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Background: The positive predictive effect of altruism on physical and psychological well-being has been extensively demonstrated in previous studies, but few studies have examined the effect of altruism on negative mental health outcomes when altruists cannot perform altruistic behaviours. This study explored the influence of altruism on negative affect and mental health (anxiety and depressive symptoms) during the COVID-19 pandemic while people self-isolated at home in China., Method: University students were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional online survey during the outbreak of COVID-19 in China. Self-reported perceived risk, altruism, negative affect, anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured using the Self-Report Altruism Scale (SRA scale), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9). A structural equation model was used to analyse the mediating and moderating effects on mental health., Results: The final sample comprised 1346 Chinese participants (Mage = 19.76 ± 2.23 years, 73% female). Overall, the higher the risk the participants perceived, the more negative affect they exhibited (β = 0.16, p < .001), and thus, the more anxious and depressed they felt (β = 0.134, p < .001); however, this relationship between risk perception and negative affect was moderated by altruism. In contrast to previous studies, the increase in negative affect associated with the increased perceived risk was pronounced among individuals with high altruism (t = 7.68, p < .001)., Conclusions: Individuals with high altruism exhibited more negative affect than those with low altruism, which indirectly increased their anxiety and depressive symptoms. These findings enrich theories of altruism and provide valuable insight into the influence of altruism on mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Background: The only previous studies that formulated a theoretical model of epidemics for psychological response relative to cultural perspectives have focused on the role of individualism-collectivism and have omitted analysis of tightness-looseness. This study explored the role of cultural tightness in relation to psychological disorders during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: We recruited 1827 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 18.16 ± 2.23 years, 53.3% female) to participate a cross-sectional survey. Participants completed a series of questionnaires, including the scales of cultural tightness, risk perception of COVID-19 pandemic, perceived protection efficacy, anxiety and depression. A latent moderated structural equations model was used to analyse the mediating and moderating effects of risk perception regarding COVID-19, cultural tightness and perceived protection efficacy on psychological disorders.Results: The results showed that greater risk perception of COVID-19 predicted greater psychological disorders, however cultural tightness moderated this positive relationship. The increase in psychological disorders with risk perception regarding COVID-19 was less pronounced among people who lived in tighter cultural areas. In addition, this moderating effect of cultural tightness was further mediated by perceived protection efficacy; that is, tight culture protects against psychological disorders by enhancing perceived protection efficacy.Conclusion: This study enriched the theoretical framework of cultural tightness and indicated its importance in the field of mental health and health policies. It also emphasized the importance of tight culture as a protective factor against psychological disorders in case of COVID-19 outbreaks, providing valuable practical insight into psychological prevention for COVID-19 outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]