key: cord-1053870-v1im3vct authors: Yu, Yongjuan; Yu, Yongju; Lin, Yigang title: Cross-lagged analysis of the interplay between meaning in life and positive mental health during the COVID-19 epidemic date: 2020-07-04 journal: Asian J Psychiatr DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102278 sha: e888572d1c446de7d18acbd56eba224fc3958168 doc_id: 1053870 cord_uid: v1im3vct nan Finding meaning in life is the primary motivating force for any individual, especially in difficult situations (Steger et al., 2006) . Previous studies have suggested that, as an effective protective factor, meaning in life can reduce psychological distress (Yu et al., 2020) and facilitate mental health recovery (Jun and Yun, 2020) . It is also closely associated with positive outcomes, such as life satisfaction (Steger, 2018) and subjective well-being (Schnell, 2009) . However, few efforts have been made to investigate the contribution of mental health to meaning in life. The novel coronavirus disease 2019 provides an opportunity to examine the causal relationship between these two psychological variables. The ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, emerged in Wuhan city first, and spread rapidly across the whole country of China. The epidemic peaked in February, 2020, which was quickly and effectively controlled. By the end of May, most colleges and universities in China officially opened under the measures of limited social contact. However, there are still sporadic cases thus far. As stated by Tandon (2020) , it is necessary to continually focus on people's mental health and J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f 2 make effective measures. In the current study, we investigated the causal relationship between meaning in life and positive mental health by conducting two wave cross-lagged analysis, with an interval of 4 months during the COVID-19 epidemic. Self-report questionnaires including Chinese versions of 10-item Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ, Wang et al., 2008) and 14-item Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF, Yin & He, 2012) were administered on computer at two time points. The MLQ had two factors: search for meaning (MLQ-S) and presence of meaning (MLQ-P) (Steger et al., 2006) , while MHC-SF consists of three factors: emotional well-being (EWB), social well-being (SWB), and psychological well-being (PWB) (Keyes, 2002) . A total of 595 Chinese university students answered the questionnaires at Time 1 (February 11, 2020). At Time 2 (after 4 months), 462 participants completed the questionnaires. Participants who answered the survey for less than 200 seconds (n = 6) or who did not answer the survey at Time 2 (n = 31) were excluded from the analysis. Therefore, the final sample comprised 425 participants (72 male students and 353 female students), with ages ranging from 18 to 25 years old (Mean = 20.79, SD = 1.42). Among them, no one was infected by COVID-19. Nevertheless, there are still 90 students (21.18%) who had experienced medical isolation for at least 14 days during the COVID-19 epidemic. The present study aimed to examine the causal relationship between meaning in life and positive mental health. Two waves of investigation were administered in the peak and remission periods during the COVID-19 outbreak in Chinese university students, with an interval of 4 months. Cross-lagged analysis indicated that university students who had reported higher level of meaning in life exhibited more emotional well-being, social well-being, and psychological well-being, which is consistent with the longstanding theorizing that meaning in life has a protective effect on mental health (Lew et al., 2020) . Our results also showed that positive mental health helps to facilitate individuals' meaning in life. In other words, meaning in life and positive mental health have a reciprocal impact and promote each other. Accordingly, this fills a part of the present knowledge gap. There is a reciprocal association between meaning in life and positive mental health in Chinese university students during the COVID-19 epidemic. This findings has significant implications for ensuring sound, healthy experiences for individuals experiencing the COVID-19 epidemic, and it may also offer guidance on effective professional measures for them. None. 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