Age differences in mental health from May through August 2020 among U.S. adults: trajectories and the role of pandemic, lifestyle, and social factors.

Objectives: Using nationally representative data among U.S. adults, we assess age differences in changes in mental health both from 2018 to May 2020 and during the pandemic. We also examine factors explaining age differences in mental health.Methods: We analyzed 2018 General Social Survey data (N = 2,348; age 18-89) and three waves of COVID Response Tracking Study data (N = 2,279; age 20-94) spanning May-August 2020. Outcomes included happiness, loneliness, stress, positive affect, and negative affect.Results: U.S. adults reported greater loneliness and less happiness in May 2020 versus 2018. Only loneliness and negative affect changed significantly from May to August 2020, showing declines. Mental health trajectories did not differ significantly by age. Overall, older adults reported lower loneliness, stress, and negative affect than younger adults during 2020. Older age was associated with two factors linked with better mental health: less likelihood of COVID-19 exposure and greater satisfaction with social activities and relationships. However, none of the factors examined herein explained age differences in mental health.Conclusion: Although mental health trajectories during the pandemic were similar across ages, older adults tended to report better mental health than younger adults. Future research should identify factors that explain age differences in mental health that persisted into 2020.

Positive biases and psychological functioning during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Many individuals have experienced a multitude of chronic stressors and diminished psychological functioning during COVID-19. The current study examined whether biases towards positive social media or positive autobiographical memories was related to increases in psychological functioning during COVID-19. Participants were 1071 adults (Mage = 46.31; 58% female; 78% White) recruited from MTurk. Participants reported on their social media consumption and autobiographical recall, positive and negative affect, and dysphoria symptoms. Results indicated that, at the first assessment collected in the spring and summer of 2020, positively biased social media consumption was cross-sectionally related to higher levels of positive affect, and positively biased autobiographical recall was cross-sectionally related to lower levels of negative affect and dysphoria symptoms. Sensitivity analyses examined cross-sectional relations from a second assessment collected in fall 2020, and prospective cross-lagged analyses. The findings point to potential psychological benefits of positive biases during chronic stressors.

The impact of student self-disclosure on the stress and wellbeing of tertiary educators during the COVID-19 pandemic

Workplace stress, burnout, and fatigue are commonplace amongst tertiary educators, and are compounded by the ongoing challenges of teaching and learning during a global pandemic. Amid efforts to identify and understand contributors to educator stress, student-teacher interactions have received relatively little attention. However, educators are often expected to engage in pastoral care when students disclose academic and personal problems. Receiving and responding to self-disclosure can be emotionally taxing, particularly in professional contexts of care, and therefore contribute to educator experiences of stress and burnout. In this study, we examined the relations between student self-disclosure and educator stress and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. Almost all of the 318 tertiary educators received COVID-19 related disclosures from students. Findings show that educators whose students had shared personal problems during COVID-19 were more likely to report high stress and poor wellbeing.Such communication was also associated with higher rates of workplace presenteeism, suggesting that these teachers were likely to push themselves to a level that risks illness. Fortunately, these negative impacts were ameliorated when educators also reported a sense of support in the workplace. The implications for educators and tertiary institutions are discussed, including the provision of educator training and well-resourced student support services.

As Time goes by: A Longitudinal Study on the Mental Health of Argentinians during the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 mitigation measures such as lockdown and social distancing could have a negative impact on mental health. Understanding their impact is essential to minimize adverse effects on individuals, families, and communities. This longitudinal study aimed to evaluate the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation in the Argentinian population over time. An online survey evaluating anxiety and depression symptoms, positive affect, and negative affect, was completed by 3,833 people at three different time points: immediately after the lockdown began, 12–15 days after the first assessment, and after 47–51 days. Various socio-demographic factors were considered. A series of mixed repeated-measures ANOVAs were performed, with results showing significant increases over time (with small effect sizes) in anxiety, depression, negative affect, and a decrease in positive affect. Some socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, number of children, and educational level differentially affected these changes. These results suggest that mental health and quality of life were negatively affected, making it essential to monitor emotional distress and other mental health problems in the population and encourage the implementation of support and containment devices to cope with these adverse effects. © 2023, Associação Brasileira de Psicologia.

