Religious Beliefs, Work Motivation, Risk Perception and Posttraumatic Growth in Healthcare Workers during COVID-19

Abstract

This research was conducted to assess the posttraumatic growth (PTG) experienced by the healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose was to observe whether religious beliefs predicted PTG during a pandemic and the mediating role of work motivation for the relationship between religious beliefs and PTG in the healthcare workers. It was also investigated if the risk perception regarding the virus had any implicating effects on the relationship of religious beliefs and posttraumatic growth. The sample (N=97) consisted of resident doctors (n=56), physicians (n=23), surgeons (n=03) and a nurse (n=01); which was comprised of both men (n=52) and women (n=45). The Religious Belief Scale (RBS), Work Intrinsic Extrinsic Motivation Scale (WEIMS), and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form (PTGI-SF) were employed to collect data. The Perception of Risk was measured through items that had been previously used to assess the risk perception of healthcare workers during Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic. The responses from participants was collected through both online and in person. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to assess the significance of relationships while Hierarchal Regression was used to assess the role of religious beliefs of healthcare workers. Moreover, PROCESS macro was used to evaluate the presence of mediation and moderation. The results revealed that religious beliefs and self-regulated motivation were significant predictors of PTG while self-regulated motivation also mediated the direct relationship between religious beliefs and PTG. Investigation of possible factors that bring about growth after experiencing trauma is an essential need of these turbulent times.