Self-care behaviors and affect during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Psychol
; 41(11): 833-842, 2022 Nov.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2028651
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Self-care behaviors aimed at maintaining physical and mental health are often recommended during stressful contexts. We tested emotional predictors of self-care behaviors (healthy eating, exercise, engaging in a hobby, relaxation/meditation, time spent with a supportive person, talking online with friends/family) during the COVID-19 pandemic and their emotional consequences. We hypothesized a reciprocal within-person process whereby positive affect increases self-care behaviors (Hypothesis 1) and self-care behaviors increase positive affect while decreasing negative affect (Hypothesis 2).METHOD:
A 10-day daily diary was completed by 289 adult participants in the United States during spring 2020 when counties in 40 out of 50 states had some form of stay-at-home orders.RESULTS:
Lagged analyses for Hypothesis 1 suggested that positive affect did not significantly predict residualized change in self-care behaviors; however, more intense negative affect predicted increased self-care behaviors from one day to the next. Concurrent analyses for Hypothesis 2 indicated most self-care behaviors were associated with more positive affect and some with less negative affect on the same day. Lagged analyses for Hypothesis 2 indicated that self-care behaviors largely did not predict residualized change in positive or negative affect from one day to the next. At the between-person level, people who experienced more positive affect engaged in more self-care behaviors across the sampling period.CONCLUSION:
Self-care behaviors continue to have mental health benefits during stressful environments such as the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders. Negative affect can play an adaptive role during times of stress by facilitating self-care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Topics:
Traditional medicine
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Health Psychol
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS