Impact of COVID-Stress on Loneliness Mediated by Paranormal Beliefs

Abstract

The current study examined the impact of COVID-19 stress on loneliness mediated by paranormal beliefs in 101 men and 148 women (N = 249) from Sargodha and Lahore. They ranged in age from 18-60 (M = 23.69, SD = 7.03) years. COVID Stress Scale (CSS; Taylor et al., 2020, translated into Urdu in the current study), the Pakistani Version of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (Rao et al., 2020), and the Urdu version of UCLA Loneliness Scale (Batool, 2001) were used to measure focal constructs in this study during COVID-19. Findings revealed COVID stress had a significant direct positive effect on loneliness, and this effect was dampened by paranormal beliefs when it mediated between COVID stress and loneliness in our sample. We think paranormal beliefs or magical thinking can be beneficial in reducing feelings of loneliness as a coping mechanism; however, we also think since these coping mechanisms are not helpful in the long run, problem-focused coping needs to be inculcated in people who suffer from COVID stress or other kinds of stresses.