Lifestyle and Affective Emotions in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, With or Without COVID-19 History

Background: The management of patients with T2DM is often complicated by psychological disorders including distress, depression, and anxiety, which might negatively impact diabetic patients' life quality and coping mechanisms with their disease. Patients with T2DM are more likely to experience severe or fatal COVID-19 infection. A cross-sectional study on patients with diabetes mellitus during the COVID-19 pandemic found that more than 90% of the participants had features of ongoing mental suffering. Objective(s): To compare lifestyle, positive & negative affective emotions in patients with T2DM, with or without COVID-19 history. Method(s): Using a cross-sectional design, we conducted a study in a primary care facility in Campeche, Mexico. Sixty participants with T2DM were included, thirty per group (COVID-19 history or not). IMEVID questionnaire designed to measure lifestyle in subjects with T2DM was applied. PANAS, a 20-item questionnaire assessed positive affects (10 items) and negative affects (10 items) experienced by the participants in the previous month. Result(s): The most frequent lifestyle was unhealthy with 68%. About both positive and negative affects, were classified as low with 68.3 and 66.7% respectively. Conclusion(s): In this study, no significant relation was observed between the lifestyle and the positive and negative affects of T2DM patients with and without a history of COVID-19. Although several risk factors identified for COVID-19 related mortality in people with T2DM cannot readily be modified, been able to identify unhealthy lifestyle in this cohort allow to intervene early to avoid worst outcomes in subjects infected with COVID-19 and they have uncontrolled T2DM. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, lifestyle, positive affects, negative affects, and COVID-19 Abbreviations: T2DM: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, IMEVID: Instrumento para medir el estilo de vida en diabeticos (Instrument to measure lifestyle in diabetics), PANAS: Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Funding and Conflicts of Interest This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Copyright © 2023

Economic Stress, Employee Commitment, and Subjective Well-Being

COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic crises across the world. Millions of businesses have been obliged to shut down, and millions of jobs have been lost. These effects have created a very severe economic-related stress level, which can have consequences on psychological well-being (PWB) and economic commitment (EC). This study examined the relationships between objective and subjective indicators of income-related stress and employment-related stress and PWB and EC. The 697 participants were contacted during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample includes private-sector employees, civil service employees, self-employed, furloughed employees, and unemployed. Results show that the economic stress produced by COVID-19, as estimated by a compound of objective and subjective income-and employment-related stress, produced a negative effect on PWB (r = .21, p < .001) and EC (r = .29, p < .001). Multiple regression showed that subjective income-related stress was the main predictor of PWB, positive affect, and negative affect and that economic deprivation and objective employment-related stress were the predictors of EC and its three components, affective, normative, and continuity. Finally, the contribution and some practical implications of the findings are discussed.

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Roles of Cognitive and Affective Job Insecurity Before and During the Pandemic

Background: While an increasing body of research has examined employees' job insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, we know little about the role of cognitive and affective job insecurity in the pandemic context. Methods: We conducted a two-wave study on 211 service employees in South Korea to assess the indirect effect of their cognitive job insecurity that existed before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic on their job performance after the onset of the pandemic, via affective job insecurity. Results: Mediation analysis revealed that pre-COVID cognitive job insecurity significantly indirectly affected mid-COVID job performance through mid-COVID affective job insecurity. Further, we found this indirect effect significant only among female employees. Discussion: These findings underscore the long-term effects of cognitive job insecurity on job performance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interference from a partner and anger arousal: a meta-analysis

A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to examine proposition 2 of relational turbulence theory, that interference from a partner heightens affective arousal toward the partner. The meta-analysis revealed a positive average correlation between interference from a partner and anger toward that partner (k = 15, N = 6114, r =.419 [95% CI:.376,.459]) with a prediction interval ranging from.264 to.553. Upon uncovering heterogeneity, study moderators were examined to explain variability in study effect sizes including (a) dating versus married samples, (b) average length of romantic relationship, (c) percent of female participants in the study, (d) average age of participants, (e) author research teams, (f) before COVID-19 versus during COVID-19 data collections, and (g) discrete anger measurements versus anger subsumed in negative affect measurements. These study moderators were unable to explain heterogeneity in effect sizes. The computed summary effect and prediction interval support the theoretical logic of proposition 2 from relational turbulence theory. © 2023 Eastern Communication Association.

