The relationship between COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and meaning in life: testing the moderating effects of self-compassion and savoring.
Anxiety Stress Coping
; 35(1): 9-24, 2022 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1404916
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
The stress people experience in relation to a highly stressful event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can undermine their sense of meaning in life. This study examined the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and meaning in life and whether self-compassion and savoring positive emotional experience moderated this relationship.METHODS:
Participants (N = 498) completed measures of pandemic-related stress, dimensions of meaning in life (comprehension, purpose, mattering), self-compassion (self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness), and savoring (savoring through anticipation, savoring the moment, savoring through reminiscence).RESULTS:
Results of regression analyses showed that pandemic-related stress related to less meaning in life and that all dimensions of self-compassion and savoring (with the exception of savoring through reminiscence) related positively to a dimension of meaning in life. Only common humanity buffered the relationship between pandemic-related stress and a dimension of meaning in life (purpose) as expected. Unexpectedly, for people high on common humanity the relationship between pandemic-related stress and mattering was positive, and for people high on mindfulness, the relationship between pandemic-related stress and comprehension was negative.CONCLUSIONS:
Although cross-sectional, this study's findings suggest that promoting common humanity might be important for protecting purpose and enhancing one's sense of mattering during a pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Anxiety Stress Coping
Journal subject:
Behavioral Sciences
/
Psychology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
10615806.2021.1974408
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