Symposium Summary:

What Matters to Resilience Building?

Resilience has become one of the most frequently searched keywords on the internet since the pandemic. This may reflect the general public’s interest to know more about the concept itself and the increasing thirst to explore self-help means to develop and sustain their own resilience in the midst of the uncertainties being brought about. While research has established the effectiveness of resilience to overcome adversity, trauma, and stress, a host of factors may determine how we may respond to stressful experiences. This symposium will bring together empirical research being conducted between 2019 and 2022 in Hong Kong to show the impact of personality, means of training, type of intervention, and self-perceived well-being, on the development of one’s psychological resources, psychological well-being, emotion regulation, and life satisfaction respectively. The overall objective is to gain insights into developing targeted interventions to enhance resilience.

The first paper reports the dispositional correlates of psychological capital and discusses the potential functions of personality in enhancing and protecting psychological capital. The second paper reports the effectiveness of an online self-learning program in developing psychological well-being among a sample of university students. The third paper demonstrates the positive effect of aerobic exercise on emotion regulation under acute psychological stress. The last paper shows how different well-being aspects impact life satisfaction under acute and prolonged stressful circumstances and discusses educational efforts and possible interventions to improve different areas of well-being. 
Symposium Presentation 1: What Facilitates Bouncing Back and Moving Forward: Dispositional correlates of Psychological Capital among Chinese university students

Presenter: Clara Y.W. TO

Co-Authors: Anita W. Y LEE, & Debbie M.W. PONG

Abstract: The present study aimed at investigating what personality traits are related to the psychological resources of PsyCap, the psychological state of an individual. 

A total of 159 Chinese undergraduate students participated in the study by completing two questionnaires online, namely, the PCQ-24 (Luthans, et al., 2007) and the Cross-Cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-2)(Cheung et al., 2001). Results indicated that the overall measure of psychological capital was positively related to the personality traits of Novelty, Divergent Thinking, Leadership, Responsibility, Optimism, Internal Locus of Control, and Graciousness, while negatively related to Emotionality, Inferiority, Defensiveness, Anxiety, all were significant at p < .01.

The current results revealed both the potential enhancing and protective functions of personality to individuals’ psychological capital. For the enhancing function, the personality of being more open to new ideas, finding different approaches to solving problems, exhibiting self-confidence to lead and take on challenges, being determined to take responsibility, being optimistic towards life and the world, and forgiving to others, tends to enhance one’s psychological capital. Regarding protective functions, the personality of being less emotional, unconfident, and anxious, appears to protect and thereby maintain one’s psychological capital.

Previous research indicated positive relationships between PsyCap and well-being and a number of academic- and work-related outcomes. The current findings of significant personality correlates with PsyCap would provide insights into ways of optimizing targeted interventions and development programs to develop PsyCap in individuals across different contexts such as personal growth, academic performance, and leadership development, e.g. recognizing an individual’s difference and highlighting an individual’s effort and progress.

Symposium Presentation 2: What Enhances Psychological Well-Being: Testing the effectiveness of an online self-learning positive psychology course in Hong Kong university students

Presenter: Nicole L.K. FUNG

Co-Authors: Anita W. Y LEE, Debbie M.W. PONG

Abstract: Enhancing students’ well-being is important in university, particularly during a stressful period. Online self-learning positive psychology courses could be an option to promote well-being at a manageable cost, in addition to traditional live classes.

We offered two positive psychology courses to undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interactive class (N=90) consisted of live ZOOM lectures and tutorials. Students were required to complete some positive psychology activities (e.g. use of character strength, gratitude journal, etc.) as homework. In the online self-learning class (N=151), students watched animated videos at their own pace and made plans to apply course content in daily life. Both courses covered the same topics, including character strength, body wellness, positive activities (act-of-kindness, gratitude, savoring, and mindfulness), cognitive reappraisal, and interpersonal communication. Together with a control group (N=85), we measured participants’ state of hope, positive state of mind (PSOM), subjective happiness, cognitive flexibility, health, life satisfaction, flourishing, and interpersonal competence, before and after the courses. Students from the online self-learning class also reported how f they applied the learning in their daily lives.

