Belief in a just world for the self and others, Karma, system justification and well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 15 Asian nations

Phatthanakit CHOBTHAMKIT; Robbie M. SUTTON; Alexander Scott ENGLISH; Tarid WONGVORACHAN; Jesus Alfonso Daep DATU; Kai Li CHUNG; Chee-Seng TAN; Hirotaka IMADA; Zafer OZKAN; Farzana ASHRAF; Ryan Francis O. CAYUBIT; Trawin CHALEERAKTRAKOON; Cecilia CHENG; Chin-Lung CHIEN; Boby Ho-Hong CHING; Iram FATIMA; Ding-Yu  JIANG; Shanmukh V. KAMBLE; Aqeel KHAN; Hyejoo J. LEE; Cokorda Bagus Java LESMANA; Najma Iqbal MALIK; Deviga a/p MARAPPAN; May Cho MIN; Chanki MOON; Eylem ORUC; Emrah ÖZSOY; Joonha PARK; Marc Eric S. REYES; Kosuke SATO; Luh Ketut SURYANI; Ma. Criselda TENGCO-PACQUING; Arun Tipandjan; Kwok-Kit TONG; Cong Van TRAN; Hsin-Yi WANG; Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG; Ahmad Mustqim YUSOFF

doi:10.1111/ajsp.12667

Belief in a just world for the self and others, Karma, system justification and well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 15 Asian nations

Phatthanakit CHOBTHAMKIT^*
, Robbie M. SUTTON
, Alexander Scott ENGLISH
, Tarid WONGVORACHAN
, Jesus Alfonso Daep DATU
, Kai Li CHUNG
, Chee-Seng TAN
, Hirotaka IMADA
, Zafer OZKAN
, Farzana ASHRAF
, Ryan Francis O. CAYUBIT
, Trawin CHALEERAKTRAKOON
, Cecilia CHENG
, Chin-Lung CHIEN
, Boby Ho-Hong CHING
, Iram FATIMA
, Ding-Yu JIANG
, Shanmukh V. KAMBLE
, Aqeel KHAN
, Hyejoo J. LEE

Cokorda Bagus Java LESMANA, Najma Iqbal MALIK, Deviga a/p MARAPPAN, May Cho MIN, Chanki MOON, Eylem ORUC, Emrah ÖZSOY, Joonha PARK, Marc Eric S. REYES, Kosuke SATO, Luh Ketut SURYANI, Ma. Criselda TENGCO-PACQUING, Arun Tipandjan, Kwok-Kit TONG, Cong Van TRAN, Hsin-Yi WANG, Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG, Ahmad Mustqim YUSOFF

^*Corresponding author for this work

Lingnan University

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2020) announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Globally, this situation affects people in various domains including mental health. Existing theories and research findings suggest justice beliefs are associated with mental health and may help to cope with adverse life circumstances. Participants (N = 3694) in 15 Asian nations completed measures of belief in a just world (BJW), Karma, system justification, well-being indices and COVID-19 impact. The results show that BJW for the self and system justification positively predicted well-being while BJW for others provided reverse associations. Furthermore, Karma predicted both higher life satisfaction and depression. However, COVID-19 impact did not moderate the relationships between justice beliefs and well-being. The results provide various psychological functions but do not consistently indicate the buffering role of justice beliefs during COVID-19 pandemic.

Original language	English
Article number	e12667
Journal	Asian Journal of Social Psychology
Volume	28
Issue number	1
Early online date	12 Dec 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12667
Publication status	Published - Mar 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Asian Association of Social Psychology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

belief in a just world
COVID-19
Karma
system justification
well-being

Access to Document

10.1111/ajsp.12667

Cite this

CHOBTHAMKIT, P., SUTTON, R. M., ENGLISH, A. S., WONGVORACHAN, T., DATU, J. A. D., CHUNG, K. L., TAN, C.-S., IMADA, H., OZKAN, Z., ASHRAF, F., CAYUBIT, R. F. O., CHALEERAKTRAKOON, T., CHENG, C., CHIEN, C.-L., CHING, B. H.-H., FATIMA, I., JIANG, D.-Y., KAMBLE, S. V., KHAN, A., ... YUSOFF, A. M. (2025). Belief in a just world for the self and others, Karma, system justification and well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 15 Asian nations. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 28(1), Article e12667. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12667

