The selective effect of lockdown experience on citizens' perspectives: A multilevel, multiple informant approach to personal and community resilience during COVID-19 pandemic.

In the face of the first wave of COVID-19 contagion, citizens all over the world experienced concerns for their safety and health, as well as prolonged lockdowns - which brought about limitations but also unforeseen opportunities for personal growth. Broad variability in these psychological responses to such unprecedented experiences emerged. This study addresses this variability by investigating the role of personal and community resilience. Personal resilience, collective resilience, community disaster management ability, provided information by local authorities, and citizens' focus on COVID-19-related personal concerns and lockdown-related opportunities for personal growth were detected through an online questionnaire. Multilevel modelling was run with data from 3,745 Italian citizens. The potential of personal resilience as a driver for individuals to overcome adverse situations with positive outcomes was confirmed. Differently, the components of community resilience showed more complex paths, highlighting the need to pay more attention to its role in the face of far-reaching adverse events which hardly test individuals' as well as communities' adaptability and agency skills. The complexities linked to the multi-component and system-specific nature of resilience, as well as potential paths towards making the most out of citizens' and communities' ones, emerge. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Predictors of prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 national lockdown in Italy: Testing the role of psychological sense of community and other community assets

There is growing support for viewing communities as a multilevel construct in which the interdependence between individuals and community systems contributes to the promotion of individual responsibilities in thinking and enacting changes to respond to people's and community's needs. However, there is currently scant evidence regarding the influence of psychological sense of community and the role of community assets on prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 national lockdown. The main aim of the current study was to test a conceptual model of community assets as predictors of prosocial behavior during Italy's COVID-19 national lockdown. A sample of 3,964 Italian adults was involved in the current study. We collected data using an online questionnaire, between April 12 and May 21, 2020, during the nationwide lockdown restrictions. To collect data, we employed convenience and virtual snowball sampling strategies (i.e., email, social networks, and online channels). Using structural equation modeling, we found that prosocial behavior was predicted by sense of community responsibility but not by sense of community. Moreover, sense of community and sense of community responsibility were predicted by community members' perception of its assets, in particular collective resilience and adequate information. Finally, trust in the institutional response to the pandemic predicted community members' perception of collective resilience and receiving adequate information through the community. The present study suggests that community qualities, positively perceived by community members, are crucial in promoting prosocial behaviors and producing collective goods during a pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Predictors of prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 national lockdown in Italy: Testing the role of psychological sense of community and other community assets

There is growing support for viewing communities as a multilevel construct in which the interdependence between individuals and community systems contributes to the promotion of individual responsibilities in thinking and enacting changes to respond to people's and community's needs. However, there is currently scant evidence regarding the influence of psychological sense of community and the role of community assets on prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 national lockdown. The main aim of the current study was to test a conceptual model of community assets as predictors of prosocial behavior during Italy's COVID-19 national lockdown. A sample of 3,964 Italian adults was involved in the current study. We collected data using an online questionnaire, between April 12 and May 21, 2020, during the nationwide lockdown restrictions. To collect data, we employed convenience and virtual snowball sampling strategies (i.e., email, social networks, and online channels). Using structural equation modeling, we found that prosocial behavior was predicted by sense of community responsibility but not by sense of community. Moreover, sense of community and sense of community responsibility were predicted by community members' perception of its assets, in particular collective resilience and adequate information. Finally, trust in the institutional response to the pandemic predicted community members' perception of collective resilience and receiving adequate information through the community. The present study suggests that community qualities, positively perceived by community members, are crucial in promoting prosocial behaviors and producing collective goods during a pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Stand Together by Staying Apart: Extreme Online Service-Learning during the Pandemic.

Service-Learning (SL) is an experience that allows students to (a) participate in activities co-designed in partnership by universities and local organizations and (b) reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain an enhanced sense of responsibility. These experiences represent significant ways to meet and experience real-world contexts for students. The COVID-19 pandemic required Higher Education Institutions to rethink and shift in-presence courses to online platforms. This transition included SL courses as well. This study aimed to explore the responsibility and democratic dimensions elicited by an extreme online Service-Learning (XE-SL) experience and the perceptions of engaging in exclusive online service activities with local communities during the COVID-19 Italian national quarantine. A qualitative driven mixed-method longitudinal approach was chosen to triangulate qualitative (reflexive journal) and quantitative (pre-post questionnaire) data from 20 university students. The findings shed a positive light on the capability of XE-SL to promote a sense of responsibility, civic engagement, and the acquirement of democratic and transferrable competencies, such as perspective-taking, adaptability, cultural background respect, global mindedness, teamwork, leadership, communication, creativity, and organizational competencies. Reflection, connection, and being agents of change for the community were perceived as the major assets of the XE-SL experience, while adapting face-to-face SL experiences to exclusively online activities evoked ambivalent feelings in students. The study suggests a rethinking of the design XE-SL and other forms of eSL with the inclusion of more structured interactive activities within community contexts to favor students' sense of connection to the community organizations or NGOs.

