Psychological Distress and Coping Styles in Young Adult Women: A Community-Based Correlational Study from Pakistan

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Amid rising social, cultural, and environmental pressures, women are particularly vulnerable to psychological distress, making the understanding of coping mechanisms crucial for supporting mental health and well-being. This research sought to determine the extent of psychological distress and ways of coping Pakistani women utilizing to cope with the distress It was a comparative cross-sectional study, and a sample of 249 women (aged 20-39 years) were recruited by using convenience sampling from general populations. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to measure psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and stress, whereas the Brief COPE measured coping strategies, including problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping. The results showed that a significant percentage of the women had moderate to high levels of psychological distress, and extremely severe anxiety. Results further indicate that maladaptive coping styles, i.e., avoidance coping, plays a significant role in expanding psychological distress among young adult women. Boosting adaptive coping style may therefore be critical for lowering level of distress symptoms. These findings would be useful for policymakers, clinicians, and mental health practitioners to develop relevant interventions that could improve the psychological well-being of women in Pakistan.