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This study expands the knowledge on the dynamic of risk and protective factors during the large-scale COVID-19 ongoing crisis. Albeit a wide effect on individuals and communities worldwide, lower socioeconomic status and poor health were identified as risk factors that may decrease mental health outcomes over time. The purpose of the current study was to examine the longitudinal effect of predispositional health and financial vulnerabilities on participants’ perceived well-being. Other protective factors which are known in the literature, such as optimism and social support, were examined in order to explain resiliency processes.
Methods: We used five waves longitudinal study (N = 941, nationally representative sample) from the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, administered in 2020 from late April to early May (Wave 1), late August (Wave 2), November (Wave 3), and in 2021 from March through April (Wave 4), and November (Wave 5). Participants' age ranged from 18 to 86 (M=47.36, SD=16.44). Among participants, 70.2% were married or cohabiting, 52% identified as women, and 41.4% were from households with children under 18. Other measurements included participants’ financial and health situation in wave 1, as well as psychological measures such as participants’ mental health evaluation (general anxiety and poor mental health) in waves 2 through 5. Finally, optimism and social support were assessed as possible buffers against the adverse effect low socioeconomic status and poor health have on decreased mental health. For that purpose, SEM was used to assess the fit of the estimated model to the data.
Results:
All study variables correlated significantly with perceived wellbeing. The model explained 46% of the variance in perceived wellbeing. The research model fit the data well: χ2 = 83.104, df =26, p=. 00, RMSEA = .04, NFI = .94, CFI = .96, TLI = .92. Overall mediation paths revealed that psychological risk factors (general anxiety and poor mental health) mediated the effect of COVID-19 related factors (health and financial risk) on perceived well-being. Nonetheless, optimism and social support buffered the effect of adverse psychological outcomes (general anxiety and poor mental health) on perceived well-being, while optimism had the stronger effect among the two.
Conclusions and Implications:
Our findings demonstrate the longitudinal adverse effect of health and financial vulnerabilities on personal well-being in times of a global pandemic. Importantly, optimism served as a significant protective contributor to subjects’ well-being, followed by social support which was surprisingly significantly weaker. Our results highlight the importance of optimism in times of continuing stress, characterized by grave uncertainties and threats to one’s physical and psychological existence. Our findings may inform mental health professionals and policy-makers.