Network analysis of affect, emotion regulation, psychological capital, and resilience among Chinese males during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Previous studies have confirmed that both affect and emotion regulation strategies are closely associated with psychological capital (PsyCap) and resilience. These factors are assumed to buffer the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, especially among males. However, these interactions have not been closely examined to date. To fill this gap, this paper explores the dimension-level relationships of these psychological constructs among Chinese males during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and identified critical bridge dimensions using network analysis. Methods: A total of 1,490 Chinese males aged 21-51 years completed self-report scales assessing emotion regulation strategies, affect, PsyCap, and psychological resilience. Two regularized partial correlation networks, namely the affect and emotion regulation-PsyCap network and the affect and emotion regulation-psychological resilience network, were then constructed to examine links between the dimensions of these constructs. The bridge expected influence (BEI) index was also calculated for each node to identify important bridge nodes. Results: Positive affect, negative affect, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression showed distinct and complex links to various dimensions of PsyCap or psychological resilience. In both networks, positive affect, cognitive reappraisal, and negative affect were identified as critical bridge nodes, with the first two having positive BEI values and the third having a negative value. Conclusion: The findings elucidate the specific role of the dimensions of emotion regulation or affect in relation to PsyCap and psychological resilience, which facilitates further understanding of the mechanisms underlying these interrelationships. These findings also provide implications for developing effective intervention strategies to increase PsyCap and psychological resilience.

Influence of five-factor personality traits on the transactional model of stress in relation to driving strain

This study investigated the relationships between driving stressors, stressor appraisal, personality traits, negative affect, and work engagement as they relate to the transactional model of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and the Job Demands-Resources Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). A moderated mediation model was used to analyze these relationships, with the number of traffic cut offs as the driving stressor. Results suggested that neuroticism directly influenced stressor appraisal (H3c), neuroticism had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between stressor intensity and negative affect (H4d), and that the influence of stressor intensity on work engagement was smaller with negative affect as a mediator (H5c'). No support was found for stressor appraisal as a moderator (H1), yet it was seen to act as a mediator. Conscientiousness and openness also moderated the moderation effect of appraised threat on stressor intensity and negative affect (H2), but not in the expected direction. Findings were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as commuting to work declined during the period of data collection. Future research can delve into the changes of the commuting environment, and how it pertains to the stress model. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The Restorative Effects of Virtual Reality Forests on Elderly Individuals During the COVID-19 Lockdown

This study focuses on the restorative effects of immersive virtual reality (VR) forest experiences on elderly people during the COVID-19 lockdown. A field experiment with 63 elderly participants was conducted in an elderly care institution in China. The results showed that a five-minute VR forest experience with three minutes of subsequent reliving can bring immediate psychological improvements (i.e., increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and enhanced stress recovery) to elderly individuals. The negative affect decrease and stress recovery enhancement were more obvious among introverted individuals. Furthermore, participating in three VR forest experiences over 3 consecutive days can bring continuous psychological improvements. Moreover, short VR forest experiences were unable to significantly decrease the blood pressure of participants. The effects of three VR experiences over 3 days on blood pressure improvement were also nonsignificant. Additionally, VR forest experiences can increase elderly participants' intentions to undertake real forest therapy.

The Power of Touch: The Effects of Havening Touch on Subjective Distress, Mood, Brain Function, and Psychological Health

Objective: Havening is a psychosensory therapeutic technique that purportedly harnesses the power of touch to stimulate oxytocin release and facilitate adaptive processing of distressing thoughts/memories. Although Havening is used in clinics worldwide, with anecdotal evidence, very few empirical studies exist to support its efficacy or mechanism of action. The present study is the first to investigate the effects of Havening Touch on subjective distress, mood, brain function, and well-being. Method(s): Participants (n = 24) underwent a single session of Havening, in response to a self-reported distressing event. Mood and resting-state electroencephalography were assessed prior to, and immediately following, the session. Psychological health was assessed at baseline and 2 weeks followup via an online self-report questionnaire. Result(s): There was a greater reduction in subjective units of distress during sessions that included Havening Touch (H+) than sessions that did not include Havening Touch (H-). Electroencephalography results showed an increase in beta and a reduction in gamma activity in H+. Both groups showed reduction in negative mood states immediately following the session and better psychological health at follow-up. Conclusion(s): Findings suggest both touch and nontouch components of the intervention have therapeutic potential, and that Havening Touch may accelerate a reduction in distress during a single Havening session.Copyright © 2022 American Psychological Association

Psychological impact of a country-wide lockdown. Role of personal, behavioral, social, and physical conditions on negative and positive affect and meaning in life

