Individual differences and changes in subjective wellbeing during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably impacted many people's lives. This study examined changes in subjective wellbeing between December 2019 and May 2020 and how stress appraisals and coping strategies relate to individual differences and changes in subjective wellbeing during the early stages of the pandemic. Data were collected at 4 time points from 979 individuals in Germany. Results showed that, on average, life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect did not change significantly between December 2019 and March 2020 but decreased between March and May 2020. Across the latter timespan, individual differences in life satisfaction were positively related to controllability appraisals, active coping, and positive reframing, and negatively related to threat and centrality appraisals and planning. Positive affect was positively related to challenge and controllable-by-self appraisals, active coping, using emotional support, and religion, and negatively related to threat appraisal and humor. Negative affect was positively related to threat and centrality appraisals, denial, substance use, and self-blame, and negatively related to controllability appraisals and emotional support. Contrary to expectations, the effects of stress appraisals and coping strategies on changes in subjective wellbeing were small and mostly nonsignificant. These findings imply that the COVID-19 pandemic represents not only a major medical and economic crisis, but also has a psychological dimension, as it can be associated with declines in key facets of people's subjective wellbeing. Psychological practitioners should address potential declines in subjective wellbeing with their clients and attempt to enhance clients' general capability to use functional stress appraisals and effective coping strategies. Public Significance StatementThis study shows that, on average, life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect decreased across the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Different stress appraisals and coping strategies relevant to the pandemic were associated with general levels of subjective wellbeing during the pandemic, but had only small and mostly nonsignificant effects on changes in subjective wellbeing over time. Psychological practitioners should address potential declines in subjective wellbeing with their clients and attempt to enhance clients' general capability to make use of functional stress appraisals and effective coping strategies during a pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subjective well-being: longitudinal evidence on satisfaction with work and family

“…Therefore, our Hypothesis 1 on a general negative effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on satisfaction with work and family is confirmed. This result is in line with Zacher and Rudolph (2020), however, contradicts previous results for France by Recci et al (2020) and for Germany by Czymara et al (2020). Both of these studies, however, apply different methodologies than ours.…”

“…Previous research either considers more general well-being measures as overall life satisfaction or negative feelings (e.g. Kivi et al 2020;Recci et al 2020;Zacher and Rudolph 2020), is restricted to specific sub-groups of the population (e.g. Kivi et al 2020;Zacher and Rudolph 2020), examines aggregated measures and not within-person changes (e.g.…”

“…Kivi et al 2020;Recci et al 2020;Zacher and Rudolph 2020), is restricted to specific sub-groups of the population (e.g. Kivi et al 2020;Zacher and Rudolph 2020), examines aggregated measures and not within-person changes (e.g. Huebener et al 2020;Recci et al 2020), or relies on convenience samples and explorative analyses (e.g.…”

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the United States

“…These findings are consistent with studies linking the COVID-19 pandemic with declines in well-being around the globe. (5,24,25) Unlike other studies, our unique study design allowed us to examine population-based trends in the early psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic as it unfolded using a large, representative, probability-based national sample on whom pre-pandemic mental and physical health data were available (collected before the pandemic and hence not susceptible to concerns about recall bias). Three key findings in particular offer insights about ways to encourage community resilience when addressing a crisis of this magnitude: support individuals with pre-existing conditions, mitigate secondary stress, and monitor extensive media exposure.…”

Regulatory Focus and Perceived Safety with Casual Partners: Implications for Perceived Risk and Casual Sex Intentions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…People differ in their reactions to the stressors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Zacher and Rudolph (2020) found that perceiving this pandemic as more health threatening resulted in life dissatisfaction and emotional instability two months later. In contrast, emotional stability and self-control are associated with less stress during this pandemic (Flesia et al, 2020), and self-control is also associated with greater adherence to social distancing guidelines (Wolff et al, 2020).…”