Hope Mitigates Depression throughout Adversities: The Immediate and Longitudinal Mediation of Flow

Positive psychology constructs such as hope and flow build resilience against psychological distress in major adversities, but it remains unknown how they interact to exert the protective effects. Taking advantage of the lifting of the “Zero-COVID” policy in December 2022 in mainland China, the current study incorporated a cross-sectional survey (study 1, n = 1185) and a longitudinal survey (n = 296) to investigate the interaction of these two factors in reducing depression during the COVID-lockdown and after the lockdown was finally abandoned. The results showed that hope during COVID-lockdown predicted concomitant flow experience and depression, and proactively predicted depression measured three months after the lockdown was lifted. Moreover, flow experience mediated the cross-sectional and longitudinal hope effects. These findings shed light on the inner dynamics of positive psychology constructs in protecting well-being, and are implicative for mental health intervention in disaster relief.