Longitudinal associations of meaning in life and psychosocial adjustment to the COVID‐19 outbreak in China

Objective Literature suggests that ‘meaning in life’ may be a mental strength that enables individuals to function healthily and adaptively in the face of stress events. Therefore, this study aims to examine the longitudinal associations between meaning in life and psychosocial adjustment to the COV...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of health psychology Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 525 - 534
Main Author: Lin, Li
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2021
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Subjects:
Addictions
Adjustment
Adolescent
Adult
Anxiety
Asian cultural groups
Brief‐Report COVID‐19
China - epidemiology
College students
COVID-19
COVID‐19 outbreak
COVID‐19: Health Psychology Theory and Research
Depression
Disease Outbreaks
Emotions
Humans
Life satisfaction
longitudinal associations
Meaning
meaning in life
Mental Health
Negative emotions
Prosocial behavior
Prospective Studies
psychosocial adjustment
Psychosocial factors
Quarantine
SARS-CoV-2
Satisfaction
Stress
Time
Young Adult
China
psychosocial adjustment
COVID-19 outbreak
longitudinal associations
meaning in life
ISSN:1359-107X, 2044-8287, 2044-8287
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Objective Literature suggests that ‘meaning in life’ may be a mental strength that enables individuals to function healthily and adaptively in the face of stress events. Therefore, this study aims to examine the longitudinal associations between meaning in life and psychosocial adjustment to the COVID‐19 outbreak among Chinese people. Methods A prospective design was adopted. 154 Chinese college students (Mean age = 20.41 ± 1.45 years) completed two waves of the assessment. Participants reported their meaning in life before the outbreak (Time 1) and their psychosocial adjustment 7 weeks later after the outbreak had occurred (Time 2). Results Participants’ meaning in life at Time 1 was positively related to life satisfaction and negatively related to depression, anxiety, stress, and negative emotions at Time 2. Additionally, levels of meaning in life at Time 1 were positively associated to COVID‐19‐related behavioural engagement – prosocial behaviour and information addiction at Time 2. Individuals’ perceptions of the outbreak and status of self‐quarantine did not moderate these relationships. Conclusion Findings suggest that individuals’ prior level of meaning in life may help them maintain a healthy psychosocial adjustment during disease outbreak, though cautions regarding the possibility to render an addiction to information about the outbreak are warranted.
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ISSN:1359-107X
2044-8287
2044-8287
DOI:10.1111/bjhp.12492