The Meaning of Living in the Time of COVID-19. A Large Sample Narrative Inquiry

Venuleo, Claudia; Marinaci, Tiziana; Gennaro, Andrea; Palmieri, Arianna

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.577077

Cited by 43 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…While psychology has historically emphasized nomothetic analyses of experience (Munsterberg, 1899 ), idiographic approaches to data championed by Allport ( 1942 ) or more recently Lundh ( 2015 ) are particularly applicable to the study of events which are, incontestably, historical in nature, like the present pandemic. Indeed, computer-assisted textual analysis has revealed narrative patterns consistent with the quantitative and qualitative findings from our study, namely, that one is either experiencing the current pandemic as a time for vital re-evaluation of priorities, or as a fight for survival (Venuleo et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…As such, the finding that the participants who are relatively thriving during periods of physical distancing have managed to center and maintain these relationships is consistent with several models of a good, meaningful life. The finding that participants with low self-transcendent wisdom have found it apparently difficult to maintain such relationships and seem to be slipping into escapism and self-distraction is consonant with the narratives of “global crisis” and “surviving a war” identified by Venuleo et al ( 2020 ) as most frequent amongst people experiencing greater instability during lockdown measures in Italy. Combined with our quantitative findings that loneliness and alienation demonstrated negative associations with perceived well-being, such findings further evidence for the importance of strong, resilient relationships to weathering misfortune, particularly on misfortune on such a magnified scale.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Loneliness became an important factor during the 2003 SARS epidemic, as well, but resulted in increased social cohesion due to the detrimental impact of isolation (Lau et al, 2005 ; Saltzman et al, 2020 ). Even in the early stages of the pandemic, during the spring and summer of 2020, a large-scale narrative inquiry conducted in Italy found that some participants were already beginning to represent the pandemic as a time for re-evaluation of personal and social priorities, not just as a crisis (Venuleo et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Personal Growth and Well-being In The Time Of Covid: An Explmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Personal Growth and Well-Being in the Time of COVID: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Analysis

et al. 2021

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The physical distancing measures necessitated by COVID-19 have resulted in a severe withdrawal from the patterns of daily life, necessitating significantly reduced contact with other people. To many, such withdrawal can be a major cause of distress. But, to some, this sort of withdrawal is an integral part of growth, a pathway to a more enriching life. The present study uses a sequential explanatory QUAN-qual design to investigate whether people who felt that their lives had changed for the better after being forced to engage in physical distancing, what factors predicted such well-being, and how they spent their time to generate this sense of well-being. We invited 614 participants who reported closely following physical distancing recommendations to complete a survey exploring this topic. Our analyses, after controlling for all other variables in the regression model, found a greater positive association between presence of meaning in life, coping style, and self-transcendent wisdom and residualized current well-being accounting for retrospective assessments of well-being prior to physical distancing. An extreme-case content analysis of participants' personal projects found that participants with low self-transcendent wisdom reported more survival-oriented projects (e.g., acquiring groceries or engaging in distracting entertainments), while participants reporting high self-transcendent wisdom reported more projects involving deepening interactions with other people, especially family. Our findings suggest a more nuanced pathway from adversity to a deeper sense of well-being by showing the importance of not merely coping with adversity, but truly transcending it.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Personal Growth and Well-being In The Time Of Covid: An Explmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Personal Growth and Well-Being in the Time of COVID: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Analysis

et al. 2021

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“…It is not surprising, considering the historical differences of economic resources which characterize Northern Italy – the high risk zones, and the low risk zone of Southern Italy, which received also a limited supply of equipment, masks and protective suits for hospitals in the first months of the health emergency. From this perspective, the result is consistent with the idea that the psychological impact of the COVID-19 emergency can be strongly influenced by contextual aspects such as institutional outbreak responses ( Venuleo et al., 2020b ), calling for a critical reflection on the common representation of a pandemic as a disruptive event that can only produce a disruptive health impact. People's vulnerability is not due only to the natural hazard but is also constructed by social, economic and political conditions (See: Cannon and Müller-Mahn, 2010 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Emotional distress, psychosomatic symptoms and their relationship with institutional responses: A survey of Italian frontline medical staff during the Covid-19 pandemic

