Mental health in Germany in the first weeks of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

BACKGROUND: In the connected world, although societies are not directly involved in a military conflict, they are exposed to media reports of violence. AIMS: We assessed the effects of such exposures on mental health in Germany during the military conflict in Ukraine. METHOD: We used the German population-based cohort for digital health research, DigiHero, launching a survey on the eighth day of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Of the 27 509 cohort participants from the general population, 19 444 (70.7%) responded within 17 days. We measured mental health and fear of the impact of war compared with other fears (natural disasters or health-related). RESULTS: In a subsample of 4441 participants assessed twice, anxiety in the population (measured by the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 screener) was higher in the first weeks of war than during the strongest COVID-19 restrictions. Anxiety was elevated across the whole age spectrum, and the mean was above the cut-off for mild anxiety. Over 95% of participants expressed various degrees of fear of the impact of war, whereas the percentage for other investigated fears was 0.47-0.82. A one-point difference in the fear of the impact of war was associated with a 2.5 point (95% CI 2.42-2.58) increase in anxiety (11.9% of the maximum anxiety score). For emotional distress, the increase was 0.67 points (0.66-0.68) (16.75% of the maximum score). CONCLUSIONS: The population in Germany reacted to the Russo-Ukrainian war with substantial distress, exceeding reactions during the strongest restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic. Fear of the impact of war was associated with worse mental health.

Passive Video Quality Assessment Using Lab and Remote Testing

In this chapter, research about the assessment of video quality for gaming content will be provided. At first, a dataset that was used for the development of the ITU-T Rec. G.1072 will be presented. The dataset was created in a laboratory environment using the passive test paradigm described in Chap. 3. Next, some results of the collected video quality ratings will be illustrated. While QoE assessment studies traditionally make use of controlled laboratory environments, there are also other possibilities to conduct user studies without a laboratory environment. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented many researchers from performing lab studies, the concept of supervised and unsupervised remote studies got lots of attention. By using such a remote study design, two studies assessing video quality ratings of similar conditions as in the previously mentioned dataset were conducted. These two studies allow to address three research topics that will be the focus of the remainder of this chapter. At first, it will be investigated whether video quality ratings obtained using the remote study design are comparable to those collected in the lab environment. Second, a comparison between video quality ratings collected using a stimulus duration of 20 s instead of 30 s will be performed, which tries to answer whether it is enough to use a shorter stimulus duration as proposed in ITU-T Rec. P.809. Lastly, the differences between using a discrete 5-point ACR scale and the extended continuous 7-point scales will be investigated. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Predicting growth in prosocial and externalizing behaviors during a summer treatment program for children with ASD, ADHD, and comorbid ASD and ADHD

Children ages 6-12 with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often demonstrate similar challenges in in social skills and externalizing behavior (e.g., Leitner, 2014;May et al., 2018). Although distinct evidence-based intervention strategies for improving social skills and externalizing behavior have been shown to have positive effects for children with ASD (e.g., Wong et al., 2015) as well as children with ADHD (e.g., Fabiano et al., 2014), less is known about how a single evidence-based intervention might differentially affect children with ASD, ADHD, or both (Davis & Kollins, 2012).This study examined behavioral trajectories of children with ASD (n = 39), ADHD (n = 50), or both (n = 28) who participated in Apex Summer Camp prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apex is an intensive behavioral intervention modeled after the Summer Treatment Program (Pelham et al., 2012). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model growth in prosocial and externalizing behaviors during camp, and to test whether diagnosis and pre-camp parent-reported child behavior ratings (i.e., Social Responsiveness Scale and Child Behavior Checklist) predicted growth. Results showed that all children, on average, had significant increases in most prosocial behaviors, but no overall changes in most externalizing behaviors. More importantly, campers with ASD and comorbid ASD and ADHD were rarely different from their counterparts with ADHD alone, though comorbid diagnosis was more often associated with less desirable outcomes. Last, parent pre-intervention behavior ratings were largely not predictive of positive behavior growth but predicted the intercept of some externalizing behaviors. Implications for clinical and school-based practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

What's COVID-19 Got to Do with My Communicative Competence? Self-Reflections of Pre-Service English Language Teachers in Turkey

