ABSTRACT

According to the motivated helplessness hypothesis, a sense of helplessness in coping with threats in a specific domain can serve an anxiety-buffering function. The purpose of this study was to test this hypothesis in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Argentina, using data collected before and during the pandemic. Findings supported the motivated helplessness hypothesis: Whereas feelings of helplessness to avoid being infected with COVID-19 were positively related to fear of being infected with COVID-19 and state anxiety before the pandemic, these feelings were negatively related to fear of being infected (and not directly related to state anxiety) during the pandemic. These findings demonstrate the specificity of the motivated helplessness effect and further establish this effect in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

摘要

根据动机无助假说，在应对特定领域的威胁时的无助感可以起到缓冲焦虑的作用。本研究的目的是在阿根廷冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 大流行的背景下，使用大流行之前和期间收集的数据来检验这一假设。研究结果支持动机性无助假说：虽然避免感染 COVID-19 的无助感与害怕感染 COVID-19 和大流行前的状态焦虑呈正相关，但这些感觉与害怕被感染呈负相关（和与状态焦虑没有直接关系）在大流行期间。这些发现证明了动机性无助效应的特异性，并在 COVID-19 大流行的背景下进一步确立了这种效应。