Inspired in Adversity: How Inspiration Mediates the Effects of Emotions on Coping Strategies

Abstract

Purpose

Inspiration is a psychological construct that has been relatively understudied in times of difficulty. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of inspiration on the relationship between emotions and coping strategies in the context of adversity and to testify the effect in Chinese as well as the International societies.

Participants and Methods

Using the snowball sampling method, two survey studies were conducted among 523 Chinese and 503 international participants during and soon after the local Covid-19 outbreak to testify how positive and negative emotions contributed to various coping strategies and whether the experience of inspiration mediated these relations. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data.

Results

Positive emotions had a higher impact on problem-solving and seeking social support coping strategies, whereas negative emotions had a higher impact on avoidance coping strategy. Both positive and negative emotions had positive relationships with inspiration, but positive emotions had a higher impact than negative ones. The indirect effects of emotions on problem-solving and social support coping strategies through inspiration were significantly positive, while the avoidance coping strategy was not influenced by the experience of inspiration.

Conclusion

The results suggest that being inspired in both positive and negative emotions is positively related to approach coping strategies in adverse situations such as COVID-19, with the effect patterns slightly differing between Chinese participants and their Western counterparts. This study highlights the importance of inspiration experience as a motivational state that can help individuals bring newly acquired ideas into fruition, especially during times of difficulty. By understanding the role of inspiration in the context of adversity, public health systems can better assist individuals in different societies to cope with the challenges they face.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• coping
• inspiration
• emotions

Data Sharing Statement

All data included in the current study can be obtained from the corresponding author through their email address upon reasonable request.

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee on Human Subjects Ethics Sub-Committee of City University of Hong Kong (H002708) and complied with the Declaration of Helsinki. Verbal informed consent was obtained from each study participant as the data was collected at the early stage of Covid-19 break out, when Wu Han and some other affected areas were lock down, it was impossible to obtain the informed consent in written format. The participants were made aware that their participation was entirely voluntary via the instruction of the online questionnaire. Explanations of our survey purpose and voluntary participation principle were made to the participants before filling out the questionnaires. They were also assured that all data collected would remain strictly confidential, and that the survey was solely for research purposes.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Linlin Chen, Wei Chen, Zixi Feng, Xiaowei Geng, Jiaxun He, Aiting Li, Chenchen Li, Xiaojun Mo, Luluo Peng, Yingjuan Qian, Yuanyuan Shi, Xiaomin Sun, Xuan Wei, Tian Xie, Haitao Yu, Yan Zhang, Delei Zhao, Na Zhao for helping the data collection during the first outbreak of Covid-19 in China.

Disclosure

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71802060, 71701080), Major Program of National Social Science Fund (No. 22&ZD316) and National Social Science Foundation (No. 23BXW031).