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all theoretical and practical classes and methods of assessment had to be delivered on digital platforms. This paper reports the use of task-based assessment of the communicative competence of first-year pre-service English language teachers. The aim was to explore the role of the platform where the tasks were held on the students' self-assessment of their spoken performances. The participants (n=50) evaluated their linguistic, discourse, strategic and sociolinguistics competence on two public speaking tasks. The face-to-face speaking task required elaborating on two famous quotes, whereas the online speaking task had to do with the semiotic analysis of a TV commercial which was decided upon by the teacher candidate. Student evaluations of their communicative competence ranged on a scale from one to five, where one meant very poor and five meant very good. The results indicated that the only component of communicative competence that was viewed to be good was discourse competence in the face-to-face task, however, all the elements of communicative competence were considered to be good except for the sociolinguistic competence in the face-to-screen task. The main findings were (i) that the students had a more positive evaluation of their communicative competence when making online presentations and (ii) that they mostly attributed the differences in their self-evaluations either to the platform or to a combination of the platform and the nature of the task. Yet, face-to-face interaction seems to act as a requirement to improve the sociolinguistic competence of foreign language teacher candidates.

Verification of psychometric properties of the Slovak version of the FCV-19S (Fear of COVID-19 Scale)

Objectives: Fear of the new coronavirus, as an emotional response to a pandemic situation that has plagued the world since early 2020, has many implications for the behaviour and psychological experiences of the population. To measure the fear of coronavirus a 7-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) was developed, now successfully used in more than 20 countries around the world. This study deals with the verification of psychometric characteristics of the Slovak version of FCV-19S, focusing on its factor structure, measurement invariance with respect to gender, reliability in terms of internal consistency, and convergent validity based on structural equation modeling (SEM) and based on the relationship to related constructs of anxiety, depression, and stress. Sample and settings: Data were collected on-line (N=744;aged 17-78) during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in Slovakia. Along with FCV-19S, World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index, Perceived Stress Scale, and Coronavirus Anxiety Scale were administered to the respondents. Results: The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the two-factor structure of the instrument with two subscales, Emotional and Physiological Symptoms. The FCV-19S has proven to be a gender-invariant tool, so it can be used to compare fear experiences in men and women. The results further indicate good internal consistency and convergent validity of the Slovak version of the scale. Limitations: Measurement invariance of FCV-19S across age, education or ethnic groups was not tested in the present study. Stability of the scores over time was also not examined due to cross-sectional design. The study is limited by online data collection and convenience sampling method. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Czech) Ciele: Strach z noveho koronavirusu ako emocionalna reakcia na pandemicku situaciu, ktora suzuje svet uz od zaciatku roka 2020, ma mnoho suvislosti so spravanim a prezivanim obyvatelstva. Na jeho zaznamenavanie bola odbornikmi vyvinuta 7-polozkova skala Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), ktora je uspesne vyuzivana vo viac ako dvadsiatich krajinach sveta. Tato studia sa venuje overeniu psychometrickych charakteristik slovenskej verzie FCV-19S, pricom sa zameriava na overenie jej faktorovej struktury, invariancie merania vzhladom na pohlavie, reliability v zmysle vnutornej konzistencie, konvergentnej validity v zmysle strukturalneho modelovania (SEM) a na zaklade vztahu s pribuznymi premennymi uzkostou, depresivitou a stresom. Vyskumny subor a metody: Zber dat prebiehal online (N = 744;vek 17-78 rokov) pocas prebiehajucej pandemie koronavirusu na Slovensku. Okrem FCV-19S boli respondentom administrovane WHO-5 Index osobnej pohody, Skala vnimaneho stresu (PSS-10) a Skala uzkosti z koronavirusu (CAS). Vysledky: Vysledky konfirmacnej faktorovej analyzy podporili dvojfaktorovu strukturu nastroja s dvomi subskalami Emocionalne a Fyziologicke symptomy. FCV-19S sa ukazal ako nastroj invariantny vzhladom na pohlavie, je ho preto mozne vyuzit na porovnanie prezivaneho strachu u muzov a zien. Vysledky dalej poukazuju na dobru vnutornu konzistenciu a konvergentnu validitu slovenskej verzie skaly. Limity: V studii nebola overovana invariancia merania FCV-19S vzhladom na vek, vzdelanie a etnicitu. Vzhladom na prierezovy dizajn dalej nebola zistovana stabilita nastroja v case. Studia je tiez limitovana online zberom dat a prilezitostnym vyberom vyskumnej vzorky. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Passive Video Quality Assessment Using Lab and Remote Testing

