Resilience factors during the Coronavirus pandemic: Testing the main effect and stress buffering models of optimism and positive affect with mental and physical health.

This study examines the prospective associations of two resilience factors—optimism and positive affect—with mental and physical health among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using longitudinal data from 292 undergraduate and graduate students collected across five assessments in 2020, the research found that higher levels of optimism and positive affect predicted fewer depressive symptoms and a lower burden of physical health symptoms. Additionally, positive affect demonstrated a stress-buffering effect by mitigating the impact of pandemic-related stress on depressive symptoms, whereas optimism did not show significant stress-buffering effects. The findings suggest that fostering optimism and positive affect may support mental and physical health during periods of widespread stress, though the study's generalizability is limited by its young, predominantly female, private university sample.