Coping with global uncertainty: Perceptions of COVID-19 psychological distress, relationship quality, and dyadic coping for romantic partners across 27 countries

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 39(1) of Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (see record 2022-18336-005). Three new authors (Adnan Adil, Emmanuel Asampong, and Rahmattullah Khan Abdul Wahab Khan) were not initially listed in the Epub ahead of print. Table 1 also contained some errors. The corrections are given in the erratum.] Following the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, individuals report psychological distress associated with the "new normal"-social distancing, financial hardships, and increased responsibilities while working from home. Given the interpersonal nature of stress and coping responses between romantic partners, based on the systemic transactional model this study posits that perceived partner dyadic coping may be an important moderator between experiences of COVID-19 psychological distress and relationship quality. To examine these associations, self-report data from 14,020 people across 27 countries were collected during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-July, 2020). It was hypothesized that higher symptoms of psychological distress would be reported post-COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19 restrictions (Hypothesis 1), reports of post-COVID-19 psychological distress would be negatively associated with relationship quality (Hypothesis 2), and perceived partner DC would moderate these associations (Hypothesis 3). While hypotheses were generally supported, results also showed interesting between-country variability. Limitations and future directions are presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The family as a protective factor for adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Theoretical background: From spring 2020 to the present day, the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread limitations in daily life, including school closures, as well as to negative effects on the mental health of adolescents in the German-speaking countries. Objective: This study examined the associations between family support, psychological distress, and concern for others' health as aspects of solidarity among adolescents in Austria and Switzerland. We expected positive associations between family support and adolescents' reported concern for others' health and negative associations between family support and psychological distress. We further explored whether the two national samples differed in these aspects. Method: Adolescents (N = 458) aged 14 to 18 years from Austria (n = 158) and Switzerland (n = 300) completed an online survey in April and May 2020 on the three constructs "Concern for other's health," "Psychological distress," and "Family support." We conducted the statistical analyses using structural equation modeling. Results: We found measurement invariance between the two samples regarding all assessed constructs. As hypothesized, in both countries family support was positively related to concern for others' health and negatively related to psychological distress. Swiss adolescents reported higher concern for others' health and lower psychological distress than the Austrian sample. Discussion and Conclusion: The results feed into the theory of family resilience, suggesting that family support plays a crucial role in adolescents' well-being during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Family support may also be related to adolescents' solidarity. However, the variance explained in our study was small indicating that other protective factors should be considered as well. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) Abstract (German) Theoretischer Hintergrund: Die Familie stellt in Krisen einen zentralen Schutzfaktor fur Jugendliche dar. Fragestellung: Diese Studie untersuchte die Zusammenhange zwischen familiarer Unterstutzung, der Sorge um die Gesundheit anderer und der psychischen Belastung von Jugendlichen. Methode: Daten einer Online-Studie zum Ende des 1. Lockdowns 2020 in Osterreich und der Schweiz wurden mittels eines Strukturgleichungsmodells analysiert. Ergebnisse: Familiare Unterstutzung hing positiv mit der Sorge um die Gesundheit anderer und negativ mit psychischer Belastung zusammen. Die Schweizer Jugendlichen berichteten hohere Sorge um die Gesundheit anderer sowie eine geringere psychische Belastung. Diskussion und Schlussfolgerung: Die familiare Unterstutzung spielt eine wichtige Rolle im Befinden und Erleben von Jugendlichen wahrend der Pandemie. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The family as a protective factor for adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

(German) Theoretischer Hintergrund: Die Familie stellt in Krisen einen zentralen Schutzfaktor fur Jugendliche dar. Fragestellung: Diese Studie untersuchte die Zusammenhange zwischen familiarer Unterstutzung, der Sorge um die Gesundheit anderer und der psychischen Belastung von Jugendlichen. Methode: Daten einer Online-Studie zum Ende des 1. Lockdowns 2020 in Osterreich und der Schweiz wurden mittels eines Strukturgleichungsmodells analysiert. Ergebnisse: Familiare Unterstutzung hing positiv mit der Sorge um die Gesundheit anderer und negativ mit psychischer Belastung zusammen. Die Schweizer Jugendlichen berichteten hohere Sorge um die Gesundheit anderer sowie eine geringere psychische Belastung. Diskussion und Schlussfolgerung: Die familiare Unterstutzung spielt eine wichtige Rolle im Befinden und Erleben von Jugendlichen wahrend der Pandemie. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Coping with global uncertainty: Perceptions of COVID-19 psychological distress, relationship quality, and dyadic coping for romantic partners across 27 countries

Following the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, individuals report psychological distress associated with the ?new normal??social distancing, financial hardships, and increased responsibilities while working from home. Given the interpersonal nature of stress and coping responses between romantic partners, based on the systemic transactional model this study posits that perceived partner dyadic coping may be an important moderator between experiences of COVID-19 psychological distress and relationship quality. To examine these associations, self-report data from 14,020 people across 27 countries were collected during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic (March?July, 2020). It was hypothesized that higher symptoms of psychological distress would be reported post-COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19 restrictions (Hypothesis 1), reports of post-COVID-19 psychological distress would be negatively associated with relationship quality (Hypothesis 2), and perceived partner DC would moderate these associations (Hypothesis 3). While hypotheses were generally supported, results also showed interesting between-country variability. Limitations and future directions are presented.

Cognitive reappraisal and self-compassion as emotion regulation strategies for parents during COVID-19: An online randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Parenting during pandemic restrictions places extreme demands on everyday family life, leading to increased stress levels for parents and distressed parent-child interactions. This RCT aimed to investigate whether cognitive reappraisal and self-compassion are helpful emotion regulation (ER) strategies to reduce individual and parental stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: An online intervention for parents was developed focusing on the application of ER strategies to pandemic requirements of families. A sample of 265 parents were randomly assigned to either cognitive reappraisal (CR; n = 88), self-compassion (SC; n = 90) or wait-list control (WLC; n = 87) group. Interventions included two video sessions (day 1 and day 3) and three email reminders to transfer the application of ER strategies to daily family life (days 2, 4, 5). Parents' perceived individual stress and parental stress were assessed at baseline (T0), at T1 prior to the booster session on day 3, and at T2 (7 days after baseline). RESULTS: Significant decreases from T0 to T2 emerged for both primary stress outcomes in both intervention groups. Individual stress significantly decreased in CR compared to WLC at T2, but not compared to SC. No time × group interactions for parental stress were found. However, mediation analyses suggested that parental stress was indirectly decreased via reductions in individual stress for CR compared to WLC at both time points. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic to affect family life. Cognitive reappraisal as a brief online intervention can ease acute stress and strengthen the mental health of parents in acute crises.