During the early outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, a strict home lockdown was maintained in Spain for more than 50 days, disrupting social and economic activities. The aim of this study is to explore affective and well-being responses during the initial period of mandatory home lockdown. Specifically, we analyzed: 1) differences in risk perception according to sociodemographic and health profile;2) relation between social and environmental characteristics of home isolation, positive and negative affect and meaning in life;and 3) the relationship between activities and behaviors performed by people under lockdown and well-being. A total of 1343 Spanish residents participated in this correlational and cross-sectional study. Results show a significant relationship between health and economic risk perception associated with confinement. Higher health risk perception was identified among the older population and those belonging to high-risk groups. High resilience was linked to lower negative affect and greater positive affect and meaning in life. Regarding social and environmental characteristics of home isolation, people living with others reported greater negative affect than people living alone and the daily frequency of use of open-air spaces was linked to positive affect. Higher positive affect and meaning in life were also reported in people who frequently participated in community activities or by helping others. Lower negative affect was only associated with physical exercise. © 2022, Sociedad Interamericana de Psicologia. All rights reserved.

Mental health during COVID-19 lockdown in India: Role of psychological capital and internal locus of control.

The Government of India implemented a nationwide lockdown from March 24, 2020 in response to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This study examines the effects of two positive psychological resources on the mental health of Indian citizens during the early days of the lockdown. The effects of psychological capital (PsyCap) and internal locus of control on psychological distress of people via affect balance were tested. Data were collected through an online survey from 667 participants. Psychological distress was assessed using the GHQ-12, and affect balance was assessed as the preponderance of positive over negative affect. Results reveal that psychological capital and internal locus of control were negatively associated with psychological distress. In addition, affect balance mediated the relationship between psychological capital and psychological distress and the relationship between internal locus of control and psychological distress. Thus, both the psychological resources through affect balance acted as buffers protecting people from mental health deterioration during COVID-19 lockdown. However, the direct and indirect effects of psychological capital on psychological distress is stronger than that of internal locus of control. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

How perceived risk influences college students' preventive behavior: Novel data of COVID-19 campus lockdown from Wuhan, China.

Following preventive behaviors is a key measure to protect people from infectious diseases. Protection motivation theory (PMT) suggests that perceived risk motivates individuals to take protective measures. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented stress to the public, and changes in perceived risk may be more pronounced among college students than among other groups due to the related campus lockdown. With 1,119 college students recruited as research subjects, a quantitative research was conducted in Wuhan, China, to deduce the relationship between the perceived risk and preventive behavior of college students, as well as between the mediation effect of individual affect and the moderating effect of physical exercise. The results showed that the preventive behavior of college students was significantly affected by perceived risk, and both positive affect and negative affect played a mediating role between perceived risk and preventive behavior. Specifically, positive affect aided the relationship between perceived risk and preventive behavior, negative affect was detrimental to their relationship, and the mediation effect of positive affect is significantly higher than that of negative affect. Furthermore, physical exercise played a moderating role in the mediation effects of positive affect and negative affect. Therefore, appropriate measures should be taken to strengthen Chinese college students' perceived risk and provide them with corresponding guidance. The importance of physical exercise should also be emphasized to help college students with low perceived risk reduce negative affect, increase positive affect, and promote their preventive behavior.

Effectiveness of an online short-term audio-based mindfulness program on negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic: Latent growth curve analyses of anxiety and moderated mediation effects of anxiety between mindfulness and negative affect.

This pilot study aims to explore the effects and mechanisms of a mindfulness-based intervention on negative emotions in community settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (N = 100) were randomized into an intervention group (n = 50) and a waitlist control group (n = 50). Participants in the mindfulness group underwent 3 weeks (21 sessions) of an online audio-based mindfulness-based intervention program and completed the online measures four times whereas those in the waitlist control group needed to complete the measures twice. Participants completed measures of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. The results of the measures of the two groups were compared. Moderated mediation analysis was used to analyze intervention outcomes on negative affect through anxiety. Unconditional quadratic latent growth analysis was used to test the growth trajectories of anxiety. The results showed that this intervention program was effective at improving positive affect and at reducing depression, anxiety, and negative affect. The baseline anxiety moderator was found to be significant, and indirect effects of anxiety post-intervention were found between the mindfulness-based intervention and negative affect. Anxiety levels of participants were not at the same starting point and had similar but non-quadratic growth trajectories. The mindfulness-based intervention program was effective at promoting mental wellbeing and reducing mental problems in community settings in China. Mindfulness practices were beneficial to people with different anxiety levels but had more obvious benefits on anxiety and a negative affect for participants with low anxiety levels. Clinical trial registration: ISRCTN16205138 on 26/02/2021.

