A moderated-mediation model of fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

A sudden outbreak of diseases poses a serious threat to mental health. Relying on strengths might mitigate negative mental health outcomes and promote positive mental health. Prior research suggests a potential moderated mediation effect between fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being. Based on the Complete State Model and the Competence-Based Model of mental health, this study examined the relationship between fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being through perceived distress moderated by resilience in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey using questionnaires was employed. Data were collected online from 384 participants ( 270 females and 114 males, age range= 15 to 29 years). The participants had indirect exposure to COVID-19 through information from the media. Results demonstrated that fear of illness significantly predicts subjective psychological well-being both directly and indirectly. In addition, the moderated mediation effect of resilience was confirmed. Resilience moderated the indirect effect between fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being through perceived distress. The magnitude of the indirect effect was contingent on resilience. Further, the effect of perceived distress on subjective psychological well-being is weakened as the level of resilience increases. This study contributes theoretically to a better understanding of the salutogenic effect of resilience on positive mental health during a pandemic. Based on the findings, implications and future directions are discussed.

Public Attitudes towards the Government’s Policy Communication in Preventing COVID-19

“…The actions and consistency taken by the government will raise the level of public trust in the government so that any policies were taken, especially regarding the prevention of Covid-19, will motivate the public to follow every recommendation from the government (Hafner-Fink and Uhan, 2021;Murphy et al, 2020). During the current crisis, the government and other public officials are the primary sources of information regarding preventing Covid-19 (Sood and Sharma, 2020;Sun et al, 2020). The information submitted must be in line with the actions taken, including applying sanctions for any community that violates it.…”