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This timely volume examines the conflict between human individual life and larger forces that are not controllable. Drawing on recent literature in phenomenological and existential psychology it calls for a more nuanced understanding of the human predicament. Focusing on the co-occurring crises of climate change and the COVID-19 epidemic, it explores the nature of widespread anxiety and the long-term human consequences. It calls for an expansion of current research that would include the arts and humanities for critical insights into how this essential conflict between humanity and nature may be reconciled. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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BACKGROUND/AIMS: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) anxiety , the phobia levels of the parents of pediatric patients who were scheduled to undergo surgery under general anesthesia in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic , to examine the factors affecting these. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants were asked to complete a socio-demographic data form, the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), and the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S). The effects on depression, anxiety, and health anxiety levels of factors such as the socio-demographic characteristics of the children and parents, and the supplementary data of the parents regarding the child's illness were then investigated.RESULTS: In terms of CAS and C19P-S cut-off points, 4.7% (n=7) of the parents scored above the anxiety cut-off point and 17.4% (n=26) scored above the phobia cut-off point. Both CAS and C19P-S scores were higher for female parents, non-working parents, and those with higher education levels compared with male parents, employed parents, and those with lower education levels.CONCLUSION: The results of this prospective, cross-sectional, observational study suggest that being female, non-working, and a having high level of education were risk factors for anxiety and phobia in the parents of pediatric patients related to COVID-19.
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AIM: To examine the relationship between the COVID-19 phobia and perinatal anxiety levels and birth type preferences of pregnant women in the third trimester. DESIGN: This was designed a cross-sectional study using the non-random convenience sampling method following the STROBE checklist. METHODS: The research was conducted with 315 pregnant women from April to May 2021. Data were collected using a personal information form, the COVID-19 Phobia Scale, and the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS). RESULTS: We found a positive and moderate correlation between the total scores for perinatal anxiety and COVID-19 phobia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 4.1% of the participants changed their birth type preferences and this change was statistically significant according to McNemar's test. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the women changed their birth type preferences in favour of caesarean section. However, there was no statistically significant difference between those who changed their birth type preferences and those who did not in terms of perinatal anxiety or COVID-19 phobia levels. Women with no access to prenatal follow-up visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic had higher mean PASS scores and higher mean scores for the perfectionism, control and trauma subscale. The scores for general worry and specific fears were lower among individuals who had obtained information about birth types in prenatal follow-up visits. Also, perinatal anxiety and COVID-19 phobia levels were higher among pregnant women who were worried about giving birth in hospital compared to those who were not worried. CONCLUSION: We conclude that COVID-19 phobia has increased women's perinatal anxiety, causing them to change their birth type preferences in favour of caesarean section. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: We recommended that healthcare professionals take COVID-19 phobia and perinatal anxiety into account when counselling pregnant women about birth types to improve prenatal care. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution was required to design, to outcome measures or undertake this research. Patients/members of the public contributed only to the data collection. Data were obtained from pregnant women in the third trimester, who came to a regional hospital-affiliated obstetrics polyclinic for routine prenatal follow-up visits.
