The COVID-19 pandemic as an existential threat: Evidence on young people’s psychological vulnerability using a Multifaceted Threat Scale

Article Article scientifique Article The COVID-19 pandemic as an existential threat: Evidence on young people’s psychological vulnerability using a Multifaceted Threat Scale eng 2023-10-12 author Vacchiano Mattia 0000-0002-4916-8723 Department of Sociology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 955613 Service enseignement, recherche, administratif et technique (SdS) (SCSPS) author Politi Emanuele 0000-0002-8577-3197 Laboratory of Social Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Centre for Social and Cultural Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. 798410 author Lueders Adrian Institute of Communication Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. e0292894 10.1371/journal.pone.0292894 37824537 1932-6203 PMC10569596 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292894 Research offers evidence that younger generations suffered the most psychologically from the COVID-19 crisis. In this article, we look at the onset of the pandemic to understand the reasons for this increased vulnerability. We use the COVID-19 Multifaceted Threat Scale to explore potential mechanisms underlying generational differences in psychological well-being. In a sample of 994 individuals (+18) obtained in the USA and India, we first assess levels of perceived psychological well-being across the generations. Thus, we measure cross-generational differences in the perceived levels of financial, relational, existential, health and lifestyle threats experienced by respondents seven months after the pandemic broke out. In accordance with earlier findings, the results confirm that people from Generation Z and Generation Y reported worse levels of psychological well-being than older adults. Our results suggest that the heightened existential threat, as reflected in a loss of meaning and feelings of being "trapped", mediate the association between younger generations and worse psychological well-being. No substantial intergenerational differences were found for other threat dimensions. The observed effects were consistent across both national contexts, hence stressing the importance of existential concerns as a mechanism underlying the psychological vulnerability of younger people in the historical contingencies of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dewey 301 Swiss National Science Foundation Addressing social isolation and legal vulnerability: An integrated framework of displaced migrants' social psychological adaptation 202985 CH 122 Département de sociologie T4 false PloS one 18 10 64fb0640-d9fe-404c-8e40-c6cad134650e Article (Published version) Public Article_scientifique_from_unpaywall.pdf 664015 application/pdf CC BY-4.0 554ff6a4a971956e6be4e285470ff81506c3e95b5a37059231b6a990e89107ff openAccess Faculté des sciences de la société / Département de sociologie

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The COVID-19 pandemic as an existential threat: Evidence on young people’s psychological vulnerability using a Multifaceted Threat Scale	PloS one			2023	9	65

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