Finding the silver linings in the COVID-19 pandemic: Psychosocial correlates of adversarial growth among Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted many people's life. Negative impacts of pandemic measures and economic hardship on psychological well-being are common among the global populations. In Hong Kong, the pandemic not only affects the local populations, but also the migrant Filipina domestic helpers (FDH). Despite the distress, evidence suggests that people still experience positive changes (aka adversarial growth) amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the same applies to FDH in Hong Kong. Studies have shown that coping resources (e.g., resilience, social support, literacy of trauma-related information), cognitive appraisal, and coping strategies are associated with adversarial growth among individuals living with highly stressful events. Relevant studies for migrant populations in the COVID-19 context are limited. This study examined the psychosocial correlates of adversarial growth among FDH in Hong Kong. METHOD: By convenient sampling, FDH (N = 266) recruited from public gathering venues were asked to complete a cross-sectional survey. Their COVID-19-related distress, work-related stress, COVID-19 information literacy, emotional and material support, resilience, cognitive appraisals (harm, threat, challenge), and coping strategies (religious coping, positive reframing, acceptance) were measured. RESULTS: Controlled for covariates, hierarchical regression results showed that higher levels of resilience (ß = .21), emotional support (ß = .16), COVID-19-related information literacy (ß = .15), and religious coping (ß = .16) were associated with higher adversarial growth (ps < .05). CONCLUSIONS: FDH in Hong Kong reported positive changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our findings, facilitating those FDH's resilience, emotional support, COVID-19 information literacy, and religious coping might be important strategies to enhance their adversarial growth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).