Self-Transcendence as a Buffer Against COVID-19 Suffering: The Development and Validation of the Self-Transcendence Measure-B

The age of COVID-19 calls for a different approach toward global well-being and flourishing through the transcendence suffering as advocated by existential positive psychology. In the present study, we primarily explained what self-transcendence is and why it represents the most promising path for h...

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Published in:Frontiers in psychology Vol. 12; p. 648549
Main Authors: Wong, Paul T. P., Arslan, Gökmen, Bowers, Victoria L., Peacock, Edward J., Kjell, Oscar Nils Erik, Ivtzan, Itai, Lomas, Tim
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A 06.10.2021
Subjects:
COVID-19
existential positive psychology (PP2.0)
existential psychology
meaning
positive psychology
Psychology
Psykologi
Samhällsvetenskap
self-transcendence
Social Sciences
ISSN:1664-1078, 1664-1078
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The age of COVID-19 calls for a different approach toward global well-being and flourishing through the transcendence suffering as advocated by existential positive psychology. In the present study, we primarily explained what self-transcendence is and why it represents the most promising path for human beings to flourish through the transformation of suffering in a difficult and uncertain world. After reviewing the literature on self-transcendence experiences, we concluded that the model of self-transcendence presented by Frankl is able to integrate both of the characteristics associated with self-transcendence. Afterward, we discussed how the self-transcendence paradigm proposed by Wong, an extension of the model by Frankl, may help awaken our innate capacity for connections with the true self, with others, and with God or something larger than oneself. We presented self-transcendence as a less-traveled but more promising route to achieve personal growth and mental health in troubled times. Finally, we presented the history of the development and psychometrics of the Self-Transcendence Measure-Brief (STM-B) and reported the empirical evidence that self-transcendence served as a buffer against COVID-19 suffering. The presented data in the current study suggested that the best way to overcome pandemic suffering and mental health crises is to cultivate self-transcendence.
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Edited by: Joshua A. Wilt, Case Western Reserve University, United States
Reviewed by: Alexandra Kitson, Simon Fraser University, Canada; Azam Shirinabadi Farahani, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Iran
This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
ISSN:1664-1078
1664-1078
DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648549