Personal experience, posttraumatic symptomatology, and meaning in life during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The traumatic subjective distress and personal meaning in life were examined in the context of the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic sanitary crisis and home lockdown. Method: A total of 543 participants answered an online survey that included questions about the individual characteristics of the pandemic experience, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and the Personal Meaning Profile-Brief. Results: Nearly all of life impaired areas, having the suspicion of being ill with COVID-19, having lost a close person to this virus, and having been accompanied during the lockdown were experiences associated with higher PTSD symptoms. Posttraumatic symptomatology was inversely correlated with areas of meaning in life. Lastly, a higher number of affected areas and a negative subjective lockdown circumstance explained greater total PTSD symptoms. Conclusion: Specific pandemic experiences and lockdown circumstances affected the presence of posttraumatic symptoms. The personal meaning of life seems to be involved in the process of less adverse traumatic consequences.