Meaning making helps cope with COVID-19: A longitudinal study

The challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the way people deal with them. A qualitative longitudinal study

“…Unfortunately, also in this area, people have huge deficits caused by the pandemic. The obtained results are coherent with previous studies regarding the strategies harnessed to cope with the pandemic [e.g., 5 , 10 , 28 , 33 ]. For example, some studies showed that seeking social support is one of the most common strategies used to deal with the coronavirus pandemic [ 33 , 40 ].…”

“…Therefore, in our study we used qualitative longitudinal research in order to monitor changes in people’s emotions, attitudes, and behavior. So far, few longitudinal studies have been carried out that investigated the various issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, all of them were quantitative [ 7 – 10 ]. The qualitative approach (and especially the use of enabling and projective techniques) allows for an in-depth exploration of respondents’ reactions that goes beyond respondents’ declarations and captures what they are less aware of or even unconscious of.…”

Is Posttraumatic Growth Helpful in Overcoming Mental Health Disorders Due to COVID-19?: The Moderating Effect of Posttraumatic Growth in the Relationship Between COVID-19 and Psychological Health

“…Some argued that meaning can be restructured ( De Jong et al, 2020 ) and engagement in meaningful activities increased during the process whereby daily lives were dismantled by COVID-19 are, subsequently, reestablished ( Eisenbeck et al, 2021 ). In a three-month longitudinal study conducted in China, meaning making about negative events increased, which in turn resulted in reduced psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Yang et al, 2021 ), and a four-day short-term longitudinal study reported that people with a higher understanding of the meaning of life were less stressed about COVID-19 ( Trzebiński et al, 2020 ). In light of these studies, it is possible that people have rearranged their lives’ priorities to focus on those activities that they had been postponing and pursue meaningfulness in life when given enough time alone.…”

“…Although few studies have substantiated the relationship between committed action and COVID-19, many studies that investigated the association between meaning in life and COVID-19 observed that individuals discover life to be more meaningful during the COVID-19 pandemic than before it. In other words, amid the demands to restructure daily lives during the COVID-pandemic, people are likely to think about the meaning of their lives more than before and engage in relevant activities ( De Jong et al, 2020 ; Eisenbeck et al, 2021 ), and it has been reported that people have discovered more meaning in life ( Yang et al, 2021 ). Thus, it is necessary to explore the impact of COVID-19-related restrictions and concerns on committed action.…”

A prospective study of college student depressive symptoms, sense of purpose, and response to a COVID-19 campus shutdown

“…Across studies, sense of purpose is a robust correlate of health and psychological well-being, including more adaptive stress responses and affective stability ( Hill et al, 2018 ; Pfund and Hill, 2018 ). Purpose may change the way campus shutdown and other events are experienced by reframing the situation—a coping strategy in the TTSC framework ( Lazarus, 1993 ; Lazarus and Folkman, 1984 )—and widening one's perspective beyond current circumstances (e.g., Malin et al, 2019 ; Yang et al, 2021 ). In particular, a greater sense of purpose might predict less perceived impact and challenge.…”