When it comes to hope, the rich get richer: A daily diary study of fluctuations in state hope

The current study examined the association between dispositional and state hope in college students using a 2 -week diary. Specifically, we tested whether dispositional hope predicts lower levels of daily changes in state hope over a 2-week period as well as whether higher-than-normal levels of state hope would result in higher-than -normal levels on subsequent days. Data were collected from 101 students (Mage = 25.91) who were studying online due to COVID-19 restrictions. The sample was predominantly female (74 %) and Black (49 %) or His-panic/Latinx (25 %). The results indicated that individuals with higher levels of dispositional hope at the beginning of the study experienced lower levels of lability in state hope compared to their counterparts with lower levels of dispositional hope. Additionally, when individuals reported levels of state hope on a particular day that were higher than average for them, they experienced a boost in state hope the following day. These results highlight the self-perpetuating nature of hope, and suggest that some individuals are less susceptible to daily fluctuations in hope than others based on their disposition. Furthermore, the results emphasize that hope varies both between - and within - persons.

Uncertainty stress and self-rated health during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Objectives: The COVID-19 crisis caused unparalleled uncertainty stress and health-related symptoms among Chinese residents. This study aimed to characterize stress status during the early stage of the pandemic and explore the inner mechanism between uncertainty stress and self-rated health. Setting/participants: A cross-sectional design was conducted online from February 7 to 14, 2020. A total of 2534 Chinese participants were surveyed. Main outcome measures: Uncertainty stress, negative affect, sleep quality, and health status were measured by self-report. A sequential mediation model using bootstrapping method was applied to test these relationships. Results: Age, place of residence, marital status, occupation, household annual income, infection, and quarantine status significantly correlated with uncertainty stress. Higher uncertainty stress was negatively related with self-rated health (r = -0.256, p < 0.01) and positively associated with higher negative emotions (r = 0.646, p < 0.01). The sequential mediation model found total indirect effect (ß = -0.014, 95%C.I. = -0.017-0.010) and direct effect (ß = -0.010, 95%C.I. = -0.015-0.005) were significant in the relationship between uncertainty stress and self-rated health with mediating by negative affect and subjective sleep quality. Conclusions: Findings provided evidence-based information for stakeholders designing and implementing intervention strategies by providing psychological consultation services and public education to manage uncertainty stress and minimize the damage of negative affect and poor sleep.

Emotional states and habits in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered severe consequences for the physical and emotional health of the general population. Objective: Describe the emotional profiles and the habits of physical activity, sleep, tobacco, and alcohol consumption in physiotherapy students, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of university physiotherapy students through a Google forms. We used the PANAS scale to assess positive and nega-tive affect, the PSQI questionnaire to assess sleep quality, and the IPAQ-S questionnaire for physical activity. Results: We included 60 students between 17 and 22 years old, primarily female (71.7%). Most participants reported having a low consumption of alcohol (43.3%) and tobacco (96.7%). A higher proportion reported a high level of physical activity (53.3%) and considered it decreased after the COVID-19 pandemic (76.7%). Regarding sleep quality, most students reported poor sleep (66.7%). We identified one emotional profile "positive,” related to positive affect, and three profiles related to negative affects;"upset,” "anxious,” and "guilty.” Conclusions: Based on the description of the emotional response and the physical activity, sleep, alcohol, and tobacco consumption habits of the participants, it is sug-gested to establish psychological support programs, em-phasizing the management of the emotional resources that the students have to face stressful situations caused by the confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2023, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 and Eating Problems in Daily Life: The Mediating Roles of Stress, Negative Affect and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic poses a challenge to individuals' mental health. People worldwide are experiencing increased stress, negative affect, and posttraumatic stress symptoms, which may lead to eating problems. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the perceived severity of COVID-19 on eating problems and the mediating effects of stress/negative affect/posttraumatic stress symptoms both at the personal level and interpersonal level. Methods: During the COVID-19 outbreak, a total of 108 college students were recruited to report their perceived severity of COVID-19, stress, negative affect, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and eating problems three times a day for seven consecutive days using Ecological Momentary Assessment. Results: State perceived severity of COVID-19 predicted fewer subsequent eating problems in daily life at the personal level. Both state negative affect and posttraumatic stress symptoms were positively associated with eating problems in daily life. At the interpersonal level, trait-like perceived severity of COVID-19, stress, negative affect, and posttraumatic stress symptoms were positively associated with overall eating problems. There were no mediating effects of stress/negative affect/posttraumatic stress symptoms on the relations between perceived severity of COVID-19 and eating problems at the personal/interpersonal level. Conclusions: The perceived severity of COVID-19, stress, negative affect, and posttraumatic stress symptoms might increase the risk of eating problems.