Workplace Aesthetic Appreciation and Exhaustion in a COVID-19 Vaccination Center: The Role of Positive Affects and Interest in Art.

BACKGROUND: Recently, workers employed in vaccination points around the world have been subjected to very high workloads to counter the progress of the COVID-19 epidemic. This workload has a negative effect on their well-being. Environmental psychology studies have shown how the physical characteristics of the workplace environment can influence employees' well-being. Furthermore, studies in the psychology of art show how art can improve the health of individuals. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to test a moderated mediation model to verify how appreciation of workplace aesthetics can impact the level of exhaustion of staff working in a vaccination center, the mediating role of positive and negative affects, and the moderating role of interest in art. METHODS: Data were collected from a sample of 274 workers (physicians, nurses, reception, and administrative staff) working in the same vaccination center in Italy. Participants answered a self-report questionnaire during a rest break. We used a cross-sectional design. RESULTS: The results show that appreciation of workplace aesthetics impacts employees' level of exhaustion. This relationship is mediated by positive and negative affects, and interest in art moderates the relationship between positive affects and exhaustion. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate the central role of workplace aesthetics in influencing healthcare workers' well-being, and how interest in art can reduce exhaustion levels. Practical implications of the results are discussed.

Intolerance of Uncertainty and Attitudes towards Vaccination Impact Vaccinal Decision While Perceived Uncertainty Does Not.

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) can hinder problem-solving and lead to avoidance of ambiguous situations. Furthermore, people tend to lack confidence in decisions made in ambiguous contexts. We wanted to investigate the impact of IU on intentions to get vaccinated, to vaccinate one's children, and to recommend the vaccine in situations with varying degrees of perceived uncertainty. We first conducted a pretest to select six scenarios with different levels of perceived uncertainty. In the core study, 485 participants answered for each of the six scenarios whether they would get vaccinated, vaccinate their children (or imagine doing so, for individuals without children), and whether they would recommend the vaccine. They also completed the IUS-12 (Intolerance of Uncertainty scale) and the VAX (Vaccination Attitudes Examination). Results showed that perceived uncertainty did not influence our measures, but the IUS-12 and VAX predicted the difference in score between the most and least uncertain scenarios. An indirect effect of the IUS-12 on decision confidence through the VAX was found, but with no direct effect. We conclude that, even if future studies should refine these results, Public Policies should be more focused on factors such as IU and attitudes toward vaccination.

High Stress Levels and Trust toward the Government Are Associated with More Positive Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccines among French Students: A Pilot Study.

Mistrust in COVID-19 vaccines may hinder vaccination campaigns. We looked at cognitive determinants of vaccination intentions against COVID-19. We were interested in (i) the effects of stress and (ii) the effects of self-protection systems on attitudes and intentions to get COVID-19 vaccines. We conducted an online observational pilot study with 203 participants and used self-report questionnaires to assess perceived stress and vulnerability to disease, beliefs about a dangerous world, pandemic-related stressors, living conditions, attitudes and intentions toward the vaccines and trust in government management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants reporting high levels of trust in government and high levels of stress were more likely to have positive attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines, although these two effects are at least partially independent of each other. We discuss how to improve the communication around COVID-19 vaccine policies.

Keeping Meta-Analyses Hygienic During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Despite the massive distribution of different vaccines globally, the current pandemic has revealed the crucial need for an efficient treatment against COVID-19. Meta-analyses have historically been extremely useful to determine treatment efficacy but recent debates about the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients resulted in contradictory meta-analytical results. Different factors during the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted key features of conducting a good meta-analysis. Some meta-analyses did not evaluate or treat substantial heterogeneity (I2 > 75%); others did not include additional analysis for publication bias; none checked for evidence of p-hacking in the primary studies nor used recent methods (i.e., p-curve or p-uniform) to estimate the average population-size effect. These inconsistencies may contribute to contradictory results in the research evaluating COVID-19 treatments. A prominent example of this is the use of hydroxychloroquine, where some studies reported a large positive effect, whereas others indicated no significant effect or even increased mortality when hydroxychloroquine was used with the antibiotic azithromycin. In this paper, we first recall the benefits and fundamental steps of good quality meta-analysis. Then, we examine various meta-analyses on hydroxychloroquine treatments for COVID-19 patients that led to contradictory results and causes for this discrepancy. We then highlight recent tools that contribute to evaluate publication bias and p-hacking (i.e., p-curve, p-uniform) and conclude by making technical recommendations that meta-analyses should follow even during extreme global events such as a pandemic.

