Hope as a protective factor for cognitive difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had many negative outcomes, including problems of cognition; however, the degree to which individuals have noticed cognitive difficulties has varied. Protective factors that buffer against cognitive difficulties in women should be explored as women have faced great changes in the pandemic, including unemployment, increases in unpaid care work, increases in gender-based violence, and health concerns. For this reason, the present study sought to determine if hope acts as a protective factor for perceived problems of cognition. Using an online survey measuring aspects of cognitive functioning and hopefulness, results indicate that women with low hope report greater negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on school and work, greater difficulties working from home, and more problems with attention, memory, and concentration than women with higher levels of hope. The findings suggest that hope may represent a protective factor that lessens the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived cognition.