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In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many individuals turned to synchronous online video communication technologies as a substitute for real-world face-to-face interactions. Evidence indicates that some users of such technologies show symptoms of exhaustion and fatigue during and after videoconferences – this phenomenon is referred to as Videoconference Fatigue (VC fatigue). Research characterizing the possible vulnerability factors for VC fatigue is still scarce and considered to be in its early stage. Contributing to closing this gap in the existing literature is the motivation for the present study. Survey data was collected from 311 German-speaking participants to explore the relationships of VC fatigue with several psychological factors including autistic traits, social phobia, Fear of COVID-19, tendencies towards Internet Use Disorders (IUD tendencies), and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO, trait and state variables). Results showed that VC fatigue was significantly positively correlated with all of these psychological factors, and mediation analyses provided further evidence for the positive association between autistic traits and VC fatigue. Specifically, the relationship between autistic traits and VC fatigue was mediated by Fear of COVID-19 and IUD tendencies rather than social phobia, with the latter being a preregistered hypothesis. This study adds to the literature by revealing several possible vulnerability factors associated with VC fatigue. In essence, the present work sheds light on the complex association between autistic traits and VC fatigue. We discuss the implications of our study as well as its limitations and potential avenues for future research.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected public health system and surveillance of other communicable diseases across the globe. The lockdown, travel constraints and COVID phobia turned down the number of people with illness visiting to the clinics or hospitals. Besides this, the heavy workload of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis has led to the reduction in differential diagnosis of other diseases. Consequently, it added to the underlying burden of many diseases which remained under-diagnosed. Amidst the pandemic, the rise of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases was observed worldwide and reported to the World Health Organization i.e., Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (2022, Iraq;2021 India), Nipah virus (2021, India), Zika virus (2021, India), and H5N1 influenza (2021, India), Monkeypox (2022, multicountry outbreak), Ebola virus disease (2022, DRC, Uganda;2021, DRC, Guinea;2020, DRC), Marburg (2022, Ghana;2021, Guinea), Yellow fever (2022, Uganda, Kenya, West and Central Africa;2021, Ghana, Venezuela, Nigeria;2020, Senegal, Guinea, Nigeria, Gabon;2020, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda), Dengue (2022, Nepal, Pakistan, Sao Tome, Temor-Leste;2021, Pakistan), Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (2022, Oman, Qatar;2021, Saudi Arabia, UAE;2020, Saudi Arabia, UAE), Rift valley fever (2021, Kenya;2020, Mauritania), wild poliovirus type 1 (2022, Mozambique), Lassa fever (2022, Guinea, Togo, Nigeria;2020, Nigeria), Avian Influenza (H3N8) (2022, China), Avian Influenza (H5N1) (2022, USA), H10N3 influenza (2021, China), Hepatitis E virus (2022, Sudan), Measles (2022, Malawi, Afghanistan;2020, Burundi, Mexico), Mayaro virus disease (2020, French Guiana), Oropouche virus disease (2020, French Guiana). All these diseases were associated with high morbidity and burdened the public health system during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this critical public health menace, majority of the laboratory workforce was mobilized to the SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. This has limited the surveillance efforts that likely led to under diagnosis and under-detection of many infectious pathogens. Lockdowns and travel limitations also put a hold on human and animal surveillance studies to assess the prevalence of these zoonotic viruses. In addition, lack of supplies and laboratory personnel and an overburdened workforce negatively impacted differential diagnosis of the diseases. This is especially critical given the common symptoms between COVID-19 and other pathogens causing respiratory illnesses. Additionally, the vaccination programs against various vaccine preventable diseases were also hampered which might have added to the disease burden. Despite these challenges, the world is better prepared to detect and respond to emerging/re-emerging pathogens. India now has more than 3000 COVID-19 diagnostic laboratories and an enhanced hospital infrastructure. In addition, mobile BSL-3 facilities are being validated for onsite sampling and testing in remote areas during outbreak situations and surveillance activities. This will undoubtedly be valuable as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves as well as during future outbreaks and epidemics. In conclusion, an increase in the emergence and re-emergence of viruses demonstrates that other infectious diseases have been neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons learned from the infrastructure strengthening, collaborations with multiple stakeholders, increased laboratory and manufacturing capacity, large-scale COVID-19 surveillance, extensive network for laboratory diagnosis, and intervention strategies can be implemented to provide quick, concerted responses against the future threats associated with other zoonotic pathogens.
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BACKGROUND: The impact of the pandemic on mental health has been demonstrated in several reports. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on multiple dimensions of psychopathology in Portuguese adults. We compare a pandemic sample assessed during the second lockdown in Portugal with a prepandemic sample. METHOD(S): Participants provided socio-demographic and clinical information and responded to the Brief Symptom Inventory. RESULT(S): The pandemic group relative to the prepandemic group demonstrated significantly higher levels for BSI scales of depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety, and lower scores for paranoid ideation. At the level of the 53 BSI items, significant difference between pandemic and prepandemic groups occurred for 20 of the items. CONCLUSION(S): Results describe the multidimensional influence of the pandemic on psychological functioning and are relevant to guiding the implementation of intervention strategies.Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA.
