Pandemic-Related Stress and Other Emotional Difficulties in a Sample of Men and Women Living in Romantic Relationships during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study examined the extent to which relationship quality affects variability in perceived stress and other emotional difficulties associated with the pandemic. The study was conducted 2-17 March 2022 using a self-administered online survey. The sample size consisted of 1405 individuals who were in a romantic relationship. The scales used in the study included the PSS-4, ECR-RS, SLS-12 and the standardized Pandemic-ED scale (RMSEA = 0.032). Increased stress levels (U = -5.741), pandemic-related emotional difficulties (U = -8.720), worse romantic relationship quality (U = -2.564) and more frequent anxiety-related attachment (U = -3.371) were characteristic of women. A hierarchical regression model for stress showed that age (b = -0.143), financial situation (b = 0.024), the ECR-RS scores (b = 0.219) and pandemic-related emotional difficulties (b = 0.358) proved to be statistically significant predictors of stress. The hierarchical regression model for pandemic-related emotional difficulties indicated five predictors: gender (b = 0.166), education (b = 0.071), financial situation (b = 0.203), scores on the ECR-RS scale (b = 0.048) and stress (b = 0.367). The SEM model used has satisfactory fit indices (RMSEA = 0.051), romantic relationship quality scores and attachment styles interact with the variability of perceived pandemic-related stress and burdens. The determined model offers conclusions relevant to clinicians working with individuals and couples during periods of intense stress.

Occupational Burnout in Healthcare Workers, Stress and Other Symptoms of Work Overload during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland.

This study explored the level and selected determinants of burnout among five groups of healthcare workers (physicians, nurses, paramedics, other medical and nonmedical staff) working during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. This cross-sectional study was conducted from February to April 2022, with the use of a self-administered mostly online survey. The BAT-12 scale was used to measure burnout, and the PSS-4 scale was used to measure stress. The sample was limited to 2196 individuals who worked with patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. A series of multivariate logistic regression models with three to nine predictors was estimated. The prevalence of burnout ranged from 27.7% in other nonmedical staff to 36.5% in nurses. Adjusting for age and gender, both physicians (p = 0.011) and nurses (p < 0.001) were at higher risk of burnout. In the final model, elevated stress most likely increased the risk of burnout (OR = 3.88; 95%CI <3.13-3.81>; p < 0,001). Other significant predictors of burnout included traumatic work-related experience (OR =1.91, p < 0.001), mobbing (OR = 1.83, p < 0.001) and higher workload than before the pandemic (OR = 1.41, p = 0.002). Only 7% of the respondents decided to use various forms of psychological support during the pandemic. The presented research can contribute to the effective planning and implementation of measures in the face of crisis when the workload continues to increase.

Factors Associated with Uptake of Effective and Ineffective Contraceptives among Polish Women during the First Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has burdened the healthcare system and influenced individuals' health-related choices. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence and to identify the correlates of the use of more and less effective contraceptive methods among Poles in the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cross-sectional online study was conducted among the representative sample of 642 female respondents aged 18-49. Three groups of contraception choices (only effective methods-42.2%, mixed effective and ineffective methods-26.8%, none-31.0%) were distinguished and 11 potential determinants were considered. One in ten women declared having difficulty in accessing contraception during the first months of the pandemic. A multinomial logistic regression model explained 48.7% of the variation in contraceptive method choice. Both effective and ineffective methods were more often declared by young women, and less often in case of lower education, planning children or subjective no need for contraception. In addition, factors that reduced the chance of effective contraception were poor financial situation, already having children and a relatively higher degree of religiosity. The study confirmed that a significant share of Polish women do not opt for effective methods of contraception. Their choices had strong demographic, social and cultural determinants.

Energy Security as a Premise for Mergers and Acquisitions on the Example of the Multi-Energy Concern PKN Orlen in the Face of the Challenges of the 2020s

A concern for ensuring energy security is particularly important in the 2020s, a decade significantly marked by economic and political uncertainty: the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and inflation turning into stagflation in many markets. Additionally, the national and international climate policy promoting the acquisition of energy from non-renewable sources is only a part of the problem that forces a revision of the direction and degree of diversification of energy sources. States, bearing in mind the inevitability of change, in order to maintain energy security, should not only accurately read these phenomena but also effectively prevent them. One of the available solutions is to build a multi-energy concern to ensure energy independence through diversified production and distribution of electricity and non-renewable fuels. To this end, a large international entity centred around the PKN Orlen group has existed in Poland for several years. The construction of this holding is based on M&A transactions, as effective mechanisms for long-term management, and focused around complementary, in terms of economic activity, market entities-Energa, Lotos and PGNiG. This article focuses on the assessment of the phenomenon of capital concentration in M&A transactions by PKN Orlen, with particular emphasis on the changes in the shaping of energy security in the near future and also on the basis of the directions resulting from government guidelines and policies.

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Assessment of Sexual Life-Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveys among Polish Adults in 2017, 2020 and 2021.

The study aims to investigate whether assessment of sexual life remained stable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two surveys were conducted among Polish adults aged 18-70 years in June 2020 (n = 2042; perspective of last 2-3 months) and in June 2021 (n = 2418; last 12 months). Data from 2017 (n = 1980) were used as a reference point. Four questions allowed for defining five sexual life assessment profiles (k-means cluster analysis). Their characteristics were presented using 12 variables and 16 factors that contributed to difficulties in sexual life. The 2020 survey showed a temporary increase in the importance of sexual life and the frequency of sexual intercourse. However, the percentage of respondents representing the most favorable profile decreased significantly over the consecutive survey periods (47.1%, 34.2%, and 32.3%, respectively). Pandemic-induced fatigue and stress as well as the permanent presence of others at home were reported as two main factors negatively affecting the frequency of sexual intercourse during the pandemic. Respondents who assessed their sexual life as poor were more likely to consider illness, depression, and low self-esteem as factors negatively impacting their sexual life in 2021 than a year earlier. The results confirmed that as the pandemic drew on, the assessment of sexual life changed compared to the time around the first lockdown.

Changes in mental well-being of adult Poles in the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic with reference to their occupational activity and remote work.

OBJECTIVES: The present study focused on the relationship between occupational activity and mental health during the first COVID-19 lockdown. MATERIAL AND METHODS: At the turn of May and June 2020, an online survey was conducted on a representative sample of 3000 Poles (age: Me = 45 years). Working persons accounted for 52% of the respondents, while 38.1% were hired workers. Two standardized (0-100 pts) indices were defined. The level of mental health symptoms index (LMHSI) concerned the incidence of 4 problems within the past 2 months, whereas the change in mental health symptoms index (CMHSI) concerned the degree of mental health deterioration. RESULTS: The mean value of LMHSI was 40.91 (SD = 26.97), and that of CMHSI 60.51 (SD = 23.97). In both cases, a worse assessment was obtained among women than among men. In the group of working respondents, the least advantageous results were found among those who worked casually or under a commission contract. Among the non-employed respondents, jobless persons and students were the group at risk. Remote work resulted in the deterioration of mental health in the light of CMHSI; however, a threat of changes in the professional situation affected LMHSI variability to the greatest extent The results of linear regression (R2 = 0.339) suggest that the increase in the CMHSI score (adjusted for LMHSI) is independently influenced by female sex, university education, remote work and a threat of the worsening of employment terms. The analysis of the interaction effect showed a stronger impact of the last factor in the group of women (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, COVID-19 restrictions were associated with a negative impact on mental health which should be analyzed in the occupational context. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(2):251-62.