Stress mindset, proactive coping behavior, and posttraumatic growth among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Recent research suggests that stress mindset influences how people response to stress, however, there is a dearth of research investigates the underlying mechanism accounting for the effects of stress mindset on psychological health. The current research investigated how stress mindset and engagement in proactive coping behaviors predicted posttraumatic growth among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. METHOD: Health care professionals (N = 589) from mainland China were invited to participate in this online study through completing the Stress Mindset Measure, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-X), and measurement on engagement in proactive coping behaviors and demographic variables at their convenience from July 9 to July 17, 2020. RESULTS: Health care professionals reported high levels of posttraumatic growth at the total scale (58.6%), subdomains (84.9%). Age, stress mindset, and engagement in proactive coping behaviors were significant predictors of posttraumatic growth among health care professionals. Engagement in proactive coping behavior mediated the predicting effect of stress mindset on posttraumatic growth among health care professionals in China. CONCLUSION: A stress-is-enhancing mindset predicts higher level of posttraumatic growth among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, and the effect was mediated by engagement in proactive coping behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).