Tragic Optimism as a Buffer Against COVID-19 Suffering and the Psychometric Properties of a Brief Version of the Life Attitudes Scale

Optimism in dire times: The buffering role of optimism in the relationship between food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Considering the need to gain a deeper understanding of the protective factors associated with coping with food insecurity, specifically in times of severe prolonged stress, the current longitudinal study seeks to examine the role of optimism in the relationship between food insecurity and adverse mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. A three-wave longitudinal study involving 1921 Israeli adults was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed questionnaires assessing food insecurity, anxiety, depression, optimism, and socio-demographic characteristics. To explore the relationship between food insecurity and symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as the moderating role of optimism in this relationship, we employed a set of panel regression models with individual fixed effects. Our results indicate that the degree and change in food insecurity over time were positively associated with both anxiety and depression symptoms, whereas the degree and change in optimism were negatively correlated. Optimism was found to moderate the association between food insecurity and anxiety symptoms over time, but not the association between food insecurity and depression symptoms. A subgroup analysis revealed that optimism moderated the relationship between food insecurity and anxiety and depression for women, but not for men; for married/coupled individuals but not for singles; for non-parents with regard to anxiety, and for parents with regard to depression. Our results highlight the need to practice and enhance optimism in times of great despair, uncertainty, and hardship, especially in situations of food insecurity where tangible change may take time.

Varieties of suffering in the clinical setting: re-envisioning mental health beyond the medical model

In this paper, we argue for the need to rethink mental health beyond the medical model because much of human suffering cannot be diagnosed by the DSM-5. During the pandemic and post-pandemic, people have learned to accept the fact that no one is immune from suffering. Given the universality and complexity of human suffering, it is natural for people to wrestle with existential questions such as "Why struggle when all life end in death?" and "How can one flourish when life is so hard?" Existential positive psychology (EPP or PP2.0) was developed to address these existential concerns. After explaining the inherent limitations of the medical model and the need for EPP as an alternative vision for mental health, we provide illustrative clinical cases to demonstrate the advantages of this broader existential framework for both case conceptualization and interventions. According to EPP, mental illness is reconceptualized as both deficiency in knowledge and skills in coping with the demands of life and deficiency in meeting the basic needs for livelihood and mental health, the Soul's yearnings for faith, hope, and love. Finally, we introduce integrative meaning therapy as a therapeutic framework which can equip people with the needed skills to achieve healing, wholeness, and total wellbeing.

Do executive functions buffer against COVID-19 stress?: A latent variable approach

Levels of COVID-19 stress have soared worldwide as a result of the pandemic. Given the pernicious psychological and physiological effects of stress, there is an urgent need for us to protect populations against the pandemic's psychological impact. While there exists literature documenting the prevalence of COVID-19 stress among various populations, insufficient research has investigated psychological factors that might mitigate this worrying trend. To address this gap in the literature, the current study seeks to examine executive functions as a potential cognitive buffer against COVID-19 stress. To do so, the study adopted a latent variable approach to examine three latent factors of executive functions and their relation to COVID-19 stress among a sample of 243 young adults. Structural equation models showed differential associations between COVID-19 stress and the latent factors of executive functions. While the latent factor of updating working memory was associated with attenuated COVID-19 stress, task switching and inhibitory control were not significantly associated with COVID-19 stress. These results further our understanding of the critical processes of executive functions and highlight the nuanced link between executive functions and pandemic-related stress.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04652-8.

Accelerating the science and practice of psychology beyond WEIRD biases: Enriching the landscape through Asian psychology

More than a decade has passed since major concerns emerged about the WEIRD-centric focus of mainstream psychological science. Since then, many calls have been made for the discipline of psychology (and other disciplines within the social sciences) to become more broadly representative of the human species. However, recent evidence suggests that progress toward improving the inclusivity and generalizability of psychological science has been slow, and that the dominance of WEIRD psychology has persisted. To build a more comprehensive psychological science that truly represents the global population, we need strategies that can facilitate more rapid expansion of empirical evidence in psychology beyond WEIRD biases. In this paper, we draw on several examples (i.e., non-duality and dialectical interaction, Wu-Wei, Zhong Yong) to illustrate how principles of Asian psychology could contribute to reshaping mainstream psychology. We discuss some strategies for advancing a global psychological science, along with some complementary practical suggestions that could enrich the WEIRD-centric landscape of current psychological science.

Existential Suffering in Palliative Care: An Existential Positive Psychology Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inadequacies of the current healthcare system and needs a paradigm change to one that is holistic and community based, illustrated by the healing wheel. The present paper proposes that existential positive psychology (PP 2.0) represents a promising approach to meet the rising needs in palliative care. This framework has a twofold emphasis on (a) how to transcend and transform suffering as the foundation for wellbeing and (b) how to cultivate our spiritual and existential capabilities to achieve personal growth and flourishing. We propose that these objectives can be achieved simultaneously through dialectical palliative counselling, as illustrated by Wong's integrative meaning therapy and the Conceptual Model of CALM Therapy in palliative care. We then outline the treatment objectives and the intervention strategies of IMT in providing palliative counselling for palliative care and hospice patients. Based on our review of recent literature, as well as our own research and practice, we discover that existential suffering in general and at the last stage of life in particular is indeed the foundation for healing and wellbeing as hypothesized by PP 2.0. We can also conclude that best palliative care is holistic-in addition to cultivating the inner spiritual resources of patients, it needs to be supported by the family, staff, and community, as symbolized by the healing wheel.