@article{a7fdb4a7d0344a7dae781fa174b4a888,

title = "Belief in a just world for the self and others, Karma, system justification and well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 15 Asian nations",

abstract = "The World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2020) announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Globally, this situation affects people in various domains including mental health. Existing theories and research findings suggest justice beliefs are associated with mental health and may help to cope with adverse life circumstances. Participants (N = 3694) in 15 Asian nations completed measures of belief in a just world (BJW), Karma, system justification, well-being indices and COVID-19 impact. The results show that BJW for the self and system justification positively predicted well-being while BJW for others provided reverse associations. Furthermore, Karma predicted both higher life satisfaction and depression. However, COVID-19 impact did not moderate the relationships between justice beliefs and well-being. The results provide various psychological functions but do not consistently indicate the buffering role of justice beliefs during COVID-19 pandemic.",

keywords = "belief in a just world, COVID-19, Karma, system justification, well-being",

author = "Phatthanakit CHOBTHAMKIT and SUTTON, \{Robbie M.\} and ENGLISH, \{Alexander Scott\} and Tarid WONGVORACHAN and DATU, \{Jesus Alfonso Daep\} and CHUNG, \{Kai Li\} and Chee-Seng TAN and Hirotaka IMADA and Zafer OZKAN and Farzana ASHRAF and CAYUBIT, \{Ryan Francis O.\} and Trawin CHALEERAKTRAKOON and Cecilia CHENG and Chin-Lung CHIEN and CHING, \{Boby Ho-Hong\} and Iram FATIMA and Ding-Yu JIANG and KAMBLE, \{Shanmukh V.\} and Aqeel KHAN and LEE, \{Hyejoo J.\} and LESMANA, \{Cokorda Bagus Java\} and MALIK, \{Najma Iqbal\} and MARAPPAN, \{Deviga a/p\} and MIN, \{May Cho\} and Chanki MOON and Eylem ORUC and Emrah {\"O}ZSOY and Joonha PARK and REYES, \{Marc Eric S.\} and Kosuke SATO and SURYANI, \{Luh Ketut\} and TENGCO-PACQUING, \{Ma. Criselda\} and Arun Tipandjan and Kwok-Kit TONG and TRAN, \{Cong Van\} and Hsin-Yi WANG and YEUNG, \{Victoria Wai Lan\} and YUSOFF, \{Ahmad Mustqim\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 Asian Association of Social Psychology and John Wiley \& Sons Australia, Ltd.",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1111/ajsp.12667",

language = "English",

volume = "28",

journal = "Asian Journal of Social Psychology",

issn = "1367-2223",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

number = "1",

}

CHOBTHAMKIT, P, SUTTON, RM, ENGLISH, AS, WONGVORACHAN, T, DATU, JAD, CHUNG, KL, TAN, C-S, IMADA, H, OZKAN, Z, ASHRAF, F, CAYUBIT, RFO, CHALEERAKTRAKOON, T, CHENG, C, CHIEN, C-L, CHING, BH-H, FATIMA, I, JIANG, D-Y, KAMBLE, SV, KHAN, A, LEE, HJ, LESMANA, CBJ, MALIK, NI, MARAPPAN, DA, MIN, MC, MOON, C, ORUC, E, ÖZSOY, E, PARK, J, REYES, MES, SATO, K, SURYANI, LK, TENGCO-PACQUING, MC, Tipandjan, A, TONG, K-K, TRAN, CV, WANG, H-Y, YEUNG, VWL & YUSOFF, AM 2025, 'Belief in a just world for the self and others, Karma, system justification and well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 15 Asian nations', Asian Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 28, no. 1, e12667. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12667

Belief in a just world for the self and others, Karma, system justification and well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 15 Asian nations. / CHOBTHAMKIT, Phatthanakit; SUTTON, Robbie M.; ENGLISH, Alexander Scott et al.
In: Asian Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 28, No. 1, e12667, 03.2025.

