Abstract

This study aimed to identify latent profiles of anxiety and anger symptoms experienced by Korean adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and factors that influence group classification. To this end, a latent profile analysis(LPA) was conducted on 1,434 Korean adults from February to March 2021 after the pandemic was announced. First, as a result of confirming the suitability of the latent model, a 5-class-model was found to have the best model fit with ‘low anxiety/high anger group(Group 1)’, ‘low anxiety/low anger group(Group 2)’, ‘middle anxiety/middle anger group(Group 3)’, ‘middle anxiety/high anger group(Group 4)’, ‘high anxiety/high anger group(Group 5)’. Second, gender, economic status, emotion-focused coping, and dysfunctional coping were significant predictors of group classification. Third, there were differences between latent groups in PTSD symptom and suicidal ideation. Finally, discussions and implications of the study were discussed.