"If I start panicking over having enough, then I start eating too much": Understanding the eating behaviors of SNAP recipients in larger bodies during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Living in a food-insecure household may increase the risk for disordered eating. Though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was designed to reduce food insecurity, it may increase risk for disordered eating with the frequency in which benefits are distributed. Limited research has explored the lived experiences of managing eating behaviors while on SNAP, particularly among SNAP participants in larger bodies, and during COVID-19. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the experiences with eating behaviors among adults with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, and who received SNAP benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Eligible adults were recruited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis and content analysis. RESULTS: Participants (N = 16), had a mean (±SD) age of 43.4 ± 10.9 years, and overwhelmingly identified as female (86 %). One-third of the participants were Black. We identified 4 main themes: (1) not having enough money/benefits to cover needs; (2) navigating loss of control and emotional eating; (3) making sure the kids are alright; and (4) still feeling the pressure to manage weight. CONCLUSION: Managing eating behaviors while also navigating SNAP benefits is complex and may exacerbate risk of disordered eating.

Perceptions and experiences with eating disorder treatment in the first year of COVID-19: A longitudinal qualitative analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges in accessing and receiving treatment for individuals with eating disorders (EDs). The purpose of this study is to explore perceptions of and experiences with ED treatment during the first year of the pandemic among individuals with past and self-reported EDs in the United States. METHODS: Online surveys were administered to adults (N = 510) with a past or current self-reported ED at 13 timepoints between April 2020 and May 2021. Using longitudinal qualitative analysis, 5651 free-text responses were examined to capture experiences with ED treatment and generate inferences of change over time. RESULTS: We categorized results into four sequential, temporal quarters and identified patterns that explained participants' perceptions of facilitators, barriers, and experiences with ED treatment over time: Quarter 1. Treatment Disruption and Reorienting Recovery; Quarter 2. Accumulating COVID-19 Stress and Virtual Treatment Woes; Quarter 3. A Continuation of Inadequate Care; and Quarter 4. Ongoing Adaptation and Adjustment to Uncertainty. Participant experiences were marked by numerous barriers to accessing care, challenges adjusting to virtual treatment, unmet treatment needs, and beginning acceptance of telehealth. DISCUSSION: Our findings present a timeline to help evaluate challenges related to navigating the switch to virtual care which created significant disruption to ED recovery. Participants spent much of the first year trying to adjust to unemployment, loss of insurance, and lack of access to in-person treatment. Future research should identify additional strategies to improve the receipt and experience of care for EDs. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that individuals with eating disorders were significantly challenged by accumulating COVID-19 stress, worsening symptomatology, and limited access to effective treatment during the first year of the pandemic. This knowledge can guide clinicians, treatment centers, and policy makers in addressing the behavioral health needs of individuals impacted by disordered eating amidst emergent public health crises.

Aging and Emotion Regulation Tactics Across the Historical Events of 2020.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite well-documented cognitive and physical declines with age, older adults tend to report higher emotional wellbeing than younger adults, even during the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To understand this paradox, as well as investigate the effects of specific historical contexts, the current study examined age differences in emotion regulation related to the events of 2020 in the United States. We predicted that, due to older adults' theorized greater prioritization of hedonic goals and avoidance of arousal, older adults would report more positivity-upregulation and acceptance tactics than younger adults. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: 81 younger adults (ages 18-25) and 85 older adults (age 55+) completed a retrospective survey on their emotion regulation tactic usage for three specific events: the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the killing of George Floyd, and the presidential election. RESULTS: Older adults tended to rely most on acceptance-focused tactics, while younger adults tended to rely on a more even variety of tactics. However, age differences in tactic preferences varied by event, possibly due to younger adults' greater emotion regulation flexibility. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Older adults' higher emotional well-being may not be primarily a result of age differences in positivity-related emotion regulation tactics, but more about differences in acceptance use.

Aging and emotion regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Self-reported emotional well-being tends to increase with age (Charles & Carstensen, Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 383-409, 2010), and this has remained true during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. Bruine de Bruin, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(2), e24-e29, 2021) despite older adults being disproportionately affected by the virus (CDC, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Older adults, 2020). This study aimed to investigate how younger and older adults are regulating their emotions during the current pandemic. Specifically, this study measured potential age differences in acceptance (broken down into situational and emotional acceptance), because it has been identified as a possible underlying mechanism of the relationship between aging and reduced negative affect (Shallcross et al., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(4), 734-749, 2013). Methods: Younger (N = 150) and older (N = 150) adults completed trait-level questionnaires of emotional and situational acceptance, and completed a task where they reacted to 24 negative, arousing COVID-19 news headlines, half of which were old-age focused, to capture trial-level acceptance use. Results: Older adults reported greater trait-level acceptance and used emotional acceptance more frequently than younger adults during the headlines task, especially on trials containing old-age focused headlines. Interestingly, younger adults reported reduced trial-level subjective arousal when engaging in emotional acceptance compared to active emotion regulation (suggesting beneficial affective outcomes of acceptance), while older adults reported no differences in arousal between trials when they engaged in acceptance and when they engaged in more active emotion regulation. Conclusion: We discuss potential explanations for these findings as well as present future research directions on acceptance across the lifespan.