Levels of Distress and Physical Activity of Adolescents during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The importance of physical activity, as one of the crucial resources for maintaining and improving physical health, was diminished during the Covid-19 pandemic. Except for the impact it has on physical health, physical activity may have various psychological benefits, especially during the development period of adolescence. The current findings of physical activity show that adolescents are more physically inactive during the pandemic than usual. Also, there are increasingly negative psychological outcomes in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to explore the levels of physical activity, negative affectivity, coping and preoccupation with the pandemic in an adolescent sample. The study involved 2409 adolescents (53.5% girls, 46.5% boys) from elementary and high schools aged 10 to 19. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was applied, and information about levels of physical activity, coping and preoccupation with pandemic and isolation measures were collected. Participants answered on a Likert-type scale. Findings of this research show that on average male adolescents are more likely to engage in physical activities than females. Also, a relation of physical inactivity distress and preoccupation was obtained for adolescent girls. No similar finding was found for males. However, very high physical activity (five or more times a week) was a protective factor for coping and preoccupation with coronavirus infection. The conclusion of this research indicates that levels of physical activity have a different effect on male and female adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic. It can be concluded that female adolescents that are less physically active are more at risk of depression, anxiety and stress. © 2023 Montenegrin Sports Academy. All rights reserved.

Job Satisfaction and Negative Coping Style Affect the Relationship between Transition Shock and Intent to Stay among Newly Graduated Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim. The study is aimed at exploring the relationship between newly graduated nurses' transition shock, negative coping, job satisfaction, and intent to stay during the time of COVID-19. Background. The shortage of nurses is a global dilemma aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a hot topic in recent years to help newly graduated nurses transition smoothly. Transition shock is one of the essential indicators to describe the transition state of newly graduated nurses, which has a far-reaching impact on the intention of newly graduated nurses to stay in their posts. However, few studies have studied the mechanism behind this relationship, which may affect the effectiveness of retention strategies. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from July to August 2021 in 31 tertiary hospitals in Shanghai, China. Participants comprised a convenience sample of 759 newly graduated nurses for surveys. Structural equation models were used to examine the study's hypothetical model. Results. The results showed that transition shock had a significant direct effect on job satisfaction (b = −0.412, p<0.001) and intent to stay (b = −0.145, p<0.001). Job satisfaction had a significant direct effect on intent to stay (b = 0.702, p<0.001). The indirect effect of transition shock on intent to stay through job satisfaction was statistically significant (b = −0.289), the 95% C.I. was (−0.493, −0.357), and the proportion of mediating effect to total effect was 66.59%. Moreover, the moderated mediation analysis showed that the interaction effect of transition shock and negative coping style on job satisfaction was significant (b = −0.082, p<0.001). Conclusion. This study revealed the impact of transition shock on intent to stay of newly graduated nurses during the time of COVID-19, and found that job satisfaction played a mediating role and negative coping played a moderating role. These findings are of great significance for nursing managers to take measures to improve the intention of newly graduated nurses to stay. Implication for Nursing Management. The level of transition shock is an important indicator reflecting the transition state of newly graduated nurses, and can further predict the job satisfaction and intention of newly graduated nurses to stay. Therefore, nursing managers should pay attention to taking corresponding measures to reduce the level of transition shock of newly graduated nurses.

Relationship between Reported Symptomatology of Mental Disorders and the Difficulties Imposed by Remote Teaching during the Covid-19 Pandemic in University Lecturers

Changes in tertiary education system in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, evoked a situation of extreme vulnerability to triggering and worsening of mental disorders. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of mental disorders referred by university professors, and to identify the correlation of mental disorders of stress, anxiety, depression and negative affectivity with some of the difficulties inherent to teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the context of remote working, either exclusively or partially. Therefore, data collection was performed virtually using the following instruments: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21 Brazilian version), and the Questionnaire for socio-demographic, habits and lifestyle and work aspects Characterization. There was a high prevalence of mental disorders in these professors, but the type of work did not present any association to the symptoms mentioned, nor with the difficulties and obstacles faced in the teaching practice. However, in the exclusively remote teaching, the difficulty of adapting to distance classes had a correlation to those with the highest severity levels of all the mental symptoms investigated, while in the partially remote teaching, this correlation was in relation to the difficulties of adapting to the work schedules.

Clinical-Immunological Correlates in Post-COVID-19 Endogenous Psychoses.

