Depressive symptoms and psychological pain experienced by Polish adults in the context of both the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic

This study sought to investigate the perceived influence of stressful events (i.e., the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the political situation, and the COVID-19 pandemic) on the depressive symptoms and psycheache experienced by Polish adults. The study also aimed to explore the association between experiential avoidance and emotional distress. More than half of the participants reported experiencing a subjective increase in their depressive symptoms since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. A larger percentage of participants associated their emotional distress with the outbreak of the war and the political situation than with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, experiential avoidance was found to be associated with subjective increases in the participants’ depressive symptoms and emotional distress.