Reducing Test Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Educational assessments can affect students' mental health, particularly during a pandemic. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are widely efficacious for reducing test anxiety, as well as general anxiety and rumination. However, the effectiveness of these two therapies for students during COVID-19 is unclear. We measured the effectiveness of ACT and CBT for managing test anxiety, general anxiety, and rumination during COVID-19 for 77 students taking Türkiye's national university entrance exam, assigned to either the ACT or CBT psychoeducation programs. Both programs reduced test anxiety, general anxiety, and rumination, and showed similar levels of effectiveness. This suggests that ACT and CBT are both important for improving students' mental health during COVID-19 and either may be beneficial.

Psychological readiness to normalization process and burnout level of healthcare workers of pediatric clinic after three months of COVID-19 pandemic

Since December 2019, a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 spread rapidly worldwide within months and caused stress and anxiety both in public and healthcare workers (HCWs). This study was conducted to determine psychologic effect of COVID-19 outbreak on and burnout level among HCWs of Pediatric Clinic while entering normalization process of pandemic. This cross-sectional study was carried out between June 10, 2020 and June 15, 2020 with participation of 261 HCWs. Questionnaire about demographic data, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were self-reported by the participants. The mean age of participants was 29+/-9.88 years, 78.9% of them was female, 33% were physicians, 40.2% were nurses. In general, psychological outcomes of the participations were determined as depressive symptoms in 143 (54.8%), anxiety in 129 (49.4%), and stress in 87 (33.3%). Being female, having direct contact with COVID-19 patients increased the risk for anxiety, depression, stress, and psychological inflexibility. Younger age, less work experience, and longer working hours had a significant correlation with burnout as well as a its significant correlation with depression, anxiety, stress, psychological inflexibility. In multiple regression analysis psychological inflexibility, stress levels and working hours showed significant predictive effect on burnout. And also, predictive effects of psychological parameters on burnout were found more stronger than the environmental parameters. Psychological factors showed a stronger relationship with burnout scores compared to environmental factors. Even so, organizational strategies like limiting working hours, and doing a fair shift for HCWs who work on the front line and have direct contact with COVID-19 patients will help to reduce the psychological pressure on HCWs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Turkish) Aralik 2019'dan bu yana, yeni bir korona virus, SARS-CoV-2 dunya capinda aylar icinde hizla yayildi ve hem halk hem de saglik personelleri (SP) arasinda stres ve kaygiya neden oldu. Bu calisma, normallesme surecine girerken, COVID-19 salgininin Cocuk Sagligi ve Hastaliklari Kliniginde calisan SP uzerindeki psikolojik etkisini ve sebep oldugu tukenmislik duzeylerini belirlemek amaciyla yapildi. Bu kesitsel calisma, 261 saglik calisaninin katilimiyla 10 Haziran 2020 ve 15 Haziran 2020 tarihleri arasinda gerceklestirildi. Demografik verilerle ilgili anket, Depresyon Anksiyete Stres Olcegi-21 (DASS-21), Kabul ve Eylem Anketi-II (AAQ-II), Maslach Tukenmislik Envanteri (MIB) katilimcilar tarafindan doldurdu. Katilimcilarin yas ortalamasi 29+/-9,88 yil, %78,9'u kadin, %33'u hekim, %40,2'si hemsire idi. Genel psikolojik sonuclar 143'unde (%54,8) depresyon belirtileri, 129'unda (%49,4) anksiyete, 87'sinde (%33,3) stres seklinde belirlendi. Kadin olma ve COVID-19 tanili hasta ile dogrudan temasta bulunmanin anksiyete, depresyon, stres ve psikolojik esneklik icin riski artirdigi goruldu. Daha genc olma, is deneyiminin az olmasi ve uzun saatler calismanin depresyon, anksiyete, stres, psikolojik esneklik kaybi ile oldugu gibi, tukenmislik ile de iliskisi vardi. Regresyon analizinde psikolojik esneklik, stress duzeyive calisma saatinin tukenmislik uzerinde anlamli yordayici etkisi oldugu gosterildi. Psikolojik faktorler cevresel faktorlere gore tukenmislik puanlari ile daha guclu bir iliski gostermektedir. Bununla beraber calisma saatlerini sinirlandirmak, on saflarda calisan COVID-19 hastalariyla dogrudan temas halinde olan SP arasinda adil vardiya duzenlemek gibi kurumsal stratejiler, SP uzerindeki psikolojik baskiyi azaltmaya yardimci olacaktir. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Living with COVID-19: Depression, anxiety and life satisfaction during the new normal in Turkey

Current findings suggest that many people experience high levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms and life dissatisfaction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the effects of the pandemic and life changes during the new normal of social restrictions in Turkey are yet to be examined. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, correlates and predictors of life satisfaction, anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms during the new normal of ongoing social restrictions. This is a cross-sectional study conducted online with 352 participants living in Turkey. Measures included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Satisfaction with Life Scales. Sociodemographic variables and questions relating to the COVID-19 were collected. The results showed that low social communication and the sense of being restricted were significant predictors of life dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Of the participants, 91.5% were dissatisfied with their lives during the new normal of social restrictions. In addition, nearly half of the participants showed depressive symptoms (55.7%) and anxiety symptoms (54.3%). The present study suggested that social communication might be a key factor to improve psychological wellbeing. Considering the long-term effects of the pandemic on public mental health, developing effective preventive measures and intervention strategies are crucial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Turkish) Mevcut bulgular, bircok insanin COVID-19 salgini nedeniyle yuksek duzeyde kaygi, depresyon ve yasam memnuniyetsizligi yasadigini gostermektedir. Bununla birlikte, Turkiye'de yeni normalin getirdigi sosyal kisitlamalar sirasinda pandeminin ve yasam degisikliklerinin etkileri henuz pek incelenmemistir. Bu calismanin amaci, yeni normal doneminde devam eden sosyal kisitlamalarda yasam doyumunun kaygi belirtilerinin ve depresif belirtilerin yayginligini incelemek, iliskili faktorlerini ve yordayicilarini arastirmaktir. Turkiye'de yasayan 352 katilimci ile cevrimici olarak yurutulen kesitsel bir calismadir. Olcum araci olarak Yaygin Kaygi Bozuklugu-7, Hasta Sagligi Anketi-9 ve Yasam Memnuniyet Olcegi kullanilmistir. Ayrica sosyodemografik degiskenler ve COVID-19 ile ilgili sorular da cevaplandirilmistir. Dusuk sosyal iletisim ve kisitlanmis olma duygusunun yasam memnuniyetsizliginin, depresif belirtilerin ve kaygi belirtilerinin anlamli yordayicilari oldugu gosterilmistir. Katilimcilarin %91,5'i yeni normalin getirdigi sosyal kisitlamalar sirasinda hayatlarindan memnun olmadigini belirtmistir. Ayrica, katilimcilarin yaklasik yarisinin depresif belirtiler (%55,7) ve kaygi belirtileri (%54,3) gosterdigi bulunmustur. Bu calisma, sosyal iletisimin psikolojik iyilik halini iyilestirmede anahtar bir faktor olabilecegini one surmektedir. Pandeminin halkin ruh sagligi uzerindeki uzun vadeli etkileri dusunuldugunde, etkili onleyici tedbirler ve mudahale stratejileri gelistirmek cok onemlidir. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)