Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA.
Ann Behav Med. 2023 May 23;57(6):483-488. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaac079.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a widespread source of stress with adverse mental health impacts. Meaning in life, both as a trait and as momentary awareness of what is personally meaningful (meaning salience), is associated with positive health outcomes and may buffer against the deleterious effects of stress.
This project examines prospective associations between baseline meaning salience (daily, post-laboratory stressor) and meaning in life with perceived stress during COVID-19.
A community sample of healthy adults (n = 147) completed a laboratory stress protocol in 2018-2019, where perceived stress, meaning in life, and meaning salience (daily, post-stressor) were assessed. During April and July 2020 (n = 95, and 97, respectively), participants were re-contacted and reported perceived stress. General linear mixed-effects models accounting for repeated measures of stress during COVID-19 were conducted.
Partial correlations holding constant baseline perceived stress showed that COVID-19 perceived stress was correlated with daily meaning salience (r = -.28), post-stressor meaning salience (r = -.20), and meaning in life (r = -.22). In mixed-effects models, daily and post-stressor meaning salience and higher meaning in life, respectively, predicted lower perceived stress during COVID-19, controlling for age, gender, and baseline perceived stress.
Individuals more capable of accessing meaning when exposed to laboratory stress reported lower perceived stress during a global health crisis. Despite study limitations concerning generalizability, results support meaning in life and meaning salience as important aspects of psychological functioning that may promote well-being by affecting stress appraisals and available resources for coping.
COVID-19 大流行是一个压力源，对心理健康有不良影响。生活意义，无论是作为一种特质还是对个人有意义的时刻意识（意义凸显），与积极的健康结果相关，并可能缓冲压力的有害影响。
本项目研究了 COVID-19 期间基线意义凸显（日常、实验室应激后）和生活意义与感知压力之间的前瞻性关联。
2018-2019 年，一个健康成年人的社区样本完成了实验室应激方案，在此期间评估了感知压力、生活意义和意义凸显（日常、应激后）。2020 年 4 月和 7 月（n = 95 和 97），重新联系了参与者并报告了感知压力。进行了考虑 COVID-19 期间重复测量应激的一般线性混合效应模型。
控制基线感知压力的部分相关显示，COVID-19 感知压力与日常意义凸显（r = -.28）、应激后意义凸显（r = -.20）和生活意义（r = -.22）相关。在混合效应模型中，日常和应激后意义凸显以及更高的生活意义分别预测 COVID-19 期间感知压力降低，控制年龄、性别和基线感知压力。
在暴露于实验室应激时更能获得意义的个体报告在全球健康危机期间感知压力较低。尽管存在关于普遍性的研究限制，但结果支持生活意义和意义凸显是心理功能的重要方面，它们可能通过影响压力评估和应对资源来促进幸福感。
