Resiliency amid the COVID-19 pandemic: engagement in meaningful activities as a mediator between coping ability and depressive symptoms among older adults.

This study investigated the longitudinal association between coping ability and depressive symptoms from before to during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and whether engagement in meaningful activities plays a mediating role in this association. Individuals aged 75, 80, and 85 years ( Higher coping ability was associated with decreased depressive symptoms, partly mediated by higher activity scores between T1 and T2. From T2 to T3, higher coping ability reduced the depressive symptoms, but the activity scores did not mediate the changes during this period. Good coping ability may help older people sustain good mental well-being. With good coping ability, active engagement in meaningful activities contributed to the low level of depressiveness during the early phases of the pandemic, when many social activities were restricted.