Collective Efficacy and Perceived COVID-19 Severity Predict Preparedness and Response Behaviors: A Longitudinal Study of Intersectionally Vulnerable University Students.

OBJECTIVE: To promote equity for intersectionally disaster-vulnerable individuals and address three literature gaps: (1) incremental effects of collective and self-efficacy as preparedness predictors, (2) differentiation of fear and perceived severity of a disaster, and (3) clarification of the relationship between fear and preparedness. METHODS: Due to infection risks associated with communal housing, early in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many universities permitted students to remain in campus housing only if they were housing insecure, including many international students. We surveyed intersectionally-vulnerable students and their partners at a southeast US university, N = 54, who were international (77.8%), Asian (55.6%), and/or housing insecure at baseline (79.6%). In 14 waves from May-October 2020, we assessed pandemic preparedness/response behaviors (PPRBs) and potential PPRB predictors. RESULTS: We examined within- and between-person effects of fear, perceived severity, collective efficacy, and self-efficacy on PPRBs. Within-person perceived severity and collective efficacy both significantly, positively predicted greater PPRBs. All effects of fear and self-efficacy were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived severity and confidence that one's actions positively impact one's community fluctuated throughout the pandemic and are linked to greater PPRB engagement. Public health messages and interventions to improve PPRB may benefit from emphasizing collective efficacy and accuracy over fear.

Meaning in a world in crisis: Perspectives of societal resilience and growth: An introduction to the special section of the Journal of Constructivist Psychology

The world is in crisis! While we are writing this introduction, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hold many countries in its tight grip. Countries have gone into lock-down over the Omicron variant. People have lost their jobs. Above all, the current pandemic highlights the underlying long-term crises of racism and social inequality, whereas for example communities of color and individuals with lower socio-economic status are impacted disproportionally by the pandemic. The articles in this special issue reflect the new meaning of meaning. We discuss multidisciplinary perspectives on how meaning is experienced in different contexts and crises. Together, these articles show the personal and societal power of meaning, and stand for meaning in our globalized society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Perceived meaning, pandemic self-efficacy, social support, and discrimination predict trajectories of peri-pandemic growth and distress for international students.

OBJECTIVE: International students face unique COVID-19-related stressors, such as financial aid loss, limited social support, and discrimination (e.g., verbal harassment, physical assault). Additionally, pandemic and chronic stress research is largely cross-sectional, and trajectories over time remain unclear for psychological and environmental factors predicting distress and peri-pandemic growth. Accordingly, the current study examined trajectories of psychological distress and growth, as well as weekly psychological and environmental predictors of psychological distress and growth, in international students during the early stages of the pandemic. METHOD: International students (N = 42) at a U.S. university were surveyed weekly for 14 weeks. RESULTS: Latent growth mixture modeling resulted in three trajectories over time of distress (Minimal Impact, Emergent Resilience, and Increasing Distress) and peri-pandemic growth (Limited PrTG, Decreasing PrTG, and Increasing PrTG). For multilevel models, within-person increases in meaning and self-efficacy as well as between-person changes in discrimination and emotional social support predicted distress. Within-person changes in meaning and self-efficacy and between-person changes in self-efficacy and discrimination predicted peri-pandemic growth. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the stressors they face, many international students demonstrated a trajectory of resilience. Positive coping factors and environmental factors predicted distress or peri-pandemic growth, which can inform interventions and studies examining trajectories of distress during prolonged adversity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Answering the call of COVID-19: An integrated mental health response considering education, training, research, and service.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a call that psychologists must answer with a dynamic, integrated mental health response that incorporates public education and dissemination, training, research, and service. These areas are central components to our mission at the Clinical-Disaster Research Center, housed in the Department of Psychology at the University of Mississippi and part of the university's doctoral training program in clinical psychology. We discuss some of our efforts in each of these areas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the hope that the information may be of use to psychologists assuming a range of professional responsibilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).