Bent, But Not Broken: Locus-of-Hope and Well-Being Among Malaysians Facing Economic Challenges Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Hope is conceptualized as a cognitive set that has often been studied in the context of adversity. No studies, however, directly examine how locus-of-hope (LOH) influences psychological outcomes among vulnerable populations within collectivist cultural contexts. We address this gap by assessing the relationships between LOH and well-being among Malaysians facing financial struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that LOH will predict well-being but that external LOH will more strongly predict well-being than internal LOH. One-hundred and fifty-two (152) Malaysians (63 men, 89 women, average age 29.69 years old) who have (1) experienced loss of employment status (2) decrease in salary earnings or (3) earn below the lower 40% threshold of national household incomes completed a series of questionnaires assessing their LOH and well-being. Results indicate that controlling for age, perceptions of government efforts and trait optimism, LOH significantly predict well-being. Findings also show that internal LOH and LOH-family were the strongest predictors of well-being. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in light of these findings.

The Psychology of Well-Being in the Margins: Voices from and Prospects for South Asia and Southeast Asia

“…The idea of meaningful work was one of the dimensions of workplace spirituality in that study, which echoes how spirituality was an important theme in the meaning-making process of unmarried women in the Philippines (Mendez, 2022 ). Interestingly, the external-spiritual locus-of-hope dimensions studied among the economically challenged individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia (Tee et al, 2022 ) and the Filipino migrant workers in Macau (Bernardo et al, 2022 ) were not significant factors in the well-being models tested. This might suggest that spirituality might be an important resource for aspects of well-being that relate to meaning, but not for aspects of well-being that involve goal-pursuit.…”

“…In this special issue, we feature 11 empirical studies that inquire into some facet of well-being of different marginalized groups. Three studies explicitly focus on well-being among those who are economically marginalized in society (Aruta et al, 2022 ; Sulkers & Loos, 2022 ; Tee et al, 2022 ), a marginal status that intersects with the focus of three other studies involving individuals in low status occupations (Aboobaker, 2022 ; Bernardo et al, 2022 ; Mata & Tarroja, 2022 ). The latter set of studies do not explicit focus on the economic status of the participants in their study, but their social context indicates that the some of the jobs involved are taken by persons from lower socioeconomic groups.…”

“…Finding meaning in life seems to allow young people from low-income regions in the Philippines to cope and persist in school despite the challenges (Aruta et al, 2022 ). Hope associated with personal agency and with the support of one’s family also seems to buffer the distress due to the economic difficulties of Malaysians during the COVID-19 pandemic (Tee et al, 2022 ). In the case of Filipino migrant workers in Macau, detachment from their heritage cultures seems to also show adaptive functions as it relates to positive well-being in their present circumstances (Bernardo et al, 2022 ).…”

“…However, some of the studies in the special issue show how the theories are adapted and modified to consider the specific life circumstances and contexts of the marginalized target participants. We see this approach in the adaptation of the “need-to-belong” theory (Baumeister & Leary, 1995 ) to study the deaf persons in Ipoh (Lee et al, 2022 ), the job-demands-resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007 ) to study workplace well-being among hospitality industry workers (Aboobakr, 2022 ), the system justification theory (Jost, 2019 ) in the study of tribal married mothers (Thasleema & Rajan, 2022 ), and in the use of a cultural adaptation of hope theory (Bernardo, 2010 ) in studying persons who experienced economic challenges in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic (Tee et al, 2022 ). We believe that such adaptations are positive steps forward as they introduce theoretical elaborations of the established models.…”

“…Understanding the influence of social processes on well-being processes is also an important theme to explore in further contextualizing psychology of well-being theories. Two studies in the special issue inquired into well-being processes during the COVID-19 pandemic (Aboobaker, 2022 ; Tee et al, 2022 ), and other Asian studies have focused on this global phenomenon, as well (e.g., Galanza et al, 2021 ; Singh & Quraishi, 2021 ). But aside from COVID-19, South Asian and Southeast Asian psychologists can also investigate the role of other powerful social changes in shaping people’s well-being.…”