Psychological Long COVID in Italian Young Adulthood: Effects of COVID Exhaustion and Positive Attitude Towards the Future on Social Distancing and Life Satisfaction

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic was marked by restrictions on interpersonal contact, both at work and in the personal sphere, and significantly impacted the psychological health and subjective well-being of the global population. Among the risk factors, COVID-19 exhaustion negatively influenced well-being. Among the protective factors, adopting a future-time perspective correlates with positive well-being indicators in the literature. Our study aimed to assess whether 'psychological long COVID-19' may exist 2 years after the pandemic's onset. Participants were 649 young Italians aged 18–35 years. Structural equation modelling analyses revealed that, in 2023, COVID-19 exhaustion still influences the intention to maintain social distancing and life satisfaction. Furthermore, a positive future orientation negatively predicted COVID-19 exhaustion, suggesting that the former may be a protective factor for the pandemic’s negative biopsychosocial effects. The findings underscore the role of promoting personal resources from positive psychology in enhancing protective factors in adverse situations and improving psychosocial well-being.