Entertainment Contributes to Adaptive Coping: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Interplay Between Hedonic and Eudaimonic Entertainment, Escapism, and Meaning Making

Traditionally, research has focused on investigating short-term effects of entertainment media use. This paper, however, takes a salutogenetic perspective in exploring the potential long-term effects of entertainment use on meaning making as an adaptive coping skill. We propose three theoretical pathways explaining potential effects of hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment, as well as escapist media use on meaning making—through vicarious experiences of adversity, experiencing positive affect, and distraction. In two preregistered longitudinal studies with varying time intervals (6 months, weekly, and daily observations), both hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment use showed positive within-person relationships with meaning making daily and weekly, but not over 6 months. Escapist media use negatively predicted meaning making across all time intervals. Additionally, vicarious experience and positive affect, but not distraction, mediated these effects. Our findings shed light on temporal dynamics of entertainment use and emphasize its role in fostering meaning making.