Life-long coping patterns and bio-psycho-social predictors of individual responses to the COVID-19 pandemic—protocol of the Rostock Longitudinal Study (ninth wave)

Background When faced with adversity and negative life events, such as infection with coronavirus or restrictive measures regarding COVID-19, individuals tend to rely on the same coping strategies they have already employed in the past. However, habitual coping measures vary greatly between people. Differences in dealing with challenging situations may depend on life-long coping experiences and a wide range of bio-psycho-social influences. The major goal of this study is to detect persisting patterns of coping which in turn may predict how individuals have handled the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a prospective data set of 55 years we want to test the hypothesis of individual accentuation during crises by Caspi and Moffit. Methods The Rostock Longitudinal Study (ROLS) is a prospective, epidemiological, observational study that started in 1970 with 300 new-borns in the north of Eastern Germany. Since then, a mixture of biological, social, and psychological factors has been collected in 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1990, 1995, and 2008. The 9th wave measures a wide range of biological (physical health, neurobehavioural regulation, genetic analysis), psychological (personality facets, psychopathology, coping styles) and social (social network characteristics) risk and protective factors. The data will be analysed using growth curve modelling and prediction techniques. As part of the CoviDrug consortium, findings from the ROLS will be compared to cohorts of other longitudinal studies in Germany. Discussion Changes to everyday life due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been unprecedented and extreme adaptability is required to maintain physical and mental health during this time of crisis. This study aims to investigate how individuals have coped with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic whilst taking into account individual and existing contextual factors in a bio-psycho-social model over the life course. It specifically looks into health behaviour as a potential outlet of coping with the widespread occurrence of the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus. Clinical trial registration https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00036469 , identifier: DRKS00036469.