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health in university students: A mini-review of the current literature

Students are some of the primary psychological victims of the global health crisis. This population is particularly sensitive to stress, and is also prone to developing substance and behavioral addictions, including food addictions, which may be exacerbated by the lockdown and health measures. Levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms among students have increased since the coronavirus crisis. Several studies show that drug use, including alcohol, has also increased since the implementation of health measures. Interestingly, the stress that was most perceived by students with addiction problems was mainly due to uncertainty about the organization of daily life and the expected consequences of the lockdown. Stress appeared to be more prevalent among female students and was associated with more anxiety disorders, more exposure to the media, and less social support. When problematic eating behaviors were already present before the lockdown, the stress of the lockdown increased them. Protective factors such as social support and regular contact with family protected against stress and the various addictive issues studied. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Abstract (French) Les etudiants sont en premiere ligne des victimes psychologiques de la crise sanitaire mondiale. Cette population particulierement sensible au stress, est aussi sujette a developper des addictions aux substances ou des addictions comportementales, notamment sur le plan alimentaire;difficultes qui pourraient etre aggravees par le confinement et les mesures sanitaires. Les niveaux de stress, d'anxiete, de solitude et de symptomes depressifs des etudiants ont augmente depuis la crise du coronavirus. Concernant la consommation de drogues, dont l'alcool, plusieurs etudes montrent qu'elle a egalement augmente depuis la mise en place de mesures sanitaires. De maniere interessante, le stress qui est le plus perc u par les etudiants victimes de problematiques d'addiction etait principalement attribuable a l'incertitude liee a l'organisation de la vie quotidienne et aux consequences prevues du confinement. Le stress semble plus concerner les etudiantes et il est associe a plus de troubles anxio-depressifs, plus d'exposition aux medias et moins de soutien social. Lorsque des comportements alimentaires problematiques etaient deja presents avant le confinement, le stress du au confinement les a augmentes. Les facteurs de protection par exemple un support social, des contacts reguliers avec la famille protegeaient du stress et des differentes problematiques addictives etudiees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

The Early Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Stress and Addictive Behaviors in an Alcohol-Consuming Student Population in France.

Background: This study evaluated factors linked with perceived stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown and addictive behaviors prior to and during lockdown in a sample of students who indicated engaging in alcohol consumption behaviors before lockdown. Methods: Cross-sectional study. French students from four universities participated in this study, and 2,760 students reported alcohol use. During the first week of lockdown, students reported their perceived levels of stress regarding COVID-19. Substance use and addictive behaviors were reported before and during lockdown, and media exposure, demographical, living conditions, and environmental stressors were reported during lockdown. Results: Women reported greater levels of stress (95% CI: 1.18 to 1.93, p < 0.001). Highly-stressed students also report less social support (95% CI: -1.04 to -0.39, p < 0.001) and were more likely to worry about the lockdown (95% CI: 0.27 to -0.65, p < 0.001). Alcohol-related problemswere more prevalent among the most stressed students (95% CI: 0.02 to 0.09, p = 0.004) as well as eating problems (95% CI: 0.04 to 0.36, p = 0.016) and problematic internet use (95% CI, 0.06 to 0.14, p < 0.001). Students reporting the highest levels of stress also indicated more compulsive eating during the previous seven days (95% CI, 0.21 to 1.19, p = 0.005). Conclusions: The level of stress was strongly related to four categories of variables: (i) intrinsic characteristics, (ii) addictive behaviors before lockdown, (iii) lockdown-specific conditions, and (iv) addictive behaviors during the lockdown. Several variables linked to COVID-19 were not directly linked with perceived stress, while perceived stress was found to correlate with daily life organization-related uncertainty and anticipated consequences of lockdown. Importantly, social support seems to be a protective factor on high level of stress.

COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and problematic eating behaviors in a student population.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Since mid-March 2020, over 3 billion people have been confined as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Problematic eating behaviors are likely to be impacted by the pandemic through multiple pathways. This study examined the relationships between stress related to lockdown measures and binge eating and dietary restriction in a population of French students during the first week of confinement. METHODS: A sample of undergraduate students (N = 5,738) completed an online questionnaire 7 days after lockdown measures were introduced. The survey comprised variables related to lockdown measures and the COVID-19-pandemic, mood, stress, body image, binge eating and dietary restriction during the past 7 days, as well as intent to binge eat and restrict in the following 15 days. RESULTS: Stress related to the lockdown was associated with greater likelihood of binge eating and dietary restriction over the past week and intentions to binge eat and restrict over the next 15 days. Greater exposure to COVID-19-related media was associated with increased eating restriction over the past week. Binge eating and restriction (past and intentions) were associated with established risk factors, including female gender, low impulse regulation, high body dissatisfaction, and having a concurrent probable eating disorder. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The higher the stress related to the first week of confinement, the higher the risk of problematic eating behaviors among students, particularly those characterized by eating-related concerns. Screening for risk factors and providing targeted interventions might help decrease problematic eating behaviors among those who are most vulnerable.