Marinaci¹,

Carpinelli²,

Venuleo³

et al. 2020

Heliyon

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With the advent of Covid-19, health workers have been under constant physical and psychological pressure. Italy was among the first countries to face the health emergency in a period of great uncertainty about the virus and the ways to treat patients. The present study aims to analyse the levels of emotional distress (ED) and psychosomatic symptoms (PS) of Italian frontline health workers during the Covid-19 emergency, and their relationship with the evaluation of the institutional responses received. A survey was available online during the peak of health system overload. Health workers' ED, PS and perceived overall wellbeing were assessed, along with the perceived adequacy of the emotional support, hygiene and safety measures, and protection received from the national government, regional administration and local hospital. A total of 103 questionnaires were collected [Women: 51.5%; mean age, 41.8 years; SD: ±10,7; high-risk zone: 41.7%]. Correlation analyses were applied to investigate the relationship between the measures of emotional distress and psychosomatic symptoms; ANOVA was applied to compare these measures among groups from different risk zones and with different perceived emotional and safety protection. About half of the health workers showed medium or high scores on emotional exhaustion, exceeded the cut-off for medium, high or very high psychosomatic symptom burdens, felt they have never or rarely been protected by the institutional responses and judged the emotional support received as inadequate; 32% judged the safety and hygiene measures as insufficient. Significant associations were found between measures of ED, PS and perceived change in personal wellbeing. Differences in perceived institutional support and adequacy of hygiene and safety measures related to significant differences in PS and perceived change in personal wellbeing. ED and PS were widely experienced by frontline health workers. Physical and psychological symptoms were amplified by the perceived lack of institutional support. Ensuring PS and hygiene and safety measures is essential to prevent worsening of health and psychosomatic symptoms in frontline health workers.

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“…As such, the concept of disaster may easily apply to the COVID-19 pandemic, given its local and global implications, and the necessary efforts to mitigate any psychological, social, and economic consequences. Indeed, the pandemic is being experienced by a significant number of individuals and communities, involving, for an indefinite period of time, serious challenges, not just for individuals, but also for families, communities, societies, governments and economies (Benight et al, 2010 ; Duan & Zhu, 2020 ; Hoffman & Kruczek, 2011 ; Raphael & Maguire, 2010 ; Venuleo et al, 2020 ). Moreover, psychosocial interventions targeting health promotion may need to focus on how individuals reconstruct their meaning of the world, in order to restore individual core beliefs, through processes of sense of coherence, predictability, metaphors, and narratives (Castiglioni & Gaj, 2020 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual and community psychological experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic: The state of emergency in Portugal

2021

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Individuals have different ways of coping with crisis. Individual factors, family and contextual features, and community support may influence how individuals feel, think and act during a crisis. COVID-19 was an unexpected pandemic that forced many European countries to take confinement measures and restrict social face to face interactions. This study is an effort to understand how Portuguese residents dealt with the pandemic during the first confinement period, considering different sociodemographic characteristics and trauma exposure perceptions. Five hundred and five adults, between 18 and 79 years old participated in this study via an online self-report assessment protocol. Sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, employment status, and caring responsibilities had an impact on individuals’ perceptions regarding their exposure to the pandemic and their quality of life. Perceived exposure to the pandemic was found to predict quality of life in the physical, psychological, and environmental domains. Results have practical implications for European and local policy-making, as well as for targeting psychological interventions for those whose mental health has been negatively affected by the pandemic and for those who may become more affected if confinement measures are implemented again.

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The Meaning of Living in the Time of COVID-19. A Large Sample Narrative Inquiry

Cited by 43 publications

References 68 publications

Personal Growth and Well-Being in the Time of COVID: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Analysis

Personal Growth and Well-Being in the Time of COVID: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Analysis

Emotional distress, psychosomatic symptoms and their relationship with institutional responses: A survey of Italian frontline medical staff during the Covid-19 pandemic

Individual and community psychological experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic: The state of emergency in Portugal

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