Inspired in Adversity: How Inspiration Mediates the Effects of Emotions on Coping Strategies

Jia Hao; Weijian Lu; Wanqi Gong; Xiaoxi Chen

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S425643

Inspired in Adversity: How Inspiration Mediates the Effects of Emotions on Coping Strategies

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2023 Dec 22:16:5185-5196. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S425643. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jia Hao¹, Weijian Lu², Wanqi Gong³, Xiaoxi Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of English for International Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
² School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands.
³ School of Journalism and Communication, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
⁴ School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Purpose: Inspiration is a psychological construct that has been relatively understudied in times of difficulty. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of inspiration on the relationship between emotions and coping strategies in the context of adversity and to testify the effect in Chinese as well as the International societies.

Participants and methods: Using the snowball sampling method, two survey studies were conducted among 523 Chinese and 503 international participants during and soon after the local Covid-19 outbreak to testify how positive and negative emotions contributed to various coping strategies and whether the experience of inspiration mediated these relations. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data.

Results: Positive emotions had a higher impact on problem-solving and seeking social support coping strategies, whereas negative emotions had a higher impact on avoidance coping strategy. Both positive and negative emotions had positive relationships with inspiration, but positive emotions had a higher impact than negative ones. The indirect effects of emotions on problem-solving and social support coping strategies through inspiration were significantly positive, while the avoidance coping strategy was not influenced by the experience of inspiration.

Conclusion: The results suggest that being inspired in both positive and negative emotions is positively related to approach coping strategies in adverse situations such as COVID-19, with the effect patterns slightly differing between Chinese participants and their Western counterparts. This study highlights the importance of inspiration experience as a motivational state that can help individuals bring newly acquired ideas into fruition, especially during times of difficulty. By understanding the role of inspiration in the context of adversity, public health systems can better assist individuals in different societies to cope with the challenges they face.

Keywords: COVID-19; coping; emotions; inspiration.

Grants and funding

Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71802060, 71701080), Major Program of National Social Science Fund (No. 22&ZD316) and National Social Science Foundation (No. 23BXW031).