Change in anti‐COVID‐19 behaviour and anti‐immigrant prejudice during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Longitudinal evidence from five European countries

During a pandemic, it is vital to identify factors that motivate individuals to behave in ways that limit virus transmission (i.e., anti‐COVID‐19 behaviour). Fear has been suggested to motivate health‐oriented behaviour, yet fear of the virus (i.e., fear of COVID‐19) could have unintended consequences, such as an increase in anti‐immigrant prejudice. In a three‐wave longitudinal study (NT1 = 4275) in five European countries from April to October 2020, we investigated how social norms, the impact of the pandemic on individuals, and intergroup contact affected fear of COVID‐19 and—or in turn—anti‐COVID‐19 behaviour and prejudice towards immigrants. A latent change score model—distinguishing between intra‐ and inter‐individual changes in outcomes—indicated that fear of COVID‐19 influenced neither anti‐COVID‐19 behaviour nor prejudice. Anti‐COVID‐19 behaviour was increased by anti‐COVID‐19 norms (i.e., belief that others perform anti‐COVID‐19 behaviours), while prejudice was influenced by positive and negative direct and mass‐mediated intergroup contact.

Stronger than partisanship and motivated reasoning: news exposure and news frames predicting US state-level preventive behaviours against COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a partisan issue rather than an independent public health issue in the US. This study examined the behavioural consequences of motivated reasoning and framing by investigating the impacts of COVID-19 news exposure and news frames, as apparent through a Latent Dirichlet topic modelling analysis of local news coverage, on state-level preventive behaviours as understood through a nationally representative survey. Findings suggested that the media effects on various preventive behaviours differed. The overall exposure rate to all COVID-19 news articles increased mask-wearing but did not significantly impact other preventive behaviours. Four news frames significantly increased avoiding contact or avoiding public or crowded places. However, news articles discussing anxiety and stay at home order triggered resistance and countereffects and led to risky behaviours. ‘Solid Republican' state residents were less likely to avoid contact, avoid public or crowded places, and wear masks. However, partisan leanings did not interfere with the impact of differing local COVID-19 news frames on reported preventive behaviours. Plus, statements regarding pre-existing trust in Trump did not correlate with reported preventive behaviour. Attention to effect sizes revealed that news exposure and news frames could have a bigger impact on health behaviours than motivated reasoning.

What are People in Bali Doing in Pandemic: Understanding the Shape of Health Behavior and the Pitutur Tua

In the early occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic, Indonesian and the world regarded Bali having a unique mechanism. Balinese or Bali residents are assumed excellently immune or difficulty infected from Covid-19. Interestingly, Balinese do not show overwhelmed panic as occurs in other areas although the Covid-19 cases in Bali are not low. There are various reasons why Balinese's actions to protect their health consider beliefs, religion, and culture. This paper is a survey of the Balinese's distinctive perception and behavior to face Covid-19. The information was gained from comments, opinions, and information about typical behavior posted on mass media and social media. The main source of the information was the WhatsApp groups of Banjar community (60 people), Bali academicians (76 people), Hindu organization alumni (113 people), and Bali medical staff (30 people). This study collected the information and conversations during early months of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 when the Covid-19 cases skyrocketed and the government implemented the Community Activities Restrictions Enforcement (PPKM). This study concludes that the belief in the power of nature makes the sincerity and acceptance more easily appear. Moreover, tradition strengthens the trust. Support in social life also increases cooperative actions to the rules or advices of the Bali government and the custom village assembly to protect society from the pandemic.Copyright © 2021 Muslim OT et al.

Knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of adolescents towards coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine in Bangkok, Thailand

Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020. Therefore, the availability of vaccines will help develop immunity and protect people from this pandemic. The present systematic study examined knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of adolescents towards COVID-19 vaccine in Bangkok, Thailand. Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and willingness toward COVID-19 vaccine of key stage 4A-5 students at Satit Prasarnmit International Programme in Bangkok towards COVID-19 vaccine. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using an online questionnaire. A total of 136 students participated. Knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of adolescents toward the COVID-19 vaccine were assessed. Differences between outcomes and socio-demographic characteristics of participants were analyzed through independent t-tests and the ANOVA. The level of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 was analyzed by a generalized linear model. Results: Students revealed moderate knowledge about COVID-19, correctly answering 11.08 out of 15 points (SD = 1.74), a low level of attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine 8.49 out of 15 points (SD = 2.51), and low level of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 vaccine 2.29 out of 5 points (SD = 1.26), in total of 35 points (28 questions). There are statistically significant positive correlations shown between attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine and the level of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 vaccine (I2 = 0.384, P < 0.01%). Conclusion: This study revealed students in Satit Prasarnmit International Programme had moderate knowledge towards COVID-19, negative attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine and low willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. Furthermore, it indicates that there is a casual relationship between attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine and the willingness of individuals to be vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine. Thus, attitude toward COVID-19 vaccine acts as a major predictive factor toward the willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, to increase peopleA's willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine, it is necessary to increase peopleA's attitude toward COVID-19 vaccine.

Development of a behavioral measure of physical distancing: The o'sickey distancing test

Introduction: Covid-19 has swept the globe and has disproportionately affected the United States with over 600,000 deaths in just over one year. The Centers for Disease Control recommendations for reducing the spread of Covid-19 have focused on physical distancing (PD), the practice of maintaining a distance greater than 6 feet from individuals not in the same household. When employed, this health behavior has been found to reduce the incidence of Covid-19. A review of the measurement literature evaluating PD indicates that PD has been measured at the community level via GPS, using proxy measures of the behavior, or as a construct. These methods can be useful in some situations;however, PD is an observable health behavior and can be reported as such. This study sought to address the issues in measuring PD by creating a new measure of self-reported PD that was: 1) appropriate for individual level measurement, 2) based on participant's self-report of the behavior of PD, and 3) presented a less ambiguous representation of the self-reported behavior. Method: Fifty college students from the University of New Mexico were sampled at a single time-point to evaluate the convergent and concurrent validity of the O'Sickey Distancing Test (ODT). Analysis Plan: To establish convergent validity, individual violations of PD as measured by the ODT were correlated with the Social Distancing Measure (SDM) and participant steps per day using Spearman's rank correlations and by comparing the correlations between the ODT and the number of participant self-reported steps per day and a measure of social distancing and participant steps per day using Steiger's t-test of correlated correlations within a sample. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Health beliefs and compliance to health behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey among Indian adults

In the current chapter, we have detailed the course and results of our research to evaluate the five constructs of Health Behaviour Model (HBM) as well as the degree of compliance to preventive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 among the Indian citizens. Additionally, we also examined the degree of association of the HBM constructs with the compliance. Finally, we investigated whether these constructs differed across various socio-demographic group. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The paradox of freedom in lockdown

Before the arrival of Covid-19 the way of being in life was mainly in the present and future while it carried the past less consciously;during lockdown the focus seemed to be in the present and past, while the future also remained just out of sight. Lockdown had become a giant guilt-free procrastination chamber. The first lockdown took place in Britain on 16 March 2020. Emerging from that first lockdown was like slowly coming out of hibernation. This chapter touches on some of experiences at the beginning of the first lockdown: 'Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is the power to choose the response. In the response lies the growth and the freedom'. Freedom is never total and there are always limits and boundaries, some come with a particular situation and others are self-made, others are within relationships and so on. Freedom can also be experienced when accepting 'a new reality' with new boundaries. The term 'thinking outside the box' is a good example of creative psychological freedom in action. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Knowledge, attitude, and preventive behavior toward COVID-19 of high school students in Bangkok, Thailand: a study among students in harrow international school

