TITLE:
Does the Pollyannaish View on Life Hold during Early COVID-19 Quarantine? Modeling the Effects of Positive Emotions, Hope, Optimism and Life Meaning on Life Satisfaction
AUTHORS:
Theodoros Kyriazos, Michalis Galanakis, Ioannis Katerelos, Anastassios Stalikas
KEYWORDS:
COVID-19, Quarantine, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), Positive Emotions, Life Satisfaction, Hope, Optimism, Life Meaning
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.10,
October
29,
2021
ABSTRACT: This study examined 1) the
effects of positive emotions, hope, optimism, and life meaning, on life
satisfaction during early COVID-19 quarantine; 2) the inter-relationships between hope, optimism,
life meaning and positive emotions. Respondents (759 Greek adults from the
general population) completed self-report measures of affectivity (SPANE-8),
life satisfaction (SWLS), hope (AHS), life meaning (MLQ) and optimism (LOT-R).
A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was specified. The measurement model showed
good fit, model-based reliability, convergent/discriminant validity and strict
measurement invariance across gender. The full SEM model had equally good fit.
The effects of Positive Emotions, Presence of Life Meaning, Optimism and Hope
Agency on Life Satisfaction were positive and significant, from 0.265 - 0.402 (61.5%
explained variance). The effect of Positive Emotions on Hope Agency was not
significant. The effects of Optimism and Presence of Life Meaning on Hope
Agency were positive, significant and strong (0.484 - 0.764). The effects of Positive Emotions and
Presence of Life Meaning on Optimism were positive, significant but weak. The
effect of Positive Emotions on Presence of Life Meaning was positive,
significant and strong. Some study limitations were the cross-sectional design,
non-probability sampling, imbalanced sample regarding gender, single method of data collection. In conclusion, during COVID-19 early
quarantine: 1) Positive Emotions, Hope Agency, Optimism and
Presence of Life Meaning explained almost 2/3 of Life Satisfaction; 2) Optimism had the strongest positive effect on Hope Agency; 3) Positive Emotions had the second strongest positive effect on Presence
of Life Meaning. Findings have implications for efforts to sustain and promote
Life Satisfaction during and after COVID-19 context.