How do appraisal as threat or challenge, efficacy, and environmental quality affect wellbeing in the COVID-19 pandemic?

Hannah Wallis; Veronique Holzen; Theresa Sieverding; Ellen Matthies; Karolin Schmidt

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1009977

How do appraisal as threat or challenge, efficacy, and environmental quality affect wellbeing in the COVID-19 pandemic?

Front Psychiatry. 2023 Jan 4:13:1009977. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1009977. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Hannah Wallis¹, Veronique Holzen², Theresa Sieverding², Ellen Matthies², Karolin Schmidt²

Affiliations

¹ Medical Faculty, University Clinic of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Magdeburg, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
² Department of Environmental Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.

Abstract

Background: In crises, it is of great relevance to identify mechanisms that help people to maintain a certain level of wellbeing. This paper investigates whether appraising the COVID-19 pandemic as a threat vs. as a challenge has different effects on subjective wellbeing during the pandemic. Furthermore, we study the role of the perceived local environmental quality for individuals' subjective wellbeing.

Methods: Via online survey study with two times of measurement (N = 758), we investigated (a) the prediction of participants' wellbeing in June 2020 and June 2021 through five variables and (b) how these five variables moderated within-participant differences in subjective wellbeing over time.

Results: Results showed that a stronger perception of the pandemic as a threat (feeling worried) and a lower education in June 2020 predicted a lower subjective wellbeing in 2020 and 2021. A stronger challenge appraisal (feeling confident), higher efficacy expectations, and positive perceptions of the local environmental quality in June 2020 predicted a higher wellbeing in 2020 and 2021. There was no substantial change in participants' aggregated wellbeing over time. However, those who perceived the pandemic more as a threat in June 2020 struggled more with negative changes in their wellbeing, whereas those who perceived the pandemic more as a challenge reported a higher wellbeing.

Conclusion: It seems key to support people in activating positive feelings to successfully cope with crises.

Keywords: COVID-19; efficacy; environmental quality; subjective wellbeing; threat appraisal.

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt-DBU, DBU-AZ 36002). We acknowledge support by the Open Access Publication Fund of Magdeburg University.