Coping in Quarantine: Examining Communicative Processes, Coping, Disclosures and Anxiety Disorders during Confined Cohabitation

This research examined traditionally college-aged students who have a pre- existing anxiety disorder and the way in which people in confined cohabitation navigated talking about their anxiety disorder with their confined cohabitors and how these communicative processes affected one’s coping strategies and their respective efficacy. Qualitative data in the form of in-depth, semi-structured interviews was gathered with undergraduate students who quarantined with at least one other person and who self- identified as having been diagnosed with a clinical anxiety disorder prior to the pandemic. This study provides scholarly and practical insight into the implications of relational discourse about mental health and aims to increase understanding of the relationship between communication and coping, especially considering the novel stressor of quarantine and isolation mandates.