Vermote Branko, Morbée Sofie, Soenens Bart, Vansteenkiste Maarten, Waterschoot Joachim, Beyers Wim, Van der Kaap-Deeder Jolene
Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, Ghent, B-9000 Belgium.
Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
J Happiness Stud. 2023;24(5):1759-1780. doi: 10.1007/s10902-023-00657-z. Epub 2023 May 4.
Late adults differ in the degree to which their mental health is impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, with interindividual differences in their capacity to mobilize coping resources playing an important role. Therefore, the search for inner sources of resilience is important to understand late adults' adaptation to this crisis. Based on Goal Content Theory, a mini-theory within the broader Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to examine whether older adults' valuation and attainment of intrinsic goals represent such a source of resilience. Intrinsic goals would form a solid foundation to experience a sense of meaning during this crisis, which, in turn, relates to higher well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and vitality) and lower ill-being (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety, and loneliness). During the second month of the lockdown period in Belgium, 693 older adults (age = 70.06, = 4.48, range: 65-89 years, 62.1% female) filled out online questionnaires concerning the study variables. Structural equation modeling showed that intrinsic goal attainment and goal importance related positively to experiences of meaning in life which, in turn, were related to higher levels of well-being and lower levels of ill-being. No evidence was found for an interaction effect between intrinsic goal attainment and goal importance. Supporting late adults' pursuit and attainment of meaningful intrinsic goals relates to their well-being and may potentially strengthen their resilience in times of crisis.
老年人受新冠疫情危机对其心理健康的影响程度各不相同，个体在调动应对资源能力上的差异起到了重要作用。因此，探寻内在的复原力来源对于理解老年人如何适应这一危机至关重要。基于目标内容理论（广义自我决定理论中的一个小理论），本研究旨在检验老年人对内在目标的重视程度及实现情况是否代表了这样一种复原力来源。内在目标将构成在这场危机中体验意义感的坚实基础，而意义感又与更高的幸福感（即生活满意度和活力）以及更低的不幸福感（即抑郁、焦虑和孤独症状）相关。在比利时封锁期的第二个月，693名老年人（年龄 = 70.06，标准差 = 4.48，范围：65 - 89岁，62.1%为女性）填写了关于研究变量的在线问卷。结构方程模型显示，内在目标的实现和目标重要性与生活意义体验呈正相关，而生活意义体验又与更高水平的幸福感和更低水平的不幸福感相关。未发现内在目标实现与目标重要性之间存在交互作用的证据。支持老年人追求和实现有意义的内在目标与他们的幸福感相关，并可能在危机时期增强他们的复原力。
