IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v22y2021i5d10.1007_s10902-020-00321-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Andrà tutto bene”: Associations Between Character Strengths, Psychological Distress and Self-efficacy During Covid-19 Lockdown

Author

Listed:
  • Nicole Casali

    (University of Padova)

  • Tommaso Feraco

    (University of Padova
    Pentathlon Srl)

  • Marta Ghisi

    (University of Padova)

  • Chiara Meneghetti

    (University of Padova)

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic obliged people around the world to stay home and self-isolate, with a number of negative psychological consequences. This study focuses on the protective role of character strengths in sustaining mental health and self-efficacy during lockdown. Data were collected from 944 Italian respondents (mean age = 37.24 years, SD = 14.50) by means of an online survey investigating character strengths, psychological distress and Covid-19-related self-efficacy one month after lockdown began. Using principal component analysis, four strengths factors were extracted, namely transcendence, interpersonal, openness and restraint. Regression models with second-order factors showed that transcendence strengths had a strong inverse association with psychological distress, and a positive association with self-efficacy. Regression models with single strengths identified hope, zest, prudence, love and forgiveness as the strengths most associated with distress, love and zest as the most related to self-efficacy and zest to general mental health. Openness factor and appreciation of beauty showed an unexpected direct relation with psychological distress. These results provide original evidence of the association of character strengths, and transcendence strengths in particular, with mental health and self-efficacy in a pandemic and are discussed within the field of positive psychology.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicole Casali & Tommaso Feraco & Marta Ghisi & Chiara Meneghetti, 2021. "“Andrà tutto bene”: Associations Between Character Strengths, Psychological Distress and Self-efficacy During Covid-19 Lockdown," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 2255-2274, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:22:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s10902-020-00321-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-020-00321-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-020-00321-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-020-00321-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Horn, 1965. "A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 30(2), pages 179-185, June.
    2. Paul T E Cusack, 2020. "Anxiety Disorders," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 31(3), pages 24255-24260, October.
    3. Veronika Huta & Lance Hawley, 2010. "Psychological Strengths and Cognitive Vulnerabilities: Are They Two Ends of the Same Continuum or Do They Have Independent Relationships with Well-being and Ill-being?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 71-93, March.
    4. ,, 2000. "Problems And Solutions," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 287-299, April.
    5. Eleni Petkari & Margarita Ortiz-Tallo, 2018. "Towards Youth Happiness and Mental Health in the United Arab Emirates: The Path of Character Strengths in a Multicultural Population," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 333-350, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tommaso Feraco & Nicole Casali & Chiara Meneghetti & Samuel Greiff & Giorgia Cona, 2023. "Is Good Character All that Counts? A Comparison Between the Predictive Role of Specific Strengths and a General Factor of “Good Character” Using a Bifactor Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(7), pages 2353-2376, October.
    2. Svenja Damberg & Lena Frömbling, 2022. "“Furry tales”: pet ownership’s influence on subjective well-being during Covid-19 times," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3645-3664, October.
    3. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Alexandra Sandu & Chris Taylor & Jennifer May Hampton, 2024. "Children’s Subjective Well-Being During the Coronavirus Pandemic," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(1), pages 309-347, February.
    4. Shaina A. Kumar & Madison E. Edwards & Hanna M. Grandgenett & Lisa L. Scherer & David DiLillo & Anna E. Jaffe, 2022. "Does Gratitude Promote Resilience During a Pandemic? An Examination of Mental Health and Positivity at the Onset of COVID-19," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 3463-3483, October.
    5. Sahar Amoury Naddaf & Shiri Lavy, 2023. "Character Strengths’ Change During COVID-19," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 185-210, January.
    6. Kailin Cheng & Jiangqun Liao, 2023. "Coping with Coronavirus Pandemic: Risk Perception Predicts Life Optimism," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 351-371, January.
    7. Andrea Guazzini & Andrea Pesce & Lorena Marotta & Mirko Duradoni, 2022. "Through the Second Wave: Analysis of the Psychological and Perceptive Changes in the Italian Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-12, January.