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Misophonia is a condition in which individuals suffer a wide range of intense emotions in response to sound triggers. Emotions such as anxiety, irritability, and disgust may lead individuals to engage in avoidance behaviors to escape or suppress sound triggers. Transdiagnostic treatment may serve as a practical intervention for misophonia as it addresses a broad scope of emotions and physiological sensations. This paper presents the first reported case example of misophonia treated with a transdiagnostic treatment protocol, the Unified Protocol for Emotional Disorders in Adolescents (UP-A). In this case, the UP-A was efficacious in treating a client with autism spectrum disorder, comorbid misophonia and anxiety symptoms. The client evidenced reliable change in misophonia and related problems. Future research should investigate the efficacy of the UP-A in a larger sample of youth with misophonia, as well as assess mechanisms of change in transdiagnostic treatment of this disorder in youth.Copyright © 2022 Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology.
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Background: Gaming addiction is a compulsive mental health condition that can have severe negative consequences on a person's life. As online gaming has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have shown a heightened risk of mental health issues. This study aims to assess the prevalence of severe phobia and addiction to online gaming among Arab adolescents and identify risk factors associated with these disorders. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted across 11 Arab nations. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling through an online survey distributed on social media platforms in 11 Arab countries. The survey included demographic questions, the Nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9) to measure participants' online gaming addiction, the Social Phobia Scale (SPS), and questions assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of internet gaming addiction. The data were analyzed using SPSS win statistical package version 26. Results: Out of 2,458 participants, 2,237 were included in the sample due to non-response and missing data. The average age of the participants was 19.9 ± 4.8 years, and the majority were Egyptian and unmarried. 69% of the participants reported playing more than usual since the COVID-19 pandemic, as they were confined to their homes. Higher social phobia scores were associated with being single, male, and Egyptian. Participants from Egypt and those who felt that the pandemic significantly increased their gaming time had higher scores for online gaming addiction. Several major criteria, such as playing hours per day and beginning gaming at an early age, were associated with a higher level of online gaming addiction with social phobia. Conclusion: The study's findings suggest that there is a high prevalence of internet gaming addiction among Arab adolescents and young adults who play online games. The results also indicate a significant association between social phobia and several sociodemographic factors, which may inform future interventions and treatments for individuals with gaming addiction and social phobia.
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Some personal and social decisions can be influential in the spread of COVID-19. There are no studies examining school attendance, impulsivity, COVID-19 phobia, and psychological resilience together while the effect of some individual and social measures on COVID-19 has been frequently investigated. In this study 360 participants were evaluated through an online questionnaire method during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sociodemographic data form prepared by the researchers, COVID-19 Phobia Scale, Barratt Impulsivity Scale, and Brief Resilience Scale were used in the study. In all, 20.6% (n = 74) of participants had previously experienced COVID-19. The rate of individuals who experienced the death of any of their relatives due to COVID-19 was 17.8%. Only 65.8% of respondents fully complied with government-implemented measures for the outbreak. School attendance (OR = 1.983, p = .033) and impulsivity (OR = 1.115, p < .001) were found to be positively correlated with COVID-19. The presence of a significantly higher psychiatric disease admission history in patients with COVID-19 in binary comparisons did not reach the level of significance in regression analysis. Our results suggest that high school attendance and impulsivity scores are positively correlated with COVID-19 in young people. Government strategies related to schools need to be carefully reviewed for this reason.
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Vaccine hesitancy is a common issue in many countries and is likely to hamper the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This reluctance is alarming in diabetic patients who are more prone to severe forms of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the COVID-19 vaccination rate in a population of diabetics followed for their diabetes and to analyze the factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. This cross-sectional, multicenter study, was carried out over 3 months (January 1st-March 31, 2022) in five consultation centers in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. All 254 patients with diabetes who had a consultation were included. There were more women than men (56.3%) and more with under high school diploma (72.8%). Among them, 2% had COVID-19 once and 14% had relatives affected with COVID-19;63.8% knew the symptoms of COVID-19 and the media (TV and social networks) were the main source of information (81.9%). Among the patients included, 51.9% were not vaccinated against COVID-19;25.9% refused vaccination while 12.0% were hesitant due to their diabetes. The reasons for refusal were: fear of side effects, questionable effectiveness of the vaccine and fear of injections.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS
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Fear of choking is a relatively understudied phenomenon in older adults, despite the higher incidence of choking to death in this population and the associated mental health burden. This case report presents the use of a cognitive-behavioral (CBT) approach to treating choking phobia in an older adult in her 80s, with sessions conducted over the telephone during the COVID-19 pandemic. A reliable change in self-reported avoidance of solid food was observed, although indices of general distress appeared to have remained stable. By placing a seemingly focal problem (choking phobia) within a comprehensive conceptualization framework using gerontology, we were able to consider additional complexity related to aging-related beliefs and experiences of distress to address therapeutic opportunities and challenges, including the COVID-19 context.Copyright © 2022 Hogrefe.
