The Relationship Between Creativity and Intrusive Rumination Among Chinese Teenagers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Emotional Resilience as a Moderator

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not only resulted in immeasurable life and property losses worldwide but has also impacted individuals’ development, especially teenagers. After the COVID-19 pandemic, individual rumination as an important cognitive process should be given more attention because of its close associations with physical and mental health. Previous studies have shown that creativity as an antecedent variable can predict people’s mental health or adaptation. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between creativity and individual cognitive rumination after traumatic events, and the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. By using the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS), the Event Related Rumination Inventory, and the Questionnaire of Adolescent Emotional Resilience, the current study explored the relationship between creativity and intrusive rumination among 1488 Chinese teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyzed the moderating effect of emotional resilience on the relationship. The results showed that creativity, as assessed by the RIBS, was positively related to teenagers’ intrusive rumination, which implied that a higher level of creative performance could predict more intrusive rumination. Moreover, emotional resilience acted as a moderator in the relationship between creativity and intrusive rumination; the correlation was stronger when emotional resilience was low. These findings provide more evidence of the relationship between creativity and mental health and show the effect of this traumatic event on teenagers.

Resilience and mental health in children and adolescents: an update of the recent literature and future directions

“…Resilience and meaning in life served as protective factors for mental health [ 37 ]. Furthermore, in a study in 1488 Chinese teenagers, creative ideational behavior was positively related to intrusive rumination during the pandemic [ 38 ]. Interestingly, like Liang et al [ 31 ], resilience and creativity were associated.…”

The Impact of Intrusive Rumination on College Students’ Creativity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Effect of Post-traumatic Growth and the Moderating Role of Psychological Resilience

“…In particular, professionals in creative fields (e.g., writing) tend to ruminate ( Tsai et al, 2021 ). Some studies have also investigated that students’ creativity during an pandemic is positively associated with invasive rumination ( Wang et al, 2021 ). Based on this argument, we propose the following hypothesis.…”

“…Specific aspects of creativity—namely flexible thinking and originality—appear most pertinent to the process of emotional resilience, and a high level resilience can help individuals maintain a good state in traumatic events, thus providing good conditions for the development of creativity ( Metzl, 2009 ). The relationship between these two variables has been little explored; however, the studies that have reached similar conclusions ( Wang et al, 2021 ). In summary, we propose the following hypothesis:…”

“…COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the mental health of college students, and creativity as a prior variable can predict individual mental health or adjustment ( Wang et al, 2021 ). The aims of this paper are therefore to explore the relationship between intrusive rumination and creativity and the mediating role of post-traumatic growth between the two, including mental resilience in the model as a moderator.…”

The Influence of Post-Traumatic Growth on College Students’ Creativity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of General Self-Efficacy and the Moderating Role of Deliberate Rumination

“…At the same time, creative ideas and material from life can be obtained through rumination (Forgeard et al, 2020). It has been shown that intrusive rumination is positively correlated with creativity (Wang et al, 2021) and that intrusive rumination may promote deliberate rumination (Kamijo and Yukawa, 2018). Deliberate rumination indicates that individuals cognitively revisit events, reframe and recover their core beliefs, and feel positive changes in several aspects of their lives (Cann et al, 2011).…”