Citation

Gut A, Miciuk, Gorbaniuk O, Gut P, Karczmarczyk A. Front. Psychol. 2021; 12: e790333.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Frontiers Research Foundation)

DOI

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.790333

PMID

34956016

PMCID

PMC8702491

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, which involves the threat of contracting a potentially fatal disease, can be understood as a source of terror. According to terror management theory, people shield themselves from terror by adopting culturally specific worldviews and protecting self-esteem. The study investigates the protective role of worldviews that are culturally specific to Poles: religiosity and social solidarity. The hypothesis was that Poles who tend to worry, entertain these worldviews and are more likely to maintain high self-esteem and concentrate on the current moment (carpe diem), which theoretically allows them to reduce future-related anxiety. Path analysis confirmed that self-esteem, the centrality of religiosity, and expectation of solidarity due to the COVID-19 pandemic mediate the relationship between the worry trait and carpe diem.

Language: en

Keywords

COVID-19; religiosity; solidarity; cultural worldview; Polish; terror management theory