Meaningfulness protects from and crisis of meaning exacerbates general mental distress longitudinally

Abstract

Background Reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic are diverse, and both mental distress and existential crises can arise. The identification of protective and exacerbating factors and their progress over time is therefore highly relevant. The current study examined longitudinal protective effects of meaningfulness and exacerbating effects of crisis of meaning on general mental distress. Methods N = 431 participants from Germany and Austria (mean age: 42 years) completed an online survey in both April/May (T1) and July/August 2020 (T2). After determining temporal stability or changes in meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and general mental distress (PHQ-4), we examined whether (i) meaningfulness and (ii) crisis of meaning, measured at T1, incrementally predicted PHQ-4 at T2, beyond baseline levels of PHQ-4. We further tested (iii) a within-subject mediation of temporal changes in PHQ-4 by changes in crisis of meaning. Results Meaningfulness prospectively predicted lower PHQ-4, and crisis of meaning predicted higher PHQ-4. From the first wave of the pandemic until a slowdown three months later, meaningfulness was stable, and crisis of meaning and PHQ-4 decreased. Changes in crisis of meaning mediated the changes in PHQ-4. Conclusions Meaningfulness appears to have a protective, and crisis of meaning an exacerbating effect on psychological distress, as shown here for the time of the first pandemic wave until three months later. Attention to existential experiences of meaningfulness and loss of meaning thus proves relevant to the clinical and public health context. Measures that support meaningfulness will help coping with crises of meaning, which in turn supports overcoming general mental distress.

Emotion regulation moderates the association between COVID-19 stress and mental distress: findings on buffering, exacerbation, and gender differences in a cross-sectional study from Norway

“…Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted showing a one-dimensional model of COVID-19 stress ( Krampe et al, 2021 ). The scale has proven valid in several studies ( Schnell and Krampe, 2020 , 2022a , b ; Dyrendal and Hestad, 2021 ; Krampe et al, 2021 ; Schnell et al, 2021 ).…”

Building Bridges, Forging New Frontiers: Meaning-Making in Action

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Meaning in life and Parkinson’s disease in the UK Biobank

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