The Moderating Role of Resilience in the Personality-Mental Health Relationship During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Associations between personality traits and mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, loneliness, and stress) have rarely been assessed in a population-representative sample of a high-income country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, as far as we know, the role of health and social behaviors as well as resilience in the personality-mental health relationship has yet to be explored. Methods: A representative sample of 1,828 residents of Luxembourg filled in validated scales to assess personality traits and resilience, depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety, loneliness, and stress, indicating mental health, in mid-April 2020. Results: Approximately 21% of the participants scored above the cut-off for moderate depression and moderate loneliness. Moderate anxiety and moderate stress were present in 6.2 and 0.3% of the participants, respectively. Higher-educated respondents and those living in higher-value housing reported better mental health. Agreeableness and conscientiousness were most consistently associated with better mental health; neuroticism was most consistently associated with worse mental health. Spending more time on social media was also associated with elevated levels of all four mental health outcomes. Social and health behaviors did not change the personality-mental health relationships. Resilience moderated some of the personality-mental health associations, most consistently in neuroticism. Conclusions: Findings suggest educational and socioeconomic inequalities in mental health in a nationally representative sample during the COVID-19 confinement measures. Personality traits, particularly agreeableness, conscientiousness, and low neuroticism were associated with mental health. The moderating role of resilience in the personality-mental health relationship suggests intervention potential to improve mental health during periods of confinement.

Unmet Needs of People With Parkinson's Disease and Their Caregivers During COVID-19-Related Confinement: An Explorative Secondary Data Analysis.

Self-perceived unmet needs in people with typical and atypical parkinsonism (PwP) and their caregivers, support network, personalized ways to address self-perceived unmet needs during confinement, as well as the prevalence of self-reported COVID-19 related symptoms, confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, and self-reported COVID-19 related hospitalization in Luxembourg and the Greater Region were assessed. From 18th March to 10th April 2020, 679 PwP were contacted by phone. Data was collected in the form of a semi-structured interview. The thematic synthesis identified 25 themes where PwP need to be supported in order to cope with consequences of the pandemic, and to adapt their daily and health-related activities. The present work highlights that in the context of personalized medicine, depending on the individual needs of support of the patient the identified self-perceived unmet needs were addressed in various ways ranging from one-directed information over interaction up to proactive counseling and monitoring. Family and health professionals, but also other support systems were taking care of the unmet needs of PwP (e.g., shopping, picking-up medication, etc.) during the pandemic. 7/606 PwP (1.15%) reported COVID-19 related symptoms, 4/606 (0.66%) underwent a rRT-PCR-based diagnostic test and 2/606 (0.33%) were confirmed as SARS-CoV-2 positive. None of these PwP reported being hospitalized due to COVID-19. Our results will allow health professionals to expand their services in a meaningful way i.e., personalize their support in the identified themes and thus improve the healthcare of PwP in times of crisis.