Humor as a protective factor against anxiety and depression

Menéndez-Aller, Álvaro; Postigo, Álvaro; Montes-Álvarez, Pelayo; González-Primo, Francisco José; Cueto, Eduardo García

doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2019.12.002

Cited by 44 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In other words, our findings illustrate that adopting a humorous perspective in uneasy circumstances has an effect on the two poles of humor appreciation, boosting the positive dimension of funniness while shrinking the aversiveness response. Although we did not directly test the therapeutic value of Covid-19 humor in facing the pandemic, our results are compatible with previous evidence of the benefits of humor for handling negative emotions (Martin and Lefcourt, 1983;Perchtold et al, 2019;Samson et al, 2014) or anxiety (Menéndez-Aller et al, 2020). We argue that the emotional processing of Covid-19 humor could contribute to downregulating the negative feelings and mitigating the stress induced by the Covid-19 outbreak, especially in the individuals inclined to use humor to deal with uneasy circumstances.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Funny but aversive: A large-scale survey of the emotional response to Covid-19 humor in the Italian population during the lockdown

Bischetti

Canal

Bambini

2021

Lingua

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We often see an upsurge of humor inspired by tragic circumstances: this happened also during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak. However, little is known about the emotional response to tragedy-triggered humor, let alone Covid-19 humor. With a largescale survey completed during the early stages of Italy's lockdown, we studied the appreciation (funniness and aversiveness) of different formats of Covid-19 humor shared on social media. Results of an analysis of the role of demographic, personality, and psychological distance factors with linear mixed models showed that Covid-19 humor lacks a "signature" of funniness, but displays a mark of aversiveness. Among demographics, age and gender were key factors: with increasing age and in women, Covid-19 humor was judged as more aversive. Individuals using humor to cope with uneasy circumstances judged Covid-19 humor as funnier and less aversive. Furthermore, the perceived risk of infection amplified Covid-19 humor aversiveness, while kilometrical distance from the first Italian contagion hotspot raised the amusement in global terms. These findings expand our knowledge about dark humor and should raise awareness of the great variation in the emotional impact of Covid-19 humor and of the need to ponder where and with whom to share the laugh about the pandemic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Funny but aversive: A large-scale survey of the emotional response to Covid-19 humor in the Italian population during the lockdown

Bischetti

Canal

Bambini

2021

Lingua

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“…Further questioning of those participants who had more than three children showed that they enjoyed spending time with their children, and one coping strategy that they utilized to manage their COVID-19-related work stress was to create jokes and play games with their children at home to create laughter within the family when they were not working. This finding indicated that participants who had more than three children tended to utilize affiliative and selfenhancing humor to manage their stress, which are reported to reduce the risk of depression [28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Mental Health Status of University Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Post-Movement Lockdown Assessment

Woon

Sidi

Jaafar

et al. 2020

Preprint

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This study investigated the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, and stress and determined the association between various factors, social support, and depression and anxiety among university healthcare workers in Malaysia after the government lifted the movement control order (MCO) put in place to curb the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This online, cross-sectional survey recruited 399 participants from two university hospitals, and they were administered a self-reported questionnaire on demographic, personal, and clinical characteristics; COVID-19-related stressors; and coping. In addition, they completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to measure perceived social support, as well as the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to assess depression, anxiety, and stress. We found that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress were 21.8%, 31.6%, and 29.1%, respectively. Participants with moderate to extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress made up 13.3%, 25.8%, and 8.1% of the sample, respectively. Being single or divorced, fear of frequent exposure to COVID-19 patients, those who agreed that their area of living had a high prevalence of COVID-19 cases, and uncertainty regarding the prevalence of COVID-19 cases in the area of living were associated with higher odds of depression and anxiety. Conversely, having more than three children and greater perceived friend support were associated with lower odds of depression and anxiety. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress remained elevated even after the MCO was lifted.

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“…The construct of humor is a concept from Positive Psychology [ 35 ] and one of the 24 character strengths defined by Peterson and Seligman [ 36 ]. Sense of humor was found to be a protective factor against anxiety and depression [ 37 ] and was also found to be protective in adverse circumstances [ 38 ]. It can be defined as: "(…) a habitual behavior pattern (tendency to laugh frequently, to tell jokes and amuse others, to laugh at other people’s jokes), an ability (ability to create humor, to amuse others, to “get the joke,” to remember jokes), a temperamental trait (habitual cheerfulness), an aesthetic response (enjoyment of particular types of humorous material), an attitude (positive attitude toward humor and humorous people), a world view (bemused outlook on life), or a coping strategy (tendency to maintain a humorous perspective in the face of adversity)" [ 39 , p. 315].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses can be buffered by a sense of humor and appreciation

2021

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Background The first analyses of the various consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic show that the risk to nurses’ psychological well-being is particularly high. As the pandemic and the demands imposed on nurses are not yet fully understood, there is a need to seek buffering factors to protect nurses’ psychological health. In line with the earliest evidence, we hypothesize pandemic-related increases in perceived stress and decreases in the frequency of flow experiences, likewise in satisfaction with work, life, work performance, and well-being. As protective factors while dealing with pandemic-related stress, we suggest an individual’s sense of humor and perceived appreciation. Methods In June/July 2020 – during the first lockdown in Germany – participants completed an online-survey in which they were asked to rate their situation before the pandemic (retrospectively) and during the pandemic. Our sample consisted of 174 registered nurses (161 females, 13 males, Mage = 40.52), of whom 85 worked as public health nurses and 89 as geriatric nurses. Results During the pandemic, nurses felt more stressed, had fewer flow experiences, and were less satisfied with their work, life, work-performance, and well-being than before the pandemic. In addition, nurses felt more appreciation from society but less from their patients. Sense of humor and the perceived appreciation of society and patients were confirmed as buffers of negative pandemic-related effects. Conclusion Our study contributes to the so far scarce knowledge on nurses’ pandemic-related stress and well-being in combination with their resources. Moreover, we were able to identify sense of humor and appreciation as protective factors.

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Humor as a protective factor against anxiety and depression

Cited by 44 publications

References 29 publications

Funny but aversive: A large-scale survey of the emotional response to Covid-19 humor in the Italian population during the lockdown

Funny but aversive: A large-scale survey of the emotional response to Covid-19 humor in the Italian population during the lockdown

Mental Health Status of University Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Post-Movement Lockdown Assessment

Negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses can be buffered by a sense of humor and appreciation

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