positive and negative emotions of Polish respondents during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the hope that the diagnosis of their mental condition will help design actions that might prevent negative consequences for their mental health.

Referring to the research that was conducted earlier, it is worth analyzing the key social and demographical variables. Whereas sex was not an important predictor of experiencing negative emotions, being a man was a predictor of experiencing positive emotions. In the majority of Polish analyses that were conducted earlier and that considered the sex variable, women's results were worse as far as mental wellbeing was concerned (e.g., anxiety, stress, or depression) [6,7,9,10,17,18]. Only in one study was the difference between the sexes statistically insignificant in some measurements [13]. Women stand on the frontline in the fight against the coronavirus. In a UN report published in April 2020, a strong thesis was formulated: "The COVID-19 global crisis has made starkly visible the fact that the world's formal economies and the maintenance of our daily lives are built on the invisible and unpaid labor of women and girls" [34]. In this situation, in which responsibility for caring for children, for the ill, and for the elderly was largely moved from the state to individuals and families, in most cases, women became the ones who had to take responsibility for it. This also limited women's ability to work the well-paid jobs they had before the pandemic, and from a long-term perspective, it may constitute a serious obstacle on their career path [35]. Moreover, jobs performed by women are often jobs with a high risk of becoming infected with the virus (medical staff, teachers, office workers) [34]. Finally, in December, apart from the above-mentioned factors, women were burdened with preparations for Christmas which, in traditional Polish families, are mainly the responsibility of women. Thus, on the one hand, negative emotions experienced by women at that time could be based on culturally determined tasks related to unpaid and unappreciated work that involves caring for others' needs. On the other hand, women's negative feelings could be based on stronger social approval of experiencing such emotions by women rather than by men. However, such a trend was not confirmed by our research. Emotional costs take the form of a ricochet: a higher probability of a higher level of positive emotions among the men than among the women participating in our research.

Many analyses performed in different parts of the world have shown that the emotional distress experienced during the pandemic mainly influenced people from younger age groups. A meta-analysis of the research on emotional well-being of young people during the pandemic [36] showed that they are much more threatened with the risk of experiencing anxiety, stress, and depression than older people. In addition, young people experienced problems with sleeping [37], somatization disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders [38]. Stronger symptoms of emotional disorders among young people may be explained by lower psychological resilience resulting from, e.g., shorter life experience or a more drastic change in the lifestyle they led [13]. Nevertheless, in our research, the only age-related predictor of emotions was being over 60 years old, which was a predictor of negative emotions. The pandemic negatively influenced the way in which older people function because they lost the opportunity to move around, they became lonelier, and they experienced more conflicts within their families [39]. Another source of negative emotions in this age group might be older people's increased susceptibility to contracting the virus and being more seriously affected than younger people [40]. Moreover, considering the fact that the greatest source of stress for Poles is the state of the health service [16,20], which older people use most frequently, a higher risk of experiencing negative emotions among them is perfectly understandable. Finally, for older people, isolation bears different connotations than for younger people. Older people have lower technological competences, and they often fear using new forms of media communication, which makes them feel much more isolated than young people [41].

In contrast, one of the predictors of positive emotions was combining work with studies. On the one hand, the simultaneous fulfillment of two tasks is a great challenge, especially due to the risk of losing a job to which young people working in services are often exposed, and due to dynamic changes in the system of education (the necessity to deal with the requirements of online education) [36]. On the other hand, the necessity to fulfil tasks in two social contexts at the same time increases the probability of maintaining social relationships and weakens the sense of isolation, which is one of the sources of anxiety and other disorders [42,43].

From the research, the authors have concluded that research participants living in villages and medium-sized cities experience negative emotions to a lesser degree. Living in a big city increases the risk of contracting the virus, makes it more difficult to maintain social distance, and limits the opportunity to engage in outdoor activities [19]. Furthermore, the pandemic limited people's access to the biggest attractions connected with living in a city (access to cultural institutions and to a variety of attractive services). Other factors that increase the possibility of experiencing negative emotions may include limited and closed spaces, the necessity to maintain contact with strangers, and the sense of greater anonymity.