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The COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures are affecting mental health, especially among patients with pre-existing mental disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the first wave and its aftermath of the pandemic in Germany (March-July) on psychopathology of patients diagnosed with panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and specific phobia who were on the waiting list or in current treatment at a German university-based outpatient clinic. From 108 patients contacted, forty-nine patients (45.37%) completed a retrospective survey on COVID-19 related stressors, depression, and changes in anxiety symptoms. Patients in the final sample (n = 47) reported a mild depression and significant increase in unspecific anxiety (d = .41), panic symptoms (d = .85) and specific phobia (d = .38), while social anxiety remained unaltered. Pandemic related stressors like job insecurities, familial stress and working in the health sector were significantly associated with more severe depression and increases in anxiety symptoms. High pre-pandemic symptom severity (anxiety/depression) was a risk factor, whereas meaningful work and being divorced/separated were protective factors (explained variance: 46.5% of changes in anxiety and 75.8% in depressive symptoms). In line with diathesis-stress models, patients show a positive association between stressors and symptom load. Health care systems are requested to address the needs of this vulnerable risk group by implementing timely and low-threshold interventions to prevent patients from further deterioration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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Objective: This study is intended to evaluate the mental health statuses of hematological cancer (HC) inpatients diagnosed during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the statuses of patients diagnosed with HC before the pandemic. Method(s): A cross-sectional survey collected the mental health measurements of 77 inpatients with HC between March and May 2021 in Ankara, Turkey. The levels of depression, generalized anxiety, distress, sleep disorder, health anxiety, trait anxiety, corona phobia, and resilience in HC patients newly diagnosed during the pandemic (n=38) and before the pandemic (n=39) were compared. We then explored the relationships between predictive factors and cancer patients' mental health statuses. Result(s): Compared to HC patients diagnosed before the pandemic, depression (63.2% vs. 35.9%, p=0.017) and sleep disorder (67.8% vs. 38.5, p=0.016) were significantly higher, while comparison, generalized anxiety (57.9% vs. 38.5%, p=0.088) and distress (60.5% vs. 38.5%, p=0.053) were higher in a non-significant trend in patients newly diagnosed with HC during the pandemic. In contrast, health anxiety was more common in patients diagnosed before the pandemic (53.8% vs. 31.6%, p=0.048). Among the newly diagnosed patients, women had more generalized anxiety symptoms than men (76.5% vs. 42.9%, p=0.037). Being newly diagnosed increased the risk of more severe symptoms of depression (odds ratio [OR]: 3.178, p=0.036) and sleep disorders (OR: 4.73, p=0.018) but lowered the risk of health anxiety (OR: 0.14, p=0.003). Conclusion(s): Our data indicate that patients with HC are vulnerable to mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. This vulnerability is higher in newly diagnosed HC patients than in patients diagnosed before the pandemic. Copyright © Telif Hakki 2023 Gazi Universitesi Tip Fakultesi - Makale.
