*1.2. Coping Strategies as Mediators*

Coping is defined as an effort to manage demands that are appraised as exceeding the resources of the person [26]. Two classes of coping are commonly identified: problem-focused and emotion-focused. The former involves efforts to obtain information about what to do as well as how to alter the stressful situation (e.g., information seeking, planning, or taking action). The latter involves efforts to regulate the emotional distress associated with the situation (e.g., seeking emotional support from others or by behavioral disengagement) [27]. More recently, meaning-focused coping—involving changing the appraised meaning of a situation to make it more consistent with individuals' beliefs and goals—was posited [28,29]. Research demonstrated that the three coping strategies often work in tandem; the regulation of anxiety and fear (emotion-focused coping) enables the person to focus on taking a decision (problem-focused coping), or the cognitive restructuring (problem-focused coping) can be guided by underlying values and goals (meaning-focused coping) [29,30]. In addition, different coping strategies appear to be beneficial depending on the particular situation and context, e.g., problem-focused coping was found to be predominantly helpful in high controllability situations, while emotion-focused coping was more effective under low controllability conditions [31].

Previous studies confirmed that coping played a mediating role in relationships between various forms of risk perception and well-being measures. Coping was found to mediate the relationship of ecological risk with depressive symptoms for African Americans [32]. Avoidant coping was a mediator in associations between a form of risk rejection (i.e., evaluative concerns about perfectionism) and distress [33]. In addition, risk perception tended to influence coping strategies in people who had experienced either natural or industrial catastrophe [34]. Environmental risk perception was also confirmed as a predictor of coping behaviors [35].

Coping played an important role in relationships between personal resources and well-being. Coping self-efficacy mediated the associations between self-esteem and optimism and distress experienced in the aftermath of the 1999 earthquake in Turkey [36]. Coping focused on change mediated the relationship between personal resources conceptualized as psychological capital and well-being [37]. Meaning in life was also reported to influence coping behavior after disaster [20] and to be a predictor of the appropriate use of coping and stress management resources at work [19].

These results taken together imply that individuals may use coping in relation to their appraisals of stressful events and personal resources, which will subsequently influence well-being measures [37,38]. There can be also differential predictions for the different strategies as risk perception and personal resources are differently related to the coping strategies. However thus far, no studies have examined

the mediating role of coping between risk perception and psychological well-being as well as between meaning-based resources and psychological well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A German sample showed that the risk perception of being infected by COVID-19 was higher in women than men and higher in older people than younger people, in conjunction with a more frequent use of problem-focused strategies. The relationship between COVID-19 risk perception and coping strategies was not analyzed [39].