In this chapter, research about the assessment of video quality for gaming content will be provided. At first, a dataset that was used for the development of the ITU-T Rec. G.1072 will be presented. The dataset was created in a laboratory environment using the passive test paradigm described in Chap. 3. Next, some results of the collected video quality ratings will be illustrated. While QoE assessment studies traditionally make use of controlled laboratory environments, there are also other possibilities to conduct user studies without a laboratory environment. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented many researchers from performing lab studies, the concept of supervised and unsupervised remote studies got lots of attention. By using such a remote study design, two studies assessing video quality ratings of similar conditions as in the previously mentioned dataset were conducted. These two studies allow to address three research topics that will be the focus of the remainder of this chapter. At first, it will be investigated whether video quality ratings obtained using the remote study design are comparable to those collected in the lab environment. Second, a comparison between video quality ratings collected using a stimulus duration of 20 s instead of 30 s will be performed, which tries to answer whether it is enough to use a shorter stimulus duration as proposed in ITU-T Rec. P.809. Lastly, the differences between using a discrete 5-point ACR scale and the extended continuous 7-point scales will be investigated. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Rapid assessment of mental health of Detroit-area health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic may adversely impact the mental health of health care workers (HCWs). To address this issue, it is essential to determine levels of anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress, and sources of stress, and to identify subgroups of HCWs at a higher risk of adverse mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of symptoms of mental illness in HCWs in the area surrounding Detroit, Michigan. The online survey included questions about demographics, health and clinical factors, and sources of stress. Several tools were used to assess psychiatric symptoms among HCWs, including the Perceived Stress Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item assessment, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5. The adequacy of personal protective equipment, patient resources, and training for highly contagious diseases were rated. Results: The sample (N = 129) was predominantly female (51.2%) and White (65.9%), with 30.2% screening positive for clinical follow-up to assess anxiety, 20.9% for moderate to severe depression, and 16.3% for elevated traumatic stress. Differences were found by self-reported psychiatric diagnosis and chronic conditions, and role on treatment teams. Conclusions: Frontline HCWs demonstrate high levels of stress and trauma symptoms. Timely screening and accommodations may be needed during health care crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Turkish version of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale

Coronavirus pandemic caused anxiety in public. Therefore, this anxiety should be identified quickly. This study investigates the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of Coronavirus Anxiety Inventory (CAS), which determines the anxiety associated with the COVID-19 crisis. The research sample consists of 904 participants from 56 provinces of Turkey. Participants' age ranged from 17 to 71. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good unidimensional structure with a Turkish sample. The correlation between the CAS Turkish version and the Burnout Scale (0.39 p < 0.01) is significant as the convergent validity. Also, correlation between the CAS Turkish version and the Brief Resilience Scale (-0.23 p < 0.01) is significant as the discriminant validity. The internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach's Alpha) was found 0.81. As a result of the Item Discrimination analysis, it was seen that each of the 5 items was discrimination at the desired level. The item-total correlation values in the scale ranged from 0.73 to 0.79. Overall findings showed that the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale were sufficient. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Turkish) Koronavirus pandemisi toplumda endiseye neden oldu. Bu nedenle bu kaygi hizla tespit edilmelidir. Bu calisma COVID-19 krizi ile iliskili anksiyeteyi belirleyen Koronavirus Anksiyete Olcegi'nin (KAO) Turkce versiyonunun psikometrik ozelliklerini incelemeyi amaclamaktadir. Arastirma orneklemi Turkiye'nin 56 farkli ilinden 904 katilimcidan olusmaktadir. Katilimcilarin yaslari 17-71 arasinda degismektedir. Acimlayici ve dogrulayici faktor analizi, Turk orneklemi ile iyi bir tek boyutlu yapi ortaya koymustur. KAO Turkce versiyonunun benzerlik gecerliligi icin kullanilan Tukenmislik Olcegi ile iliskisi (0.39 p<0,01) anlamlidir. Ayrica KAO Turkce versiyonunun ayirtedici gecerliligi icin kullanilan Kisa Psikolojik Saglamlik Olcegi (-0,23 p<0,01) arasindaki iliskisi anlamlidir. Ic tutarlilik katsayisi (Cronbach's Alpha) 0.81 olarak bulunmustur. Madde Ayirt edicilik analizi sonucunda bes maddenin her birinin istenilen duzeyde ayirt edici oldugu gorulmustur. Olcekte madde-toplam korelasyon degerleri 0.73 ile 0.79 arasinda degismektedir. Genel bulgular, Koronavirus Anksiyete Olcegi'nin Turkce versiyonunun psikometrik ozelliklerinin yeterli oldugunu gostermistir. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Determining the Validity of Conducting Rating Scales in Friedreich Ataxia through Video.

