Periods of collective stress, such as a pandemic or climate crisis, have a major impact on our psychological wellbeing. What role do emotions play in helping us cope during tough times? In a worldwide study by sixty-two scientists among more than 24,000 participants in fifty-one countries, a relationship was established for the first time between specific emotions and wellbeing during a period of collective stress. Calm and hope appear to be promising routes to psychological wellbeing. Anxiety, loneliness, and sadness are consistently associated with reduced wellbeing. This is an important finding for wellbeing interventions, especially in view of future societal crises.

Read the news about this research project at the University of Amsterdam from here.

The article is published in the scientific journal Emotion. Go to the publication from here.