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Purposefulness and daily life in a pandemic: Predicting daily affect and physical symptoms during the first weeks of the COVID-19 response.
Hill, Patrick L; Klaiber, Patrick; Burrow, Anthony L; DeLongis, Anita; Sin, Nancy L.
  • Hill PL; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
  • Klaiber P; Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  • Burrow AL; Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
  • DeLongis A; Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  • Sin NL; Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Psychol Health ; 37(8): 985-1001, 2022 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1223196
ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE:

Sense of purpose has been associated with greater health and well-being, even in daily contexts. However, it is unclear whether effects would hold in daily life during COVID-19, when people may have difficulty seeing a path towards their life goals.

DESIGN:

The current study investigated whether purposefulness predicted daily positive affect, negative affect, and physical symptoms. Participants (n = 831) reported on these variables during the first weeks of the COVID-19 response in North America. MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

Participants completed daily surveys asking them for daily positive events, stressors, positive affect, negative affect, physical symptoms, and purposefulness.

RESULTS:

Purposefulness at between- and within-person levels predicted less negative affect and physical symptoms, but more positive affect at the daily level. Between-person purposefulness interacted with positive events when predicting negative and positive affect, suggesting that purposeful people may be less reactive to positive events. However, between-person purposefulness also interacted with daily stressors, insofar that stressors predicted greater declines in positive affect for purposeful people.

CONCLUSION:

Being a purposeful person holds positive implications for daily health and well-being, even during the pandemic context. However, purposefulness may hold some consequences unique to the COVID-19 context, which merit attention in future research.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pandemics / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: Psychol Health Journal subject: Psychology Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: 08870446.2021.1914838

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pandemics / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: Psychol Health Journal subject: Psychology Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: 08870446.2021.1914838