BACKGROUND: The Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale (FARS) and the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) are commonly used neurological rating scales in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA). The modified Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale (mFARS) has been accepted as an appropriate outcome measure for clinical trials in FRDA. OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in limited face-to-face interactions with individuals involved in natural history studies and clinical trials. The aim of this study was to determine the validity of conducting the mFARS and SARA through video. METHODS: Individuals who had the mFARS administered face-to-face in the previous 6 months were invited to participate. Participants were sent instructions and asked to have a carer present to assist. The mFARS and SARA were then administered by video. Differences between face-to-face and video scores and the reliability between scores obtained face-to-face and by video were examined. RESULTS: The mFARS and SARA were conducted by video with 19 individuals. Excellent test-retest reliability was seen in the mFARS lower limb coordination (ICC = 0.96, 95% CI 0.90-0.98) and upright stability sections (ICC = 0.97, 95% CI 0.93-0.99), total mFARS (ICC = 0.97, 95% CI 0.92-0.99) and SARA scores (ICC = 0.98, 95% CI 0.95-0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Excellent test-retest reliability was demonstrated in the majority of the mFARS sections, and in the total mFARS and SARA scores, suggesting that video is a valid method of conducting these scales. This method enables inclusion of participants who are unable to travel to study sites. A larger cohort will be required to further validate the use of video mFARS and SARA for future studies.

Accuracy in detecting major depressive episodes in older adults using the Swedish versions of the GDS-15 and PHQ-9.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy at different cut-off values for the Swedish versions of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) compared with a structured clinical psychiatric interview in older adults. METHODS: Community-dwelling participants (N = 113) aged 65 years or older completed the Swedish versions of the GDS-15 and PHQ-9 and were then interviewed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) to establish the presence or absence of current major depressive episodes (MDEs). Areas under the curve (AUC) were calculated for each scale, as well as the sensitivity, specificity, and Youden's index for different cut-off values. RESULTS: Seventeen participants met the criteria for MDEs. The AUC was 0.97 for the GDS-15 and 0.95 for the PHQ-9. A cut-off of ≥6 on the GDS-15 yielded a sensitivity of 94%, a specificity of 88%, and a Youden's index of 0.82. A cut-off of ≥5 on the PHQ-9 yielded a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 81%, and a Youden's index of 0.81. The proposed cut-off of ≥10 on the PHQ-9 produced excellent specificity of 95% but a lower sensitivity of 71%. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the Swedish versions of the GDS-15 and PHQ-9 have comparable accuracy as screening instruments for older adults with MDEs. However, the proposed cut-off of 10 on the PHQ-9 might be too high when applied to older individuals in Sweden, and further investigations in larger samples in different healthcare settings are warranted.

A systematic review of loneliness and social isolation scales used in epidemics and pandemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened social isolation and loneliness. There is a lack of consensus on rating scales to measure these constructs. Our objectives were to identify commonly used loneliness and social isolation scales over the last two decades and test their user characteristics. 7928 articles were searched in PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and APA PsychINFO databases. 41 articles were included based on study criteria. Among fourteen scales reported, UCLA 3-item loneliness scale was found to be most commonly used. The scale is specifically developed for telephone use and is the fastest taking less than a minute for self-administration.

Postpartum depressive symptoms of Brazilian women during the COVID-19 pandemic measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to concerns about its potential impact on the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women as the general postpartum depression rates increased. METHODS: Three postpartum questionnaires (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale - EPDS; Anxiety and Depression Scale - HAD; and a demographic questionnaire about isolation and information acquisition) were used to evaluate the mental health of women with and without COVID-19 and determine the factors associated with depressive symptoms (EPDS ≥ 12). RESULTS: Data from 184 participants with a mean of 56 postpartum days were analyzed. The rate of symptoms compatible with postpartum depression (PPD) was 38.8%, with a 14.3% positive response to item 10 on the EPDS (suicidal ideation - SI). Listening to the news about COVID-19 averaged 4.45 hours a day. Factors related to PPD were concerns about lack of hospital beds (OR = 2.45), absence of a partner (OR = 2.70), and anxiety symptoms (OR = 10). Factors related to SI were anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.56) and friends as a source of information (OR = 5.60). LIMITATIONS: Considering the rapidly changing epidemiological conditions of this pandemic, this study may only be the photograph of an instant. CONCLUSIONS: Higher rates of PPD in the Brazilian population are related not only to anxiety but also to an inadequate family environment, kind of information acquisition and concerns about the lack of hospital beds.

