Logo image
Back
The relationship between COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and meaning in life: testing the moderating effects of self-compassion and savoring
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The relationship between COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and meaning in life: testing the moderating effects of self-compassion and savoring

Christina Samios, Anna Praskova and Basia Radlinska
Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, Vol.35(1), pp.9-24
13/09/2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2021.1974408
PMID: 34515586
url
The relationship between COVID-19 pandemicrelated stress and meaning in life: testing the moderating effects of self-compassion and savoringView
Published (Version of record)

Related links

Metrics

40 Record Views
20 Times Cited - Web of Science

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

Source: InCites

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic meaning in life moderating effects pandemic-related stress savoring self-compassion
The stress people experience in relation to a highly stressful event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can undermine their sense of meaning in life. This study examined the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and meaning in life and whether self-compassion and savoring positive emotional experience moderated this relationship. Participants (N = 498) completed measures of pandemic-related stress, dimensions of meaning in life (comprehension, purpose, mattering), self-compassion (self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness), and savoring (savoring through anticipation, savoring the moment, savoring through reminiscence). Results of regression analyses showed that pandemic-related stress related to less meaning in life and that all dimensions of self-compassion and savoring (with the exception of savoring through reminiscence) related positively to a dimension of meaning in life. Only common humanity buffered the relationship between pandemic-related stress and a dimension of meaning in life (purpose) as expected. Unexpectedly, for people high on common humanity the relationship between pandemic-related stress and mattering was positive, and for people high on mindfulness, the relationship between pandemic-related stress and comprehension was negative. Although cross-sectional, this study's findings suggest that promoting common humanity might be important for protecting purpose and enhancing one's sense of mattering during a pandemic.

Details

Logo image