We found significant Time x Group interactions on all well-being indicators except for PSOM. Compared with the control group, the pre-post changes were greater in the interactive (η2p=0.03-0.16, ps<.03) and self-learning class (η2p=0.03-0.15, ps<.02). Students from both courses reported same-level of improved well-being after the courses. T of application moderated the effectiveness of the self-learning course. T application group enjoyed greater increases in state hope, subjective happiness, life satisfaction, and interpersonal competence than the low application group (η2p=0.04-0.07, ps<.03). Low application group reported no differences in the pre-post changes in subjective happiness, health, and interpersonal competence than the control group.

Our findings demonstrated the effectiveness of an online self-learning positive psychology course at a university in promoting students’ well-being. Applications of learning should be encouraged to enhance the effect.

Symposium Presentation 3: That Works Under Stress: Effects of aerobic exercise on self-regulation under acute psychological stress among adults

Presenter: Man Y.M. LEE

Abstract: The current study aimed at exploring whether emotion regulation would be enhanced after acute aerobic exercise.

40 middle-aged male adults (age=50.98 ± 5.94 yrs.) were randomly assigned to either television (TV) viewing with aerobic exercise intervention or TV viewing (control) condition. Participants of the exercise intervention group were asked to engage in a 30-min cycling exercise (i.e., 20-min 60% VO2max plus 5-min warm-up and 5-min cool-down). The control group engaged in a 30-minute TV viewing.  All participants completed a computerized Stroop color-word test before and after the intervention to examine if there are any different effects between the two groups on autonomic function. The electrocardiograph (ECG) signal was recorded by two standard Ag/AgCl ECG electrodes placed on the left and right sides of the chest. 

The two-way repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated significant (Group x Time) interaction on cardiac vagal control during stress events and in the recovery stage. Higher activation of cardiac vagal control during stress events and in recovery was found only in the exercise group. 

Results are aligned with recent studies on cardiac vagal control as a biomarker of emotion regulation in healthy adults. In essence, the research findings indicated that 30-min acute moderate aerobic exercises may improve self-regulatory efforts under acute psychological stress, and better recovery from stress as reflected in cardiac vagal control among male adults.

Symposium Presentation 4: What Matters Under Stress: Understanding the relationship between different wellbeing aspects and life satisfaction under the pandemic

Presenter: Clara Y.W. TO

Co-Authors: Nicholas, M.C. CHAN, Evan, F.H. CHOI, & Stephanie, K.Y. LAU

Abstract: A holistic approach to developing well-being is gaining increasing attention nowadays especially after the pandemic, having all of us facing new demands and challenges when the boundaries between work and personal lives get blurred under the remote work arrangement which may not be autonomous.  How do different well-being aspects affect one’s life satisfaction under acute stress and prolonged stress? To address the quest, two cross-sectional survey studies were conducted between 2020 and 2022 during the onset of the pandemic when the public was facing acute stress and after two years of the pandemic when the public has been facing prolonged stress respectively.

The first study examined how one’s life satisfaction was influenced by different aspects of well-being under acute stress. A 17-item survey was developed to collect responses online and a total of 377 valid adult samples from different geographical locations were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a four-factor model of well-being with a satisfactory fit to the data. The four aspects of well-being are body, mind, fulfilling, and community well. Regression analyses further indicated that the perceived importance of body well and fulfilling well significantly predicted one’s life satisfaction. Findings provided insights into educational efforts on enhancing the four aspects of well-being. 

The second study in progress aims at scrutinizing whether a broader range of well-being aspects may impact one’s life satisfaction under prolonged stress. The original survey has been expanded from 17 to 53 items to cover wider well-being facets under each original dimension and developed two additional well-being dimensions. It is hypothesized that apart from the original four aspects of well-being, financial and spiritual well-being will also be crucial to impact one’s life satisfaction under prolonged stress. Findings can shed light on how the community may intervene to improve different aspects of the well-being of the public.