Depression in pregnant women with and without COVID-19.

Evidence suggests that pregnant women who test positive for COVID-19 may develop more severe illness than non-pregnant women and may be at greater risk for psychological distress. The relationship between COVID-19 status (positive, negative, never tested) and symptoms of depression was examined in a survey study (May to September 2020) of pregnant women (n = 869). Pregnant women who reported testing positive for COVID-19 were significantly more likely to report depressive symptoms compared with women who tested negative (P = 0.027) and women who were never tested (P = 0.005). Findings indicate that pregnant women who test positive for COVID-19 should be screened and monitored for depressive symptoms.

Etiologies of Delirium in Consecutive COVID-19 Inpatients and the Relationship Between Severity of Delirium and COVID-19 in a Prospective Study With Follow-Up.

OBJECTIVE: The investigators aimed to describe delirium etiologies and clinical characteristics, as well as the relationship between COVID-19 and delirium severities, at baseline and follow-up after delirium improvement among patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: A longitudinal study of 20 consecutive critically ill, delirious COVID-19 inpatients, assessed with the Charlson Comorbidity Index-Short Form (CCI-SF), COVID-19 Clinical Severity Scale (CCSS), Delirium Etiology Checklist, Delirium Motor Subtype Scale-4, and Delirium Diagnostic Tool-Provisional (DDT-Pro), was conducted. Correlational analysis of delirium severity (DDT-Pro) with each measure of clinical severity (CCI-SF and CCSS) and comparison of baseline DDT-Pro scores between patients who were living and those who were deceased at follow-up were conducted. RESULTS: Participants were 50-90 years old (male, 75%; hypertension, 60%). The prevalence of preexisting medical comorbidities (CCI-SF) was low and not correlated with delirium severity (p=0.193). Eighteen patients were on mechanical or high-flow noninvasive ventilation at baseline in the intensive care unit (ICU; CCSS scores 2-4). Delirium severity (DDT-Pro scores 0-6) correlated with COVID-19 severity (0.459, p=0.021). Delirium motor subtype was hyperactive in 75% of patients. There were three to four etiologies for delirium in each patient, most commonly organ insufficiency (100%), systemic infection (100%), and metabolic and endocrine disturbances (95%). The baseline DDT-Pro score was ≤4 for five (25%) patients who died before the final assessment, with a trend of being lower than that for survivors (χ2=3.398, p=0.065). CONCLUSIONS: Among inpatients with COVID-19, at least three different etiological categories were identified for delirium. ICU staff treating patients with severe cases of COVID-19 should anticipate a greater severity of delirium. Although multivariate analyses with larger study samples are needed, more severe delirium may herald greater risk of death among COVID-19 patients.

The paradoxical effect of COVID-19 outbreak on loneliness.

As in previous periods of quarantine, lockdown confinement measures dictated to control SARS-CoV-2 would be expected to negatively affect mental health. We investigated the immediate effects (over a 10 day period) of a strict nationwide stay-at-home order imposed in Spain, one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing our analysis on the feelings of loneliness, we obtained our measures within a social context characterised by strong and continuous public and governmental support for increasing social bonds and cooperation in order to face the common public threat. Leveraging data from the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative, a prospective population-based study cohort, the short UCLA Loneliness Scale was administered to 1604 participants 2 years and 1 year before the stay-at-home lockdown and repeated, on average, 10 days after the official confinement order issued by the Spanish government. Ratings of loneliness remained stable during the 2 years before lockdown; however, they decreased significantly during the early stages of home confinement. This effect was particularly significant for the item 'feeling excluded from others' and was also observed among individuals who were confined alone. Overall, the results suggest that gestures and manifestations of appreciation by people for the labour and efforts of certain individuals, along with official campaigns designed to promote feelings of inclusion and belonging, may have beneficial effects on feelings of loneliness, a negative emotional state strongly regarded as a risk factor for impaired mental and general health status. Further assessments during the later stages of home confinement are now warranted.

Mental and behavioural disorders and COVID-19-associated death in older people.

Health factors such as diabetes, severe obesity and chronic kidney disease are all associated with a more severe outcome following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. However, there has been little exploration into the impact of mental and behavioural disorders on outcomes associated with COVID-19. We investigated outcomes for older people who used mental health services. Those who had a COVID-19-associated death had previously rated worse across a range of health and social problems, including mental health related problems. Our findings evidence the need to urgently explore whether mental and behavioural disorders should also be considered a health risk factor for a more severe outcome from COVID-19 infection in older people.