The psychological impact of lockdown was the strongest predictor of mental health and well-being, with hope emerging as the only effective mediator while emotion regulation strategies did not significantly mediate these effects.
Key Findings
Results
The psychological impact of lockdown was the strongest predictor of both mental health and psychological well-being among university students.
Sample consisted of 184 university students (82.6% female; M = 22.8, SD = 4.09)
Participants reported perceived improvements or deteriorations across physical, psychological, and social domains during lockdown
Psychological domain changes showed stronger predictive effects on outcomes than physical or social domain changes
Changes in life conditions were assessed across three domains: physical, psychological, and social
Results
Emotion regulation strategies—cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression—did not significantly mediate the effects of lockdown on mental health or psychological well-being.
Two emotion regulation strategies were examined: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression
Neither strategy showed significant mediation effects in the tested models
This finding contradicts previous research that emphasized the protective role of emotion regulation in reducing anxiety and depression
The mediation analysis was conducted within a structural model examining psychological, physical, and social lockdown impacts
Results
Hope was the only effective mediator, reducing the negative psychological consequences of lockdown and enhancing resilience and coping.
Hope significantly mediated the relationship between lockdown impact and psychological outcomes
Hope was associated with enhanced resilience and coping in the context of prolonged adversity
Hope's mediating role was identified against a context where emotion regulation strategies failed to show significant mediation
The finding underscores hope as 'a central psychological resource to support individuals in managing prolonged adversity and maintaining psychological well-being'
Background
The COVID-19 lockdown led to widespread declines in quality of life, particularly in mental health, though some individuals showed resilience.
Lockdowns were associated with declines in physical, psychological, and social domains of well-being
Individual differences in response to lockdown conditions were observed, with some individuals demonstrating resilience
The study specifically targeted university students as a population affected by lockdown conditions
The study examined both mental health outcomes and broader psychological well-being as dependent variables
What This Means
This research suggests that during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, the degree to which people felt their psychological life conditions had worsened was the most powerful factor predicting poorer mental health and well-being among a group of 184 university students. The study tested whether two common emotion management strategies—reframing negative situations more positively (cognitive reappraisal) and suppressing emotional expression—helped buffer these negative effects, but found that neither strategy acted as a significant buffer between lockdown experiences and mental health outcomes. This was a somewhat surprising result given that prior research had suggested these strategies were protective.
The standout finding was that hope played a unique and significant role: people who maintained higher levels of hope showed less severe negative psychological effects from the lockdown, and hope was the only psychological factor that meaningfully mediated the link between lockdown hardship and mental health. This suggests hope functioned as a key internal resource that helped people cope and remain resilient even during prolonged and difficult circumstances.
This research suggests that psychological support programs during crises like pandemics might benefit from focusing on cultivating hope—such as helping people envision positive futures and identify pathways to achieve goals—rather than relying solely on emotion regulation techniques. The findings highlight that how people feel about the future may be more important than how they manage their emotions in the moment when it comes to weathering extended adversity.
Tommasi M, Arnò S, Saggino A. (2026). Examining the Mediation Role of Emotion Regulation and Hope in the Impact of COVID-19 on Psychological Well-Being and Mental Health.. International journal of psychology : Journal international de psychologie. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.70216