ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all societies worldwide. The heightened levels of stress that accompanied the crisis were also expected to affect parenting in many families. Since it is known that high levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to a condition that has severe consequences for health and well-being, we examined whether the prevalence of parental burnout in 26 countries (9,923 parents;75% mothers;mean age 40) increased during COVID-19 compared to few years before the pandemic. In most (but not all) countries, analyses showed a significant increase in the prevalence of parental burnout during the pandemic. The results further revealed that next to governmental measures (e.g., number of days locked down, homeschooling) and factors at the individual and family level (e.g., gender, number of children), parents in less (vs. more) indulgent countries suffered more from parental burnout. The findings suggest that stricter norms regarding their parenting roles and duties in general and during the pandemic in particular might have increased their levels of parental burnout. © 2022 Hogrefe Publishing.
ABSTRACT
The ramifications of Internet addiction on psychological and social wellbeing have been extensively demonstrated in previous studies involving college students, but examining the mediating role of Internet addiction between self-efficacy and overall wellbeing has not been well-investigated, particularly among interns. This study first assessed the online learning experiences of a sample of interns during the COVID-19 pandemic and then explored the association between three constructs: self-efficacy, Internet addiction, and overall wellbeing. Fresh graduates engaging in an online internship program were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional online survey during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Bahrain. Self-administered scales of General Self-Efficacy (GSE), Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and PERMA Profiler were used to collect data about self-efficacy, Internet addiction, and overall wellbeing. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of the hypothesized relationships between these three constructs. A structural equation model was used to analyze the mediating role of Internet addiction. Overall, the higher the self-efficacy the participants perceived, the lesser Internet addiction they exhibited (r = −0.23, p = 0.02), and the more wellbeing they felt (r = 0.45, p ˂ 0.01). Internet addiction has been found as a mediating factor between self-efficacy and overall wellbeing (b = 0.12, p < 0.001). 61.5% of the participants had mild to moderate levels of Internet addiction. Experiencing less communication with colleagues because of online learning was one of the top-rated online experiences and consistently, enjoying positive relationships was the lowest-rated pillar of PERMA. Therefore, problematic Internet use that negatively affects individuals’ health should be managed through self-efficacy-boosting strategies. Further, fostering communications and social connectedness disrupted with excessive reliance on virtual environments demands special attention by counseling psychologists and e-education providers/developers. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Background: The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the overall health and well-being brought fear, anxiety, worry, and mental health issues. Thus, a bibliometric analysis of COVID-19 and anxiety-related publications was performed to examine the current research trends and prospects to support policymakers, funding agencies, and researchers to safeguard the global population from post-COVID-19 psychological impact.