Author(s): Vesarach Aumeboonsuke
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a person’s psychological capital could be said to be volatile due to insecurities regarding health and employment, and perceived policy responses may be one way to preserve an individual’s psychological wellbeing. The purpose of this research is to examine citizens’ perceptions regarding public policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how they are associated with their psychological capital. The investigation was performed by implementing a survey among a representative sample in Thailand. R program and PLS-SEM were applied to the data extracted from 195 surveys. The findings reveal that perceived public policy responses during the COVID-19 pandemic are significantly associated with citizens’ degree of psychological capital through the mediating effect of their satisfaction toward policy responses. The results suggest practical implications for policymakers for enhancing and preserving their citizens’ satisfaction and psychological capital during challenging times through timely and effective policies. In addition, citizen satisfaction plays a strong significant mediating role on the association between perceived public policy response and psychological capital.The study analyzes the mediating role of citizens’ satisfaction with policy responses. The results revealed that the perceived government policy responses toward the COVID-19 pandemic played an important role during the pandemic because they could enhance citizen satisfaction with such responses and further improve a person’s hope, efficacy, and optimism. The study contributes to the literature by adding empirical evidence to support the role of government policy responses and relief measures, especially when citizens are confronting uncertainty and adversity in both their physical wellbeing and job security. Specifically, government policy responses and relief measures can contribute to a citizen’s hope, efficacy, and optimism, which will help people to remain confident, competitive, and perseverant during such crises as the pandemic.