THE EFFECT OF HAPPINESS AND RELIGIOUS FAITH ON CHRISTIAN YOUTH’S RESILIENCY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

"Youths with happy emotions and strong religious faith, it can be assumed, experience increased resiliency when dealing with unexpected and challenging events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine this assumption, a study involving 229 Christian youths, all students at public and private universities in Sabah, Malaysia, was conducted. Participants had a mean age of 22.09 years (SD = 4.34) and were predominantly female (179; male = 49; undisclosed = 1). The study found that happiness contributed 4.7% of the variance of the participant’s resilience, while their religious faith contributed 4.1%. Furthermore, the Christian faith showed a moderation effect on the effect of happiness on resiliency. To wit, youths with high levels of happiness and strong Christian faith demonstrated high resiliency, and this finding supports the abovementioned research assumption. Therefore, it is suggested that when facing life challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, young adults ought to create a positive ambience, e.g., promoting happiness, enhancing religious faith via daily prayer, perceiving faith as a source of comfort and life’s purpose, and engaging in faith-based/church activities as a way to strengthen resiliency."