Rui Sun, Alisa Balabanova, Claude Julien Bajada, Yang Liu, Mariia Kriuchok, Silja-Riin Voolma, Mirna Đurić, Claude-Hélène Mayer, Maria Constantinou, Mariam Chichua, Chengcheng Li, Ashley Foster-Estwick, Kurt Borg, Carin Hill, Rishabh Kaushal, Ketaki Diwan, Valeria Vitale, Tiarah Engels, Rabiah Amin, Irina Ursu, Tengku Nila Fadhlia, Yi-jung Wu, Lusanda Sekaja, Milad Hadchity, Anita Deak, Shahira Sharaf, Pau Figueras, Anthony Kaziboni, Aoife Whiston, Kalliopi Ioumpa, Alfredo Montelongo, Lisanne Sarah Pauw, Gabriela Pavarini, Evgeniya Vedernikova, Tuong-Van Vu, Lauri Nummenmaa, Yong-Qi Cong, Milica Nikolic, Andrea Olguin, Wai Kai Hou, Jacob Israelashvili, Hyunjin Koo, Samaneh Khademi, Chinwendu Genevive Ukachukwu, Damian Omari Juma, Roza Gizem Kamiloglu, Aleksandr Kogan, Akerke Makhmud, Peter Sigurdson Lunga, Carlotta Rieble, Matthew Samson, Muhammad Rizwan, Mai Helmy, Laura Vuillier, Kunalan Manokara, Enzo Cáceres, Delgermend Tserendamba, Michiko Yoshie, Amy H. Du, Kumba Philip-Joe, Pála Björk Kúld, Kalifa Damani, Annabella Osei-Tutu, and Disa Sauter
Around the globe, people are living under the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many are experiencing curtailed opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and real-world social interactions. These conditions present a significant challenge to wellbeing1,2 and it is therefore essential to examine the factors associated with psychological wellbeing during this pandemic and other collective crises3. Here, we used survey data collected from 26,684 participants in 51 countries from 17 April to 15 May 2020 to examine the individual and societal factors that predict the degree of individuals’ suffering or thriving during the COVID-19 outbreak. We show that wellbeing is linked to an individual’s recent experiences of specific momentary positive and negative emotions, including calm, loneliness, love, and determination, as well as socioeconomic status. Around the world, calm, connection, and control were found to be central to wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak. The results are consistent with findings from two representative samples using pre-registered analyses, and a prospective 30-day daily diary study. Our findings highlight differential relationships between socio-affective processes and wellbeing during collective crises, and point to the importance of momentary experiences of calm, love and determination, particularly for those in less privileged positions in society. Funding Statement: This research was supported by ERC Starting grant 714977 awarded to D.A.S. Declaration of Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: The study received approval from the University of Amsterdam Department of Psychology Ethics Committee and all participants provided digital informed consent.