The fear of COVID-19 and flourishing: the mediating role of search for meaning and presence of meaning


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Elemo A. S., Kara E., Rostamzadeh M.

Current Psychology, cilt.43, sa.16, ss.14871-14880, 2024 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 43 Sayı: 16
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s12144-022-03872-8
  • Dergi Adı: Current Psychology
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, BIOSIS, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Psycinfo
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.14871-14880
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Fear of COVID-19, Flourishing, Iran, Meaning in life, Presence of meaning, Search for meaning
  • İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.Past researches have found that sense of control and meaning in life can act as a protective factor against fear of COVID-19 pandemic. The current study examined whether the search for meaning and the presence of meaning could mediate the link between fear of COVID-19 and flourishing. A total of 312 Iranians who were identified by snowball sampling were recruited as the subjects of the cross-sectional study. The participants gave their consent to complete the Meaning in Life Scale, Flourishing Scale, and Fear of COVID-19 Scale. The findings demonstrated that fear of COVID-19 had a significant direct effect on flourishing. The presence meaning was positively and significantly connected with flourishing and the search for meaning. Both the search for - and the presence - of meaning were negatively and significantly linked with fear of COVID-19. Mediation analysis demonstrated that a presence of meaning is a protective factor for flourishing, but the search for meaning can be detrimental to flourishing. As a result, it may be worthwhile to conduct longitudinal research to track how the effects of the presence of meaning and the search for meaning vary over time. The study calls on mental health providers to take into account how the presence of meaning might lessen the negative impacts of fear in crisis situations and promote flourishing.