Seeking control during uncontrollable times: Control abilities and religiosity predict stress during COVID-19

• Main Authors: KHOO, Shi Ann Shuna, TOH, Wei Xing, YANG, Hwajin
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2021
• Subjects: Cognitive control; COVID-19; stress; Health locus of control; Religiosity; Self-control; Personality and Social Contexts; Public Health; Social Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3599; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/4857/viewcontent/SeekingControl_during_UncontrollableTimes_av.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need to understand the protective factors that can buffer individuals against psychological distress. We employed a latent-variable approach to examine how control-related factors such as religiosity, self-control, cognitive control, and health locus of control can act as resilience resources during stressful periods. We found that cognitive control emerged as a protective factor against COVID-19-related stress, whereas religiosity predicted a heightened level of stress. These results provide novel insights into control factors that can safeguard individuals' psychological well-being during crises such as a pandemic.