Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, reminders of death are particularly salient. Although much terror management theory research demonstrates that people engage in defensive tactics to manage mortality awareness, other work shows that existential concerns can motivate growth-oriented actions to improve health. The present study explored the associative link between coronavirus anxieties, fear of death, and participants' well-being. Results, using structural equation modeling, found that increased mortality concerns stemming from COVID-19 were associated with heightened benefit finding (e.g., relationship investment, gratefulness, patience) from the pandemic. Increased benefit finding, in turn, was related to higher life satisfaction, meaning in life, self-esteem, resilience, and vitality while also correlating negatively with depression and stress scores. There was no evidence for reverse mediation in that fear of mortality did not predict well-being through coronavirus worries. Overall, although many persons have experienced mental health concerns (e.g., fear, stress) as a function of the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings demonstrate positive benefits that paradoxically follow in terms of an increased appreciation of life, improved relationships, and better health.

Previous work has found that nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, is associated with psychological, emotional, and social benefits. Recent research has demonstrated that nostalgic reflection also can improve individuals’ physical health (i.e., exercise) and reduce temperature-related pain. Building on this, two experiments examined how nostalgia can reduce people’s pain perceptions (i.e., reduced severity and increased tolerance). Specifically, Study 1 showed that inducing nostalgia through a writing task decreased perceived pain severity (i.e., intensity) among self-reported chronic pain sufferers. Study 2, in turn, demonstrated that Japanese individuals experienced increased pain tolerance (i.e., the maximum level of pain a person can tolerate) for a pressure algometer task following thoughts of nostalgia (vs. a control prime). This work provides evidence that nostalgic reflection may serve as a psychological resource to reduce the perceived severity of physical pain.

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Aloneliness is the negative psychological state characterized by dissatisfaction with one's lack of solitude, which is connected to well-being deficits (e.g., depression, stress). From an I 3 theory perspective, we expected that aloneliness could predict anger and partner-directed aggression among persons in romantic relationships, who must, by nature of their partnership, dedicate time to their romantic partners. In Studies 1a and 1b (N = 554), trait aloneliness positively correlated with trait anger, aggression, and violence, but more strongly among persons in relationships (vs. single persons). In Study 2, aloneliness was experimentally primed among 93 undergraduates in relationships. When aloneliness was salient (vs. a control), participants reported higher anger and used more pins in a partner-representative voodoo doll. These results suggest that solitude is an inhibiting factor against anger and, potentially, the perpetration of partner-directed aggression. Although subsequent work in this area is needed, we add evidence showing the importance of individual differences in the need for solitude. K E Y W O R D S aggression, aloneliness, anger, close relationships, IPV Solitude has benefits, but sometimes, people's current needs for solitude are not fulfilled. The negative psychological state characterized by a lack of solitude has been recently described as aloneliness (Coplan et al., 2019). The current work explores the idea that aloneliness presents an additional quandary for persons in romantic relationships. According to Slotter and Finkel's (2011) I 3 theory of aggression, key predictors of aggressive behavior are impellors, commonly preexisting variables, and instigators, commonly situational triggers, which increase the likelihood that a person will aggress. In the current studies, aloneliness is theorized to be an important impellor and/or instigator toward anger and aggression, especially among persons in romantic relationships. Study 1 explored associations between trait aloneliness, anger, and aggression. Then, Study 2 manipulated a state of aloneliness among participants in romantic relationships and measured anger and partner aggression as outcomes.Before turning to the literature, it is important to define what is meant by solitude, loneliness, and aloneliness. Solitude is the state of being alone, whereas loneliness, in turn, is a negative feeling that arises from a perceived discrepancy between an individual's desired and achieved social relations-a subjective, negative feeling about being alone (Perlman & Peplau, 1981). The aim of the current research is to focus extensively on aloneliness, which can be understood as the inverse of loneliness: more than a simple desire for solitude, aloneliness is the subjective negative experience of a perceived lack of solitude (Coplan et al., 2019).

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