Background: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has rapidly emerged as a global pandemic that causes millions of deaths worldwide. It is transmitted from person to person by respiratory droplets and could cause fatigue, shortness of breath, and fever. Background: The objective of the study was to assess COVID-19 related knowledge, attitude, and preventive behavior among high school students in Bangkok, Thailand. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a cross sectional online survey among HarrowA's students Y 12A-13. A total of 148 students participated. COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes toward COVID-19, and preventive behaviors were assessed. Differences between outcomes and socio-demographic were analyzed through independent t-test and the Analysis of variance. Preventive behaviors were analyzed by a generalized linear model. Results: The undergraduate students showed a low knowledge about COVID-19, a mean of 6.38 (standard deviation [SD] = 1.69) questions in a total of 11. However, the result showed a standard level of attitude toward preventive behaviors on COVID-19 with an average score of 47.51 from a score range of 14A-70 (SD = 4.45). Finally, preventive behaviors of participants were at a moderate level with an average score of 36.84 from a range from 12 to 60 (SD = 3.93). The data showed a statistically significant positive correlation between attitude toward preventive behavior on COVID-19 and COVID-19 preventive behavior (r = 0.351**, P = 0.01). From a generalized linear model, attitude toward preventive behavior on COVID-19 (Exp (B) = 0.394, Confidence interval [CI]: 0.212A-.485, P < 0.05) and Gender (Exp (B) = 0.203, 95%, CI: 0.376A-2.807, P < 0.05) can be a predictive factor for the preventive behavior of Harrow International school students. Conclusions: The results assessed that Harrow international students had a lower level of COVID-19 general knowledge, but moderate level of attitude and preventive behavior. Moreover, it indicates that there is a causal relationship between attitude toward COVID-19 and preventive behaviors. Thus, attitudes toward COVID-19 are a major predictive factor of having preventive behaviors. Therefore, school and parents should always build awareness and provide safety to the students and remind students with rules that should be followed to secure them from risking of COVID-19.

Impact of Covid-19 on Mental Health among Medical Students

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a major health crisis affecting several nations. Such widespread outbreaks are associated with adverse mental health consequences. Objective(s): To conduct a survey-based assessment of mental health among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aimed at identifying severity levels of depression and anxiety, stressors related to the pandemic, and barriers students experienced in handling the pandemic-related stress. Method(s): An analytical cross-sectional study was chosen as the study design for this research to study the association between demographic social and mental health among medical students during the pandemic COVID-19. Result(s): The results of this study were collected by respondents through questionnaires as the respondents were needed to answer about 16 questions and the main question was asked mostly about their mental health condition during the pandemic COVID-19. 101 respondents participated in the study. Discussion(s): the impact of COVID-19 on mental health among medical students has been studied. Due to the long-lasting pandemic situation and numerous measures such as lockdown and stay-at-home orders, COVID-19 brings negative impacts on higher education of medical students, self and social isolation, disconnection from friends and teachers resulting in more medical students than ever experiencing feelings of helplessness, isolation, grief, anxiety and depression. The issue of mental health is not only relevant but crucial. Demand for health support services has increased exponentially as a result. Conclusion(s): In this study, severity levels of depression and anxiety, stressors related to the pandemic, and barriers students experienced in handling the pandemic-related stress have increased due to many factors such as social isolation, own health and the health of loved ones, financial difficulties, suicidal thoughts, depressive thoughts, class workload, changes in living environment, eating patterns and sleeping habits.Copyright © RJPT. All right reserved.

What really matters? A phenomenological exploration of two YouTube dialogues on living through corona times

On 23 March 2020, in response to the growing threat of Covid-19, world leaders including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told their countries that people must stay at home and avoid all unnecessary social contacts, including contact with family members, friends and romantic partners living elsewhere. As existential psychologists living in the UK, it is decided to engage in an online dialogue about the experiences of living in, and working therapeutically through, 'corona times'. This chapter explores and elaborates upon several of the key existential themes and concerns discussed in the two dialogues. The first dialogue took place a mere two weeks after UK lockdown had begun and was subsequently uploaded onto YouTube on 6 April 2020 where it can still be viewed. Just over a year later, following the realisation that many of the feelings and experiences had changed considerably, it is decided to engage in a second dialogue, which was primarily focused on the longer-term psychological and existential impact of this strange period in human history. Once again, the dialogue was uploaded onto YouTube on 30 April 2021. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Knowledge, attitude, and preventive behavior toward pathogen spreading of high school students in Thailand