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Belief in a just world for the self and others, Karma, system justification and well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 15 Asian nations

AU - CHOBTHAMKIT, Phatthanakit

AU - SUTTON, Robbie M.

AU - ENGLISH, Alexander Scott

AU - WONGVORACHAN, Tarid

AU - DATU, Jesus Alfonso Daep

AU - CHUNG, Kai Li

AU - TAN, Chee-Seng

AU - IMADA, Hirotaka

AU - OZKAN, Zafer

AU - ASHRAF, Farzana

AU - CAYUBIT, Ryan Francis O.

AU - CHALEERAKTRAKOON, Trawin

AU - CHENG, Cecilia

AU - CHIEN, Chin-Lung

AU - CHING, Boby Ho-Hong

AU - FATIMA, Iram

AU - JIANG, Ding-Yu

AU - KAMBLE, Shanmukh V.

AU - KHAN, Aqeel

AU - LEE, Hyejoo J.

AU - LESMANA, Cokorda Bagus Java

AU - MALIK, Najma Iqbal

AU - MARAPPAN, Deviga a/p

AU - MIN, May Cho

AU - MOON, Chanki

AU - ORUC, Eylem

AU - ÖZSOY, Emrah

AU - PARK, Joonha

AU - REYES, Marc Eric S.

AU - SATO, Kosuke

AU - SURYANI, Luh Ketut

AU - TENGCO-PACQUING, Ma. Criselda

AU - Tipandjan, Arun

AU - TONG, Kwok-Kit

AU - TRAN, Cong Van

AU - WANG, Hsin-Yi

AU - YEUNG, Victoria Wai Lan

AU - YUSOFF, Ahmad Mustqim

PY - 2025/3

Y1 - 2025/3

N2 - The World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2020) announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Globally, this situation affects people in various domains including mental health. Existing theories and research findings suggest justice beliefs are associated with mental health and may help to cope with adverse life circumstances. Participants (N = 3694) in 15 Asian nations completed measures of belief in a just world (BJW), Karma, system justification, well-being indices and COVID-19 impact. The results show that BJW for the self and system justification positively predicted well-being while BJW for others provided reverse associations. Furthermore, Karma predicted both higher life satisfaction and depression. However, COVID-19 impact did not moderate the relationships between justice beliefs and well-being. The results provide various psychological functions but do not consistently indicate the buffering role of justice beliefs during COVID-19 pandemic.

AB - The World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2020) announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Globally, this situation affects people in various domains including mental health. Existing theories and research findings suggest justice beliefs are associated with mental health and may help to cope with adverse life circumstances. Participants (N = 3694) in 15 Asian nations completed measures of belief in a just world (BJW), Karma, system justification, well-being indices and COVID-19 impact. The results show that BJW for the self and system justification positively predicted well-being while BJW for others provided reverse associations. Furthermore, Karma predicted both higher life satisfaction and depression. However, COVID-19 impact did not moderate the relationships between justice beliefs and well-being. The results provide various psychological functions but do not consistently indicate the buffering role of justice beliefs during COVID-19 pandemic.

KW - belief in a just world

KW - COVID-19

KW - Karma

KW - system justification

KW - well-being

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85211765410

U2 - 10.1111/ajsp.12667

DO - 10.1111/ajsp.12667

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

SN - 1367-2223

VL - 28

JO - Asian Journal of Social Psychology

JF - Asian Journal of Social Psychology

IS - 1

M1 - e12667

ER -

Belief in a just world for the self and others, Karma, system justification and well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 15 Asian nations

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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