Adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with global and situational meaning.

COVID-19 has created pervasive upheaval and uncertainty in communities around the world. This investigation evaluated associations between discrete dimensions of personal meaning and psychological adjustment to the pandemic among community residents in a southern US state. In this cross-sectional study, 544 respondents were assessed during a period of reopening but accelerating infection rates. Validated measures were used to evaluate theoretically distinct dimensions of perceived global meaning (Meaning-in-Life Questionnaire) and pandemic-specific meaning (Meaning in Illness Scale). Adjustment outcomes included perceived stress, pandemic-related helplessness, and acceptance of the pandemic. In multivariate models that controlled for demographic and pandemic-related factors, stronger attained global meaning (i.e., perceptions that life is generally meaningful) and attained situational meaning (i.e., perceptions that the pandemic experience was comprehensible) were related to better adjustment on all three outcomes (all p's < .001). In contrast, seeking situational meaning (i.e., ongoing efforts to find coherence in the situation) was associated with poorer adjustment on all indices (all p's < .001). Results offer novel information regarding theoretically salient dimensions of meaning, which may have direct relevance for understanding how community residents adapt to the challenges of a major public health crisis.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of effects of psychosocial interventions on spiritual well-being in adults with cancer.

Objective: Spiritual well-being (SpWb) is an important dimension of health-related quality of life for many cancer patients. Accordingly, an increasing number of psychosocial intervention studies have included SpWb as a study endpoint, and may improve SpWb even if not designed explicitly to do so. This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluated effects of psychosocial interventions on SpWb in adults with cancer and tested potential moderators of intervention effects. Methods: Six literature databases were systematically searched to identify RCTs of psychosocial interventions in which SpWb was an outcome. Doctoral-level rater pairs extracted data using Covidence following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Standard meta-analytic techniques were applied, including meta-regression with robust variance estimation and risk-of-bias sensitivity analysis. Results: Forty-one RCTs were identified, encompassing 88 treatment effects among 3883 survivors. Interventions were associated with significant improvements in SpWb (g = 0.22, 95% CI [0.14, 0.29], p < 0.0001). Studies assessing the FACIT-Sp demonstrated larger effect sizes than did those using other measures of SpWb (g = 0.25, 95% CI [0.17, 0.34], vs. g = 0.10, 95% CI [-0.02, 0.23], p = 0.03]. No other intervention, clinical, or demographic characteristics significantly moderated effect size. Conclusions: Psychosocial interventions are associated with small-to-medium-sized effects on SpWb among cancer survivors. Future research should focus on conceptually coherent interventions explicitly targeting SpWb and evaluate interventions in samples that are diverse with respect to race and ethnicity, sex and cancer type.

Anxiety, depressive, and trauma symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evaluating the role of disappointment with God.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to pervasive social and economic disruptions. This cross-sectional investigation aimed to evaluate associations between religious/spiritual factors and mental health symptoms among community residents in a southern US state. In particular, we focused on perceptions of God's distance, a salient aspect of religious/spiritual struggle that has received little scrutiny in health research. METHODS: Participants included 551 respondents assessed during a period of gradual reopening but rising infection rates. Mental health outcomes were assessed using standardized measures of generalized anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms. Perceptions of an affirming relationship with God, anger at God, and disappointment at God's distance were evaluated using an adapted version of the Attitudes-Toward-God Scale-9. RESULTS: In multivariate analyses that accounted for pandemic-related and demographic factors, positive relationships with God were related to diminished symptoms on all three mental heatlh indices (all p's ≤.003), whereas disappointment with God's distance was associated with more pronounced difficulties (all p's ≤.014). LIMTATIONS: The cross-sectional design precludes causal conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that perceived relationships with God are tied to clinically relevant mental health outcomes during periods of major upheaval. Disappointment with God's distance may be an important, understudied dimension of religious/spiritual struggle meriting further investigation.

Mental health outcomes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic: Prevalence and risk factors in a southern US state.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on the functioning of individuals and institutions around the world. This cross-sectional registry-based study examined some of the burdens of the pandemic, the prevalence of mental health difficulties, and risk factors for psychosocial morbidity among community residents in Arkansas. The study focused on a period of gradual reopening but rising infection rates. The investigation included validated screening measures of depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety (GAD-7), trauma-related symptoms (PCL-5), and alcohol use (AUDIT-C). A notable percentage of participants reported elevated symptoms on each of these outcomes. In separate multivariable analyses that accounted for a number of demographic and pandemic-related covariates, individuals who reported greater pandemic-related disruption in daily life, and those with a prior history of mental health concerns, were more likely to screen positive for depressive, anxiety and trauma-related symptoms. Findings illuminate burdens experienced by community residents during a period of phased reopening, and offer a foundation for future screening and intervention initiatives.