Purposefulness and daily life in a pandemic

Predicting daily affect and physical symptoms during the first weeks of the Covid-19 response

Bibliographic Data

ID21579999
AuthorsPatrick L Hill (0000-0001-5902-6051, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA, corresponding author), Patrick Klaiber (0000-0002-1957-1140, University of British Columbia), Anthony L Burrow (0000-0003-1247-0985, Cornell University), Anita Delongis (0000-0002-6508-3869, University of British Columbia), Nancy Sin (0000-0003-2519-7797, University of British Columbia)
Year2022
Volume37
Issue8
Pages985-1001
Publication date2022-08-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychology & Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0887-0446 • E-ISSN: 1476-8321
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08870446.2021.1914838
PMID33974470
OpenAlexW3161540307
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited43

OBJECTIVE: Sense of purpose has been associated with greater health and well-being, even in daily contexts. However, it is unclear whether effects would hold in daily life during COVID-19, when people may have difficulty seeing a path towards their life goals. DESIGN: The current study investigated whether purposefulness predicted daily positive affect, negative affect, and physical symptoms. Participants (n = 831) reported on these variables during the first weeks of the COVID-19 response in North America. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed daily surveys asking them for daily positive events, stressors, positive affect, negative affect, physical symptoms, and purposefulness. RESULTS: Purposefulness at between- and within-person levels predicted less negative affect and physical symptoms, but more positive affect at the daily level. Between-person purposefulness interacted with positive events when predicting negative and positive affect, suggesting that purposeful people may be less reactive to positive events. However, between-person purposefulness also interacted with daily stressors, insofar that stressors predicted greater declines in positive affect for purposeful people. CONCLUSION: Being a purposeful person holds positive implications for daily health and well-being, even during the pandemic context. However, purposefulness may hold some consequences unique to the COVID-19 context, which merit attention in future research

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Activities of daily living · Developmental psychology · Disease · Pandemic · Physical activity · Physical therapy · Psychiatry · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Medicine · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Gerontology

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