Background: The spread of pathogens rapidly affects all aspects of life. Although the medicine is more advanced, the epidemic situations still can occurred. This continues to increase and is a major public health problem. Therefore, public health maintenance behavior has the effect of inhibiting the spread of pathogens. Breaking the chain of pathogen spread can reduce the spread of bacterial infections and the severity of the epidemic. Objectives: This study aimed to assess community knowledge, attitude, and preventive behavior toward pathogen spreading among high school students in Chonburi, Thailand. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a questionnaire. A total of 329 students participated. Knowledge about infection prevention, attitude toward preventive behavior, attitude toward preventive rules and regulation supported, and pathogen transmission preventive behavior were assessed. Independent t-test and ANOVA were used to analyze differences between outcomes and sociodemographic. Results: Students revealed a poor level of knowledge about infection prevention, correctly answering 2.52 (SD = 1.31) question in a total of 5, a high level of attitude toward preventive behavior, average score was 23.31 (SD = 2.22) of 25, and a high level of attitude toward preventive rules and regulation supported, the average scores at 21.48 (SD = 2.71), question in a total of 25, and a high level of pathogen transmission preventive behavior at the average score of 29.69 (SD = 4.06) questions in a total of 35. Conclusion: This research revealed that the high school students of Chonburi Science School at Prince Chulabhorn have a low level of knowledge about pathogens, and shows that they have a positive attitude toward prevention behavior, a good attitude toward supporting prevention rules and regulations, and good prevention behavior. Students have very little knowledge because the school does not have guidance, but some students can discover information by themselves through internet channels as long as they have equipment and connections. Therefore, this study can provide positive attitudes for a young teenager because he is constantly listening and following the rules. Therefore, specific knowledge about the basic prevention of pathogen transmission and infection is essential for all, and should be taught and strengthened in schools where all students know and are aware of this need, and all students will regularly take action to protect themselves such as wearing a mask and washing hands with alcohol gel.

Understanding and Addressing the Well-Being of School Counselors

Diminished self-care practices and heightened stress of school counselors are continuing problems in education. With role ambiguity, high student-to-counselor ratios, emotional exhaustion, and other factors adding pressure to the roles and responsibilities of school counselors, this study investigated the well-being practiced of Missouri school counselors and the internal and external factors which influence them. Findings demonstrate several ways in which school counselors fail to meet basic well-being benchmarks, examples of positive school principal supports, and systemic counselor role ambiguity, mission creep, and high caseloads that contribute to stress and burnout. These results indicate three levels of decision-making that are paramount to school counselors achieving and sustaining healthy well-being practices--the individual counselor's role in self-care and professional advocacy;the school leader's approach to defining the counselor's role and promoting a healthy workplace culture;and the ways in which policymakers affect systemic change.

Mental, physical, and cognitive wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Data from Scotland and Japan

We present data from two studies examining how COVID-19 restrictions affected health behaviours (alcohol consumption, diet, sleep quality, and physical activity levels), mental wellbeing (negative mood) and cognitive function (decision making, attention, learning, working memory, and time perception) in association with sociodemographic factors. Study 1 assessed participants in Scotland and presents cognitive function data for five timepoints. Study 2 is transnational, assessing participants in Scotland and Japan. Data are stored as CSV files. Reuse may involve examining further effects of pandemic enforced social isolation or serve as baseline data when assessing social isolation in expeditions or ageing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Association of health behaviors with mental health problems in adolescents during COVID-19

Aim: Adolescents have experienced disruption in their daily routines, including changes in health behaviors such as an increased sedentary behavior and increased smartphone usage. The aim of this study was to assess the association of health behaviors with mental health problems. Method(s): Five cross-sectional surveys (February 2021 to May 2022) were performed during the pandemic assessing physical activity, smartphone usage, depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9)), anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 7 (GAD-7)), sleep quality (Insomnia Severity Index 7 (ISI-7)), and stress (Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10)). In total, N = 7201 adolescents (age: 14-20 years ((MW +/- SD): 16.63 +/- 1.49 years);70.2% female, 18.8% migration background) participated. Result(s): A strong increase in mobile phone usage as well as a decrease in physical activity as compared to pre-pandemic data were observed (p < 0.001). Compared to the lowest smartphone user group (<1 h/d), the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for depressive symptoms increased with increasing smartphone usage to 1.98 (3-4 h/d), 3.30 (5-6 h/d), 4.96 (7-8 h/d), and 6.79 (>8 h/d). High utilizers (>8 h/d) were also more likely to experience clinically relevant anxiety, insomnia, or stress symptoms (aORs 3.23-5.75) compared to those using the smartphone less than 1 h/d. Conclusion(s): Results highlight the need for measures to promote responsible smartphone usage as well as to increase physical activity, so as to promote mental health in adolescence.Copyright © 2023