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Over decades research has been conducted to measure connections between playing video games and mental health. Fewer studies have examined individual differences in motivations to play video games as an explaining factor in negative mental health symptoms experienced by adult gamers. This study utilized the Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS) to capture the relationship between different types of motivation to play and negative mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and social phobia). Participants were 77 adults (age 18-40 81% male) who play 20 or more hours of video games a week. To mitigate the potential, influence the COVID-19 pandemic had on gaming habits, participants were asked to identify gaming habits prior to COVID-19 (between March 2019-Febuary 2020) and after (since March 2020). The study's hypotheses were that higher endorsements of "amotivation scores" on the GAMS will correlate with higher depression scores;that those who endorse higher "introjected regulation" will show higher levels of depression, anxiety, and social phobia scores;and that those who endorse higher "integrated regulation" will have lower levels of anxiety, social phobia, and depression scores. It was found that the GAMS was not a significant predictor of mental health problems, and no relationships were found between number of hours spent playing, motivation type, and mental health outcomes. Although the hypotheses were not supported, the results give rise to a possible interpretation: That adults who spent a large amount of time playing video games do not necessarily experience mental health problems. The overall levels of clinical depression, anxiety, or social phobia were in fact fairly low. Motivation to play video games and time spent playing do not necessarily correlate with mental health itself. Even though the number of hours spent playing video games increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, time spent playing did not correlate with negative mental health symptoms. With a history of stigma towards video games, the study's findings may reiterate the importance of comprehensive assessment to create stronger distinctions between clients who present with clinically significant uses and those who engage with gaming in the context of a passion or a hobby. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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Aim: This study aims to determine the effects of play activities for COVID-19 positive and MIS-C pediatric patients on the anxiety and fear of children and their parents. Method(s): This is an experimental study that was prepared through STROBE. The study population consisted of 38 children treated in a university hospital COVID-19 unit. The Children's Anxiety Meter-State and the Children's Fear Scale were administered before and after the play activities. The parents' fear and anxiety were assessed using the COVID-19 Phobia Scale and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. The book and coloring set was prepared in advance and delivered to the experimental group in a package. After the sets were given to the parents, the parents read the book to their children the same day. Afterward, they were asked to color pictures of coronavirus precautions together with the children. SPSS 22.00 package program was used to analyze the study data. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare independent groups, and Wilcoxon analysis was used to analyze dependent variables before and after the play activities. Result(s): Based on the children's anxiety and fear scores in the experimental group, significant differences were found before and after the play activities and significant differences between the anxiety scores (<0.05) of parents and children. However, no significant difference was found between post-play anxiety and fear scores of children in the experimental group and the scores of the control group. Discussion(s): The experimental group had low mean anxiety and fear scores after the play activities. Play activities should be used to reduce the anxiety and fear of children who are treated in isolation in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if children are restricted to isolation rooms, their daily routines should be maintained, and their parents should be supported.Copyright © 2021 Croatian Paediatric Society. All rights reserved.
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Aim: This study aims to evaluate the COVID-19 fear level and nutrition habits of healthcare workers. Material(s) and Method(s): This research was conducted with 208 healthcare workers in Konya City Hospital and Meram State Hospital. Participants filled out the sociodemographic information form, COVID-19 Phobia Scale and Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. The SPSS 22,0 program was used for data analysis. Result(s): Among participants between the ages of 18-65 included in the study, 59.1% (n=123) were female and 40.9% (n=85) were male. The average age of participants was found to be 29.32 +/-0.43 years. In the COVID-19 Phobia Scale, scores of women in psychological (p<0.001), somatic (p=0.001), social (p=0.001), economic (p=0.001) sub-dimensions and total score (p=0.026) were found to be higher than those of men. Fear levels of married participants were higher in somatic (p=0.018) and economic (p=0.044) sub-dimensions. Scores of obese and overweight participants' in psychological (p=0.002), somatic (p=0.017), social (p=0.028), economic (p=0.011) sub-dimensions and in total score (p=0.001) were found to be lower. The total score of the Three-Factor Nutrition Questionnaire (p=0.017) and emotional eating levels (p=0.006) of healthcare workers who had COVID-19 before were found to be higher. It was detected that there was a positive correlation between the degree of emotional eating and the social sub-dimension (p=0.048), and there was a negative relationship between the degree of consciously restricting eating and the psychological sub-dimension (p=0.009). Discussion(s): Nutritional habits have changed due to isolation conditions, sedentary lifestyles and the need for supplemental food. The stressful and risky working environment of healthcare workers affected their fear levels. With the increase in the fear level, eating habits have also changed. As in all pandemics, policies should be followed to reduce the level of fear of healthcare workers, who are among risky groups, during the COVID-19 pandemic process. In this process, the importance of nutrition should be emphasized and negative habits should be avoided.Copyright © 2022, Derman Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.