Emergency online school learning during COVID-19 lockdown: A qualitative study of adolescents’ experiences in Italy

The COVID-19 pandemic caused abrupt and profound changes to teaching and learning. The present study seeks to understand adolescents’ experiences of the emergency adoption of online school learning (OSL) during the first national lockdown in Italy. Sixty-four students in their final two years of high school were interviewed and content analysis was performed. The findings describe students’ views of the changes related to OSL according to structural, individual and relational dimensions. Schools’ lack of organization, overwhelming demands, as well as experience of difficulties in concentration, stress and inhibited relationships with teachers and classmates were among the challenges evidenced in the transition. OSL, however, has also made it possible to experience a new flexibility and autonomy in the organization of learning. The study stresses the importance of fostering adaptation of teacher-student relationships and collaborative learning in order to improve schools’ preparedness for digital transitions in and out of emergencies.

An Integrated Model of Compliance with COVID-19 Prescriptions: Instrumental, Normative, and Affective Factors Associated with Health-Protective Behaviors.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of public measures for reducing the transmission of the COVID-19 infection relies on citizens' voluntary adherence with prescribed actions. Drawing on prior literature about compliant behavior, this study aimed to identify factors associated with people engagement in health-protective behaviors by including a conjoint complement of instrumental/self-oriented, normative/community-based, and affective variables. METHOD: A cross-sectional study involving a non-representative sample of 4045 Italian citizens was carried out during the first stage of the pandemic (April-May 2020). Variables associated with health-protective behaviors were perceived personal and societal concerns and perceived effectiveness of the institutional response to the outbreak (instrumental dimensions), and family and friends perceived norms and sense of community responsibility (normative dimensions). Two negative emotions (anxiety and fear) were included as mediators between personal and societal concerns and outcome behaviors. RESULTS: Results showed the importance of both self-interest and community-based factors. Indeed, self-interest concerns, family perceived norms, and sense of community responsibility were significant predictors of people's decisions to engage in health-protective behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The research findings show that compliance with public health prescriptions is a multimodal phenomenon and integrating self-interest and community-based factors can offer a better understanding of people's decision to engage in health-protective behaviors. Further, this study unveils that a shared sense of community is effective in encouraging adherence to recommended behaviors so as behavioral changes can be sustained by targeting the recommendations not only on risk minimization for oneself but also on the allocation of personal responsibility toward the belonging community.

COVID-19 in our lives: Sense of community, sense of community responsibility, and reflexivity in present concerns and perception of the future.

The aim of this study is to examine the association between citizens' perceptions of the effectiveness of the institutional response, their connection and responsibility to their community (Sense of Community-SoC; Sense of Community Responsibility-SoC-R), and their personal and social concerns about the current emergency and their perceptions of a postpandemic future during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Another variable considered was the personal reflexivity about the COVID-19 pandemic. 3925 Italian adults completed an online questionnaire during the first COVID-19 lockdown. A structural equation model with mediation was tested. Institutional effectiveness was associated with SoC, SoC-R, current social concerns, and perceptions of a postpandemic future. SoC and SoC-R were associated with current personal and social concerns, and perceptions of a postpandemic future. Reflexivity was negatively associated with SoC and positively associated with SoC-R, mediating the relationships between SoC, SoC-R and current personal and social concerns and perceptions of a postpandemic future. Findings indicate the need to adopt a perspective that considers individual and socio-political levels and their interaction to better understand the impact of the pandemic during a national lockdown.

Prosocial behaviours under collective quarantine conditions. A latent class analysis study during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in Italy.

We aimed to identify the patterns of prosocial behaviours under collective quarantine conditions. Survey data were collected from a sample of Italian adults during the March May 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. Participants reported on offline and online prosocial behaviours, sense of community responsibility (SoC-R) and perceptions of community resilience. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used for data analysis. A total of 4,045 participants completed the survey, and 2,562 were eligible (72% female; mean age 38.7 years). LCA revealed four classes of prosocial behaviours: Money donors (7%), Online and offline helpers (59%), Online health information sharers (21%) and Neighbour helpers (13%). The classes were partially invariant across age groups (18-35 and 35-65 years). Being a man, having achieved a higher educational level and higher SoC-R scores were associated with belonging to the Online and offline helper class. The members of this class also reported the greatest perceptions of community resilience. The results provide insight on the multidimensionality of prosociality under collective quarantine conditions. Online and offline helpers could be targeted for promoting sustained altruism and involvement in community organisations. For the other groups, programmes should aim at eliminating barriers to help others in multiple ways. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

People’s understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic: social representations of SARS-CoV-2 virus in Italy

This study examined the social representations of SARS-CoV-2 virus in Italy. We used the technique of free word association involving 1572 adults living in Italy. An open coding procedure and content analysis lead to the identification of 13 key topics representing the categorisation of concepts that emerged from the elicited words. The most common categories were spread of the virus, negative feelings, life during quarantine, and health consequences of the virus. Multidimensional scaling of co-occurrences of categories revealed these categories were grouped into four thematic areas. In addition, we found that the frequency of the categories of words was associated with gender, age, well-being, and mental health symptoms. By revealing complex and differentiated social representations, results from the present study provide a comprehensive insight on Italian people’s perception of COVID-19 outbreak in the Spring of 2020. This early study of social representations forms a useful basis for later studies, in order to understand how collective understandings and framings of risk have evolved across the duration of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Health, Risk & Society is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)