Examining the longitudinal effects and potential mechanisms of hope on COVID-19 stress, anxiety, and well-being

Abstract

Hope is a cognitive trait that predicts both resilience to and recovery from anxiety and stress-related disorders. The present study examines the prospective associations of hope with subsequent anxiety, stress, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived emotional control, a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor, was also examined as a potential mediator of these relationships. American adults (N = 822) were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic using Amazon mTURK and structural equation modeling was used to examine how trait hope predicted outcomes approximately one month later. Higher hope was associated with greater well-being and perceived emotional control, as well as lower levels of anxiety and COVID-19 perceived stress. Results also indicated an indirect effect of hope with all outcomes via perceived emotional control. These findings suggest that hope may associated with resilience to the chronic stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental Health of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Roles of Employment Precarity, Screen Time, and Contact with Nature

“…In times of hardship, hope is a psychosocial resource which can help provide individuals with a means of coping with circumstances out of their control [ 75 ]. In our study and others [ 42 , 76 ], hope has shown to be a powerful protective factor for mental health during the pandemic. This is an important public health finding and suggests that population-level mental health interventions should move beyond encouragement of self-care towards actively fostering hope in young people through evidence-based approaches [ 77 ].…”

“…In addition to the aforementioned risk and protective factors, other psychological constructs related to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic should also be considered. For example, the protective role of hope against anxiety and stress during the pandemic has been demonstrated in research among adults (sample mean age = 37 years) [ 42 ]. Contrastingly, in other research among similar aged respondents, the degree to which an individuals’ core beliefs were disrupted by the pandemic explained experiences of depressive and anxiety symptoms to a greater degree than direct (e.g., receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis) and indirect (e.g., loss of child care) pandemic stressors combined [ 43 ].…”

The 5Cs of Positive Youth Development, Purpose in Life, Hope, and Well-Being Among Emerging Adults in Malaysia

“…To illustrate this point, in a cross-sectional study of 495 college students, after controlling for gender, race, age, and social desirability, a strong linear positive relation existed between hope and emotional well-being (Griggs and Crawford, 2017). Also, Gallagher et al (2021) found that hope significantly acted as a proactive factor during crisis and improved well-being. We located only one published study that examined the relations between hope and purpose in life in a sample of adolescents and emerging adults (Bronk et al, 2009).…”

Courage, Justice, and Practical Wisdom as Key Virtues in the Era of COVID-19

“…The perception that a risk is significant can lead to autonomic nervous system arousal, and freeze, flight, or fight behavioral responses. During the pandemic, perceived risk is a significant predictor of depression (Gallagher et al, 2021;Yıldırım et al, 2021). Therefore, humans appear to be naturally endowed with fear, which evolved because it helped our ancestors to avoid harms that impeded reproduction.…”

“…Although a very helpful public safety tool, social distancing measures have increased social isolation and uncertainty amid the unprecedented rates of psychological distress during the pandemic (Fowers and Wan, 2020). Accordingly, mental health has been adversely affected in many populations (e.g., Munasinghe et al, 2020;Gallagher et al, 2021;Yıldırım et al, 2021), but various indices of positive outlook, hope, and resilience have been found to buffer that stress.…”