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Background: The large proportion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has been associated with a large number of neu-ropsychiatric manifestations. Despite the high prevalence of COVID-19, few studies have examined such manifestations, especially in children and adolescents. Objective(s): This study investigated neuropsychiatric manifestations in hospitalized children and adolescents admitted for COVID-19 infection in Iran. Method(s): This prospective observational study included admitted children and adolescents (4-18 years old) diagnosed with COVID-19 infection, pediatric neurologists, child and adolescent psychiatrists, and infectious disease specialists, and assessed 375 infected patients during August and December 2021. Result(s): Of the 375 patients, 176 (47%) were female, with a mean age of 9.0 +/- 3.39 years. Psychiatric and neurological manifestations were reported in 58 (15.5%) and 58 (15.5%) patients, respectively. The most prevalent psychiatric disorders were separation anxiety disorder (SAD) (5.1%), major depressive disorder (MDD) (3.5%), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) (2.7%), insomnia (2.4%), and op-positional defiant disorder (ODD) (2.4%). Regarding neurological complications, seizures were the most prevalent (13.1%), followed by encephalitis (1.9%), transverse myelitis (0.3%), acute ischemic stroke (0.3%), and Guillain-Barre syndrome (0.3%). There was no significant relationship between the duration of COVID-19 infection (P = 0.54) and ICU admission (P = 0.44) with the emergence of psychiatric symptoms. Conclusion(s): The most prevalent neurologic and psychiatric complications among children and adolescents with COVID-19 infection were seizures and the symptoms of anxiety/mood disorders, respectively.Copyright © 2023, Author(s).
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The present dissertation focuses on patterns of emotions and emotional experiences of individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) in their daily lives. Much of the research on SAD has been conducted in controlled laboratory settings which prioritize internal validity at the expense of external validity. This literature has contributed significantly to our understanding of the disorder. However, examining SAD outside of the lab and its influence on participants' daily lives is extremely important and can complement previous research and facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the disorder. In addition, most of the research on SAD has focused on cognitions and behaviors and the few studies that have examined emotions focused on the broad concepts of positive and negative affect. In the present dissertation we wanted to broaden our understanding of emotions in SAD and examine discrete emotions and emotional patterns that may be related to the disorder and its maintenance. To achieve these goals we used the experience sampling method (ESM), a research paradigm that involves real-time systematic collection of self-report data aimed to tap naturally occurring discrete emotions and events as well as participants' emotional reactions to them. We examined 88 individuals (44 with SAD and 44 without SAD) over the course of 21 days, and during naturalistic interactions occurring in their daily lives. Specifically, the first two studies included in this dissertation each focused on a discrete emotion and its experience and role in the disorder: the first was loneliness, and the second was envy. In the third study we examined the use of visual and non-visual mediums of communication with others and their impacts on emotions. This third study was especially pertinent in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which had a substantial impact on the ways in which individuals around the world interact. Below, we describe each of these studies. The first study included in this dissertation- "All by Myself: Loneliness in Social Anxiety Disorder" (Oren-Yagoda, Melamud-Ganani, & Aderka, in press) examines loneliness among individuals with and without SAD, contexts that may moderate the experience of loneliness, and the temporal relationship between loneliness and anxiety. Findings from this study indicated that individuals with SAD experienced significantly more loneliness compared to individuals without SAD. Characteristics of social situations (negativity, positivity, and meaningfulness) predicted loneliness for individuals with SAD but not for individuals without SAD. Finally, for individuals with SAD, both anxiety and loneliness predicted changes in each other creating a deleterious cycle. Findings from this study are discussed in the context of the SAD literature, CBT models and interpersonal models of SAD, the bivalent fear of evaluation model and potential clinical implications for treatment are presented. The second study included in the dissertation- "The grass is always greener: Envy in social anxiety disorder" (Oren-Yagoda, Schwartz, & Aderka, 2021) examines envy in SAD and its potential role in maintaining the disorder, social contexts and modes of communication that may serve as moderators of envy in SAD, as well as the temporal relationship between envy and anxiety in the disorder. Findings from this study indicated that individuals with SAD experienced elevated envy compared to individuals without SAD especially in social (compared to non-social) contexts. In social events, individuals with SAD also demonstrated an effect for modes of communication. Specifically, they experienced elevated levels of envy when the mode of communication was visual compared to voice/text (but not individuals without SAD). