A longitudinal study of Covid stressors and wellbeing outcomes : the role of global meaning violation, mindfulness, meaning making, and meaning made

Abstract

This longitudinal study explores the hitherto untested role of global meaning violation (GMV) in the longitudinal wellbeing and distress outcomes during the pandemic. It also tests if mindfulness buffers the effect of Covid stress (CS) on GMV. Further, as implored by Park (2021), the potential for meaning making processes to help in longitudinal positive adaptation to CS via meanings made is explored. Using the meaning making model (Park, 2010) it is proposed that CS will be positively related to GMV and mindfulness will moderate this relationship. Further, GMV will predict wellbeing and distress longitudinally. GMV will also trigger the meaning making processes i.e., meaning making coping (MMC), an aspect of situational meaning making, and core beliefs re-examination (CBR), an aspect of global meaning making. Additionally, it is proposed that the meaning making processes will lead to wellbeing outcomes via meanings made i.e., MMC and CBR will positively predict wellbeing and negatively predict distress via posttraumatic growth (PTG), a situational meaning made, and footing in the world (FW), a global meaning made, respectively. This study employs a 3-wave longitudinal design and uses structural equational modelling (SEM) to test the proposed hypotheses. 344 local community participants (63.95% females) and age ranged from 25 to 55 years completed all three surveys. Findings indicated that Time 1 (T1) CS is positively related to T1 GMV. However, this relationship was not moderated by T1 mindfulness. Further, T1 GMV is positively related to T1 MMC and T1 CBR. T1 GMV did not predict Time 2 (T2) wellbeing nor T2 distress longitudinally. T1 MMC predicted T2 PTG but T1 CBR did not predict T2 FW. Further, T2 PTG predicted T3 wellbeing but not T3 distress. More importantly, T2 PTG mediates the indirect effect of T3 MMC on T3 wellbeing. Additionally, cross lagged model testing confirmed the causality of the longitudinal associations. This is one of the first studies during the pandemic to provide support to core assumptions of meaning making model and enrich the literature that traumatic events like Covid19 disrupts individuals’ global meaning and it is associated with wellbeing outcomes. Further, GMV also triggers the meaning making processes of meaning making coping and core beliefs re-examination. Moreover, this study adds to the literature that positive wellbeing outcomes of meaning making processes is mediated via meanings made by demonstrating that during Covid outbreaks, meaning making coping employing both cognitive and emotional processing of stressors to change the situational meaning of the stressors, helps in positive adaptation to Covid stress via posttraumatic growth. Findings suggest potential practical implications for interventions to improve wellbeing in the community during the pandemic