The mediating role of hope in the relationship between benefit finding and anxiety: insights from the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives

During large-scale stressful events such as pandemics, situational uncertainty and daily routine disruptions increase anxiety prevalence, underscoring the need for research on approaches to promote effective coping. This study focused on the psychological function of benefit finding in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design and Methods

Both Study 1a (a cross-sectional survey of 567 Chinese adults) and Study 1b (a two-wave longitudinal survey of 406 Chinese adults) examined the relationship between benefit finding and anxiety, with hope as the mediator. Study 2 used an interventional design to examine the efficacy of daily benefit-finding writing among 129 Chinese college students.

Results

In Studies 1a and 1b, benefit finding was positively associated with anxiety, which was mediated by hope. Study 2 showed that daily writing tasks significantly promoted benefit finding. Hope mediated the relationship between benefit finding and anxiety at both the within- and between-person levels.

Conclusions

Benefit finding can foster hope and relieve anxiety. Daily benefit-finding activities, which can be conducted online, can help improve mental health during pandemics.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• benefit finding
• hope
• anxiety
• intervention

Acknowledgments

We thank all participants for their contributions to this study. We gratefully acknowledge Jie Wen and Shuai Jin for data collection in Study 2.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Supplementary material

This article contains supplementary materials named as “Supplemental material” and can be accessed online.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Young Scholar Project of Beijing Education Sciences Planning Program during the 14th Five-Year Plan [Grant Number: CECA21105].