Security Motives and Negative Affective Experiences During the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: Past research suggests that having a stronger ability to regulate feelings and behaviors can help individuals cope during stressful events, but little is known about why and when this might be the case. We examined if being more focused on prevention (i.e., health security motives) impacted personal well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also examined possible underlying mechanisms for this effect, and whether perceived social support buffered it.Design: We conducted a pre-registered longitudinal study over one month (N = 1,269).Main outcome measures: Regulatory focus, worry for health (T1), adherence to preventive measures (T2, two weeks after T1), loneliness, negative and positive affect, frequency of social interactions, and perceived social support (T3, two weeks after T2).Results: Prevention scores (T1) increased the adherence to health behaviors (T2), which then predicted negative affect (T3). Exploratory results further showed that prevention scores predicted more loneliness and more negative affect (T3), but only for individuals with fewer social interactions and less perceived social support.Conclusions: Security motives in threatening times can be a double edge sword, with benefits for health behaviors and negative consequences for personal well-being. Having a strong social network during these times appears to alleviate these consequences.