    8. Natale Canale & Claudia Marino & Michela Lenzi & Alessio Vieno & Mark D. Griffiths & Marta Gaboardi & Matteo Giraldo & Carmen Cervone & Santinello Massimo, 2022. "How Communication Technology Fosters Individual and Social Wellbeing During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Preliminary Support For a Digital Interaction Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 727-745, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Raveenajit Kaur A. P. & Kalvant Singh & Alberto Luis August, 2021. "Exploring the Factor Structure of the Constructs of Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK): An Exploratory Factor Analysis Based on the Perceptions of TESOL Pre-Service Teachers at ," Research Journal of Education, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 7(2), pages 103-115, 06-2021.
    2. Anum Khan & Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik, 2022. "Measuring the role of neurotransmitters in investment decision: A proposed constructs," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 258-274, January.
    3. Liang Zhao & Yukun Zhao & Yiwen Wu & Xiaojun Ding & Feng Yu & Kaiping Peng, 2022. "Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic upon Chinese Positive Traits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-19, October.
    4. Timothy P Moss & Victoria Lawson & Paul White & The Appearance Research Collaboration, 2014. "Salience and Valence of Appearance in a Population with a Visible Difference of Appearance: Direct and Moderated Relationships with Self-Consciousness, Anxiety and Depression," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-8, February.
    5. Emilio Moyano-Díaz & Agustín Martínez-Molina & Fernando P. Ponce, 2014. "The price of gaining: maximization in decision-making, regret and life satisfaction," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 9(5), pages 500-509, September.
    6. Mogos Descotes, Raluca & Walliser, Björn & Holzmüller, Hartmut & Guo, Xiaoling, 2011. "Capturing institutional home country conditions for exporting SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1303-1310.
    7. repec:cup:judgdm:v:9:y:2014:i:5:p:500-509 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Frestad, Dennis, 2008. "Common and unique factors influencing daily swap returns in the Nordic electricity market, 1997-2005," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 1081-1097, May.
    9. Alexis Dinno, 2009. "Implementing Horn’s parallel analysis for principal component analysis and factor analysis," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(2), pages 291-298, June.
    10. Hamed Taherdoost & Shamsul Sahibuddin & Neda Jalaliyoon, 2014. "Exploratory Factor Analysis; Concepts and Theory," Post-Print hal-02557344, HAL.
    11. Markus Heckel & Kiyohiko G. Nishimura, 2020. "Unconventional Monetary Policy through Open Market Operations: A Principal Component Analysis," CARF F-Series CARF-F-501, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    12. Irene Scopelliti & H. Lauren Min & Erin McCormick & Karim S. Kassam & Carey K. Morewedge, 2018. "Individual Differences in Correspondence Bias: Measurement, Consequences, and Correction of Biased Interpersonal Attributions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(4), pages 1879-1910, April.
    13. Agyeman, Stephen & Cheng, Lin, 2020. "Analysis of barriers to perceived service quality in Ghana: Students’ perspectives on bus mobility attributes," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 63-85.
    14. Hales, Jeffrey & Moon, James R. & Swenson, Laura A., 2018. "A new era of voluntary disclosure? Empirical evidence on how employee postings on social media relate to future corporate disclosures," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 68, pages 88-108.
    15. Karim S Kassam & Amanda R Markey & Vladimir L Cherkassky & George Loewenstein & Marcel Adam Just, 2013. "Identifying Emotions on the Basis of Neural Activation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(6), pages 1-12, June.
    16. Patil, Vivek H. & Singh, Surendra N. & Mishra, Sanjay & Todd Donavan, D., 2008. "Efficient theory development and factor retention criteria: Abandon the `eigenvalue greater than one' criterion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 162-170, February.
    17. Golino, Hudson F. & Demetriou, Andreas, 2017. "Estimating the dimensionality of intelligence like data using Exploratory Graph Analysis," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 54-70.
    18. Estrada, Samantha & Floren, Michael & Harding, Justin & Wroblewski, Matthew, 2021. "What is your research question? A mixed methods evaluation of an academic statistical consulting center," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    19. Thi Loan Dang & Fu-Chih Lai & Yen-Kuang Lin & Kuei-Ru Chou & Nae-Fang Miao & Yuan-Mei Liao, 2018. "Psychometric Evaluation of the Vietnamese Hemodialysis Stressor Scale," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 27(3), pages 364-385, March.
    20. Stevanovic Dalibor, 2016. "Common time variation of parameters in reduced-form macroeconomic models," Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics & Econometrics, De Gruyter, vol. 20(2), pages 159-183, April.
    21. Wenqing Chen & Melvyn Sim & Jie Sun & Chung-Piaw Teo, 2010. "From CVaR to Uncertainty Set: Implications in Joint Chance-Constrained Optimization," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 58(2), pages 470-485, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:22:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s10902-020-00321-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.