Objectives. To carry out a clinical and immunological study of the potential impact of coronavirus infection on the course of endogenous psychoses. Materials and methods. A total of 33 female patients aged 16-48 years with depressive-delusional states (F20.01, F21, F31) developing after coronavirus infections took part; group 1 consisted of 15 people who developed depressive-delusional states 1-2 months after COVID-19; group 2 consisted of 18 people with similar psychoses developing at later time points (2-6 months). The severity of psychopathological symptoms was assessed using the PANSS and HDRS-21 scales. The activity of inflammatory markers leukocyte elastase (LE) and α1-proteinase inhibitor (α1-PI) was determined in patients' blood. Absolute neutrophil and lymphocyte contents and their ratio (the neutrophil:lymphocyte index) were also evaluated. Standard values for indicators from healthy donors corresponding to patients in terms of age and sex were used as control values. Results. Endogenous psychosis developing at longer intervals after coronavirus infection (group 2) was found to be associated with "typical" inflammatory reactions, with increases in the activity of acute-phase proteins (α1-PI: 43.0 (35.6-49.7) IU/ml, p = 0.001) and neutrophil degranulation activity (LE - 254.8 (238.0-271.0) nmol/min·ml, p < 0.001), which was associated with the development of depressive-delusional states with dominance of manifestations of positive affectivity (anxiety, melancholy) and the extended nature of delusional disorders, which were mostly incongruent to affect. Conversely, development of endogenous psychosis during the first two months after COVID-19 (group 1) was characterized by a spectrum of inflammatory biomarkers with a decrease in neutrophil count ((2.6 ± 0.9)·109/liter, p < 0.05) and low LE activity (196 (172-209.4) nmol/min·ml, p < 0.001). This immunological profile was associated with predominance of manifestations of negative affectivity (apathy, asthenia, adynamia) in the structure of depressive-delusional states and the relatively undeveloped nature of delusional disorders, which were predominantly congruent to affect. Conclusions. The clinical and biological correlates found here presumptively indicate that experience of COVID-19 infection has a modulatory effect on neuroinflammation and the structure of endogenous psychosis.

The Power of Negative Affect during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Negative Affect Leverages Need Satisfaction to Foster Work Centrality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruptions in organizations and people's lives by generating uncertainty, anxiety, and isolation for most employees around the globe. Such disruptive context may have prompted employees to reconsider their identification with their work role, defined as work centrality. As such reconsideration may have deep implications, we reasoned that individuals' affective dispositions would influence work centrality across time during the pandemic. Drawing upon the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and the met expectations underpinnings of negative affectivity, we predicted that positive and negative affect would foster, albeit for different reasons, work centrality. Based on self-determination theory, we further expected the fulfilment of the needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence to enhance the effect of positive and negative affectivity. Based on a three-wave study (N = 379) conducted during the COVID-19 lockdown followed by a reopening of the economy in Canada (i.e., May to July 2020), we found negative affectivity, but not positive affectivity, to drive work centrality over time, and found this effect to be enhanced at high levels of the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and relatedness. The implications of these results for our understanding of the role of trait affectivity in times of crisis are discussed.

Reductive mechanisms for unwanted intrusive thoughts: exploring affectivity in clinical and non-clinical samples

Purpose>Unwanted intrusive thoughts (UITs) are a major public health concern (Nock et al., 2008;Bentum et al., 2017), and they are key to the development of a variety of dysregulated behaviours (Jungmann et al., 2016;Bergen et al., 2012). Thus, this study aims to investigate reductive mechanisms for unwanted intrusive thoughts by analysing aspects of affectivity in clinical and non-clinical samples.Design/methodology/approach>Quantitative means of data collection and analysis were used to explore UITs and affectivity. In total, 530 adults took part in this study (236 males, 253 females and 15 transgenders). Participants consisted of clinical (N = 168) and non-clinical samples (N = 336) who completed the Midlife in the United States sense of control scale (Lachman and Weaver, 1998), 20-item neuroticism scale (Goldberg, 1999), self-compassion scale (Neff, 2003a), flourishing scale (Diener et al., 2009), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - Negative Scale (Watson et al., 1988), generalised anxiety disorder seven-item (Spitzer et al., 2006) and repetitive thinking questionnaire-10 (McEvoy et al., 2010).Findings>Participants who experienced high levels of psychological flourishing, emotional stability, self-compassion, perceived control and affective well-being were prone to experience minimal UITs. Anxiety was positively related to UITs. These findings suggest that these aspects of affectivity may aid the reduction or management of clinical and non-clinical unwanted intrusive thoughts.Originality/value>This study has addressed gaps in knowledge and the literature on UITs by demonstrating that psychological flourishing, emotional stability, self-compassion, perceived control and affective well-being as aspects of affectivity can be implemented as a reductive mechanism for UITs, and such implementation may have