Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China.
Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China.
Acta Psychol (Amst). 2021 Nov;221:103442. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103442. Epub 2021 Oct 27.
Healthcare workers play a vital role in the fight against COVID-19. Based on Terror Management Theory (TMT), the present research examined whether a close relationships defense mechanism reduces anxiety among healthcare workers (N = 729) in China. Our results suggest that this defense mechanism, as indexed by relationship satisfaction, serves as an effective terror management source after exposure to reminders of death (MS; mortality salience). These findings extend TMT by identifying two moderating variables: vulnerability and social support. In a low objective vulnerability group, healthcare workers who subjectively believed themselves as less vulnerable to COVID-19 showed a stronger defense mechanism after a MS manipulation as compared to those who felt more vulnerable. Further, healthcare workers with higher levels of social support reported more relationship satisfaction. These findings have practical implications for guiding healthcare workers on how to buffer death-related anxiety and maintain their mental health in the fight against COVID-19.
医护人员在抗击 COVID-19 中发挥着至关重要的作用。基于死亡管理理论（TMT），本研究考察了亲密关系防御机制是否能减轻中国医护人员的焦虑（N=729）。研究结果表明，这种防御机制（以关系满意度为指标）在接触到死亡提示（MS；死亡凸显）后，是一种有效的死亡管理源。这些发现通过确定两个调节变量：脆弱性和社会支持，扩展了 TMT。在客观脆弱性较低的群体中，与那些自我感觉更容易感染 COVID-19 的人相比，主观上认为自己不易感染 COVID-19 的医护人员在进行 MS 操作后表现出更强的防御机制。此外，社会支持程度较高的医护人员报告的关系满意度更高。这些发现对指导医护人员如何缓解与死亡相关的焦虑，以及在抗击 COVID-19 中保持心理健康具有实际意义。