Dangerous liaisons? Applying the social harm perspective to the social inequality, housing and health trifecta during the Covid-19 pandemic

Global rates of excess mortality attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic provide a fresh impetus to make sense of the associations between income inequality, housing inequality and the social gradient in health, suggesting new questions about the ways in which housing and health are treated in the framing and development of public policy. The first half of the paper uses a social harm lens to examine the threefold associations of the social inequality, housing and health trifecta and offers new insights for policy analysis which foregrounds the production, transmission, and experience of various types of harm which occur within the home. The main body of the paper then draws upon the outcomes of an international systematic literature mapping review of 213 Covid-19 research papers to demonstrate three specific harms associated with stay-at-home lockdowns: (i) intimate partner and domestic violence, (ii) poor mental health and (iii) health harming behaviours. The reported findings are interpreted using a social harm perspective and some implications for policy analysis are illustrated. The paper concludes with a reflection on the efficacy of social harm as a lens for policy analysis and suggests directions for further research in housing studies and zemiology.

Does partisan media make a pawn of mistrust? Institutional trust and preventive covid-19 health behaviors in a polarized pandemic

In a rapidly developing crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, people are often faced with contradictory or changing information and must determine what sources to trust. Across five time points (N = 5902) we examine how trust in various sources predicts COVID-19 health behaviors. Trust in experts and national news predicted more engagement with most health behaviors from April 2020 to March 2022 and trust in Fox news, which often positioned itself as counter to the mainstream on COVID-19, predicted less engagement. However, we also examined a particular public health behavior (masking) before and after the CDC announcement recommending masks on 3 April 2020 (which reversed earlier expert advice discouraging masks for the general public). Prior to the announcement, trust in experts predicted less mask-wearing while trust in Fox News predicted more. These relationships disappeared in the next 4 days following the announcement and reversed in the 2 years that follow, and emerged for vaccination in the later time points. We also examine how the media trusted by Democrats and Republicans predicts trust in experts and in turn health behaviors. Broadly we consider how the increasingly fragmented epistemic environment has implications for polarization on matters of public health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Italian adolescents after the pandemic in the Istituto Superiore di Sanita - the National Institute of Health in Italy - snapshot: first results from the HBSC 2022 surveillance

The international multicentre study HBSC (Health Behaviour in Schoolaged Children) conducted since 1983 in collaboration with the World Health Organization, has been adopted in our country as the national adolescent health surveillance system since 2017. The main aim is to describe and understand health-related behaviour in 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds in approximately 50 countries between Europe and North America. The study investigated different aspects, such as nutrition, risk behaviors, school and family life and social media use. In addition, the latest survey involved 17-year-old adolescents and included a section on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Successfully completed the European project to support and strengthen vaccine awareness

IMMUNION (Improving IMMunisation cooperation in the European UNION) is a European project having the objective to support vaccine strategies. The project (active from April 2021 to March 2023) has contributed to improve knowledge on vaccines and vaccinations among health professionals and the information circulation in different target groups, through a multistakeholder collaboration including institutions, associations and media. The IMMUNION consortium has been focusing on activities of survey, professional training and communication, even with the aim to sustain visibility and role of the Coalition for Vaccination. In particular, ISS has coordinated the Work Package on finalising vaccine communication tools to increase vaccination compliance in target communities.

RESET-APP: an app-based promotion of self-regulation for secondary school students-acceptance and usage behavior

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an immense impact on psychic health. Children and adolescents are considered especially vulnerable which is why health promotion and prevention programs are important and should be designed in a motivating way to be attractive to this age group. The aim of this work is to investigate whether young people can be reached with the help of innovative digital formats for health promotion. Methods: An app-based training to promote self-regulation was offered to adolescents in lower secondary education in autumn 2020. Data were collected using an app. The types of motivation to participate in the training were analyzed. In addition, the students were able to rate the attractiveness of the training with the help of a self-designed evaluation sheet. Results: Of the 91 registered participants, 39.56% completed the study. In all, 40.91% of the students stated that the training was "very" helpful and 36.36% rated it as "quite" helpful. Although 50% of the respondents found the app-based training "modern and motivating", the other half would have preferred more personal support. Conclusion: The results confirm previous study results with health apps in children and adolescents. This age group is interested in digital formats, but health apps are not used continuously in this age group unless obligatory.