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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BACKGROUND: When vaccination depends on injection, it is plausible that the blood-injection-injury cluster of fears may contribute to hesitancy. Our primary aim was to estimate in the UK adult population the proportion of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy explained by blood-injection-injury fears. METHODS: In total, 15 014 UK adults, quota sampled to match the population for age, gender, ethnicity, income and region, took part (19 January-5 February 2021) in a non-probability online survey. The Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Scale assessed intent to be vaccinated. Two scales (Specific Phobia Scale-blood-injection-injury phobia and Medical Fear Survey-injections and blood subscale) assessed blood-injection-injury fears. Four items from these scales were used to create a factor score specifically for injection fears. RESULTS: In total, 3927 (26.2%) screened positive for blood-injection-injury phobia. Individuals screening positive (22.0%) were more likely to report COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy compared to individuals screening negative (11.5%), odds ratio = 2.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.97-2.40, p < 0.001. The population attributable fraction (PAF) indicated that if blood-injection-injury phobia were absent then this may prevent 11.5% of all instances of vaccine hesitancy, AF = 0.11; 95% CI 0.09-0.14, p < 0.001. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was associated with higher scores on the Specific Phobia Scale, r = 0.22, p < 0.001, Medical Fear Survey, r = 0.23, p = <0.001 and injection fears, r = 0.25, p < 0.001. Injection fears were higher in youth and in Black and Asian ethnic groups, and explained a small degree of why vaccine hesitancy is higher in these groups. CONCLUSIONS: Across the adult population, blood-injection-injury fears may explain approximately 10% of cases of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Addressing such fears will likely improve the effectiveness of vaccination programmes.
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BACKGROUND: A study on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) phobia among students revealed that fear of contracting COVID-19 was associated with commuting to school and spending time with others at school. Therefore, it is the need-of-the-hour for the Korean government to identify factors affecting COVID-19 phobia among university students and to consider these factors while framing the policy direction for the process of returning to normalcy in university education. Consequently, we aimed to identify the current state of COVID-19 phobia among Korean undergraduate and graduate students and the factors affecting COVID-19 phobia. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted to identify the factors affecting COVID-19 phobia among Korean undergraduate and graduate students. The survey collected 460 responses from April 5 to April 16, 2022. The questionnaire was developed based on the COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S). Multiple linear regression was performed on the C19P-S scores using five models with the following dependent variables: Model 1, total C19P-S score; Model 2, psychological subscale score; Model 3, psychosomatic subscale score; Model 4, social subscale score; and Model 5, economic subscale score. The fit of these five models was established, and a P-value of less than 0.05 (F test) was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: An analysis of the factors affecting the total C19P-S score led to the following findings: women significantly outscored men (difference: 4.826 points, P = 0.003); the group that favored the government's COVID-19 mitigation policy scored significantly lower than those who did not favor it (difference: 3.161 points, P = 0.037); the group that avoided crowded places scored significantly higher than the group that did not avoid crowded places (difference: 7.200 points, P < 0.001); and those living with family/friends scored significantly higher than those in other living situations (difference: 4.606 points, P = 0.021). Those in favor of the COVID-19 mitigation policy had significantly lower psychological fear than those who were against it (difference: -1.686 points, P = 0.004). Psychological fear was also significantly higher for those who avoided crowded places compared to those who did not difference: 2.641 points, P < 0.001). Fear was significantly higher in people cohabitating than those living alone (difference: 1.543 points, P = 0.043). CONCLUSION: The Korean government, in their pursuit of a policy that eases COVID-19-related restrictions, will also have to spare no efforts in providing correct information to prevent the escalation of COVID-19 phobia among people with a high fear of contracting the disease. This should be done through trustworthy information sources, such as the media, public agencies, and COVID-19 professionals.