%0 Journal Article
%T The Protective Role of Mature Defense Mechanisms on Satisfaction with Life in the COVID-19 Era: A Moderated Mediation Analysis.
%A Gori A
%A Topino E
%A Musetti A
%A Giannini M
%A Grotto RL
%A Svicher A
%A Di Fabio A
%J Behav Sci (Basel)
%V 12
%N 8
%D Aug 2022 17
%M 36004861
%F 2.286
%R 10.3390/bs12080290
%X The COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced people's lives, with non-negligible consequences for the perception of well-being. This study sought to examine the effect of anxiety, post-traumatic impairment, and mature defenses on life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. One thousand three hundred thirty-nine Italian individuals (30% male; 70% female; Mage = 34.70; SD = 11.83) completed an online survey enclosing the Satisfaction with Life Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form X3, Impact of event scale-revised, and the Forty Item Defense Style Questionnaire. To test the hypothesized relationship, data were analyzed by applying a moderated-mediation analysis, a regression-based approach. Results showed that the negative effect of anxiety on life satisfaction was partially mediated by post-traumatic impairment, with a significant moderation effect of mature defenses on the relationship between post-traumatic impairment and life satisfaction. Specifically, with higher levels of mature defenses, the effects of post-traumatic impairment on consequences of the COVID-19 emergency on well-being. Furthermore, the protective role of mature defenses in facing post-traumatic impairment was shown. Such data may have applicative implications in different contexts in a management perspective of the different pandemic phases, contributing to more effective positive strength-based preventive actions to also support positive healthy organizations.