*3.1. Differences between the First and Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic*

The repeated measures one-way ANOVA was performed separately for life satisfaction, perceived stress, and coping styles to examine differences between the first (W1) and second (W2) wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among university students. The results are presented in Table 2 and Figure 2. The sample of university students reported an average (neutral) level of life satisfaction during the second wave of the pandemic (range 5–34, M = 19.70, SD = 6.11). Among participants, 11 individuals (4.76%) were extremely dissatisfied, 41 (17.75%) were dissatisfied, 58 (25.11%) were slightly dissatisfied, 14 (6.06%) were neutral, 68 (29.44%) were slightly satisfied, 30 (12.99%) were satisfied, and 9 (3.90%) were extremely satisfied. Perceived stress was reported as average (range 2–39, M = 22.53, SD = 7.92). In the sample, 45 persons (8.66%) indicated extremely low stress, 55 (19.48%) low, 53 (23.81%) average, 58 (22.94%) high, and 20 (25.11%) reported extremely high stress. The mean results of coping styles are presented in Table 2.


**Table 2.** Differences in life satisfaction, perceived stress, and coping styles between the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significant differences with a medium effect size were found in life satisfaction and task-oriented coping style, as well as in perceived stress and avoidance coping with a small effect size. However, considering the Bonferroni correction, the level of significance was above the threshold of *p* < 0.01 for the avoidance coping style, which means that the differences between the first and second waves of pandemic should be considered statistically non-significant. No differences were found in the emotional coping style between W1 and W2.

**Figure 2.** Differences between the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in (**a**) satisfaction with life; (**b**) perceived stress; and (**c**) task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping styles. \* *p* < 0.05, \*\*\* *p* < 0.001.

#### *3.2. Examining Predictors of Life Satisfaction at W2*

In a preliminary analysis, Pearson's correlation was calculated to examine the association between satisfaction with life, perceived stress, and coping styles during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all variables were related to each other, as shown in Table 3. The regression analysis was performed for life satisfaction during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic (as a dependent variable) and predictor variables such as life satisfaction, perceived stress, and coping styles during the first and second wave.

**Table 3.** Correlations matrix for all variables in W1 and W2 of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Notes. W1 = wave 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic; W2 = wave 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic. \* *p* < 0.05, \*\* *p* < 0.01, \*\*\* *p* < 0.001.

Among all variables included in the regression model, the significant predictors were life satisfaction and perceived stress during the first wave of pandemic and perceived stress, task-oriented, and emotion-oriented coping styles during the second wave (Table 4). The model of regression explained 70% of the life satisfaction variance (*R*<sup>2</sup> = 0.70, *F*(9, 221) = 24.09, *p* < 0.001).

**Table 4.** Results of regression analysis for life satisfaction during the W2.


Notes. W1 = wave 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic; W2 = wave 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic.