The strongest predictors of emotions included the styles of coping with stress. A predictor of positive emotions was a task-oriented style, while in the case of negative emotions, an emotion-oriented way of coping was a predictor. The latter style also lowered the opportunity to experience positive emotions. Task-oriented coping relates to an important element of constructive coping with pandemic stress: control over one's surrounding reality [44]. This style involves reformulating the evaluation of the situation from a threat to a challenge or a task to be fulfilled. In the context of the pandemic, the style may be reflected in behaviors that reduce the risk of becoming infected with the virus, as well as actions such as planning everyday routines, looking for reliable information about the virus, etc.

In our research, emotion-oriented coping was a predictor of negative emotions and the original affect dimension related to lower mood (tense arousal). The adaptive way of dealing with negative emotions involves recognizing, naming, and accepting emotions that accompany difficult situations. The emotion-oriented style of coping with stress, the essence of which is focusing on one's own emotions and taking up actions aimed at reducing emotional tension, seems to be a non-adaptive solution, especially because, in the case of uncertain and uncontrollable conditions, these actions are doomed to failure. Continuous tense arousal and energetic arousal related to our body's preparation to respond to threats results in exhaustion. However, an important predictor of positive emotions was hedonic tone.

Similar to other analyses [45,46], our research has confirmed the relationship between mental wellbeing and satisfaction with life. Comparing this conclusion with the statement that an increased or decreased standard of living within the last 10 months is an important predictor of negative emotions, it could be noticed that one of the protective factors is the opportunity to use the resources gathered during the pandemic and to maintain a sense of stability/unchangeability in a changing world.

#### **5. Conclusions**

Surveys that diagnose the mental state of people in different countries are very useful in preventing negative consequences for their inhabitants' mental health. Such a diagnosis should take into account the high dynamic of changes people face during a pandemic, as well as different ways of experiencing and interpreting pandemic stress by people from a variety of cultural contexts. In the Polish reality, people are not worried about their own illness or death to a high degree, but they are concerned about their family members' health and about the crisis of trust in governmental institutions during the pandemic.

In the presented research, which was conducted during the second wave of the pandemic (December 2020), 60% of the participants revealed a high level of negative emotions. Due to the possible connection between the high intensity of negative emotions and negative consequences for one's mental health, it is important for researchers to look for factors that increase the risk of experiencing negative feelings. Significant predictors of negative emotions include mood-related tense arousal in the description of mood and an emotion-oriented style of coping with stress. On the other hand, important predictors of positive emotions are a task-oriented style of coping with stress, level of satisfaction with life, and hedonic tone in the description of mood. These aspects may become the basic indicators for specialists who will work on preventive actions and psychological care.

In addition, it is worth focusing on supporting particular at-risk groups, i.e., people over 60 years old (e.g., through increasing their online activities) or women (through increasing their chances to experience good emotions by appreciating the value of their unpaid work).

It should be emphasized that these results must be considered in the light of numerous limitations. Adults of different ages (i.e., over 18 years old) were recruited for the research. However, because of our recruitment method (i.e., snowball sampling), both men, people with primary/middle school and vocational education, and older people were underrepresented in the research sample. Another limitation is related to the type of the research. A better solution would be longitudinal research, which would allow to make reliable conclusions about the change and its dynamics in the psychological wellbeing of the sample. Finally, the research was conducted mainly by means of the Internet to provide comfort and safety to the participants. As a result, the sample consisted primarily of people who have access to the Internet. The abovementioned limitations make it impossible to generalize the research results as representative of the population as a whole.

Despite the limitations, the research results obtained shed some light on the emotional wellbeing of adult Poles during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings are important because the intensification of negative emotions can contribute to problems not only in mental health, but also in everyday activities, such as study, work, social relations, or sexual contacts. The authors are aware that further research should be conducted to increase the number of participants in each age group, from children to seniors.

In the context of an unpredictable future, researchers face the task of monitoring the emotional condition of the general population and of particular at-risk groups in order to inspire practical preventive and therapeutic actions, as well as social initiatives that reinforce solidarity, mutual care, and responsibility.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, E.T.-S.; methodology, E.T.-S.; validation, I.R., K.B. and A.S.; formal analysis, E.T.-S. and I.R.; investigation, E.T.-S.; resources, E.T.-S. and I.R.; data curation, E.T.-S.; writing—original draft preparation, E.T.-S. and I.R.; writing—review and editing, A.S. and K.B.; visualization, E.T.-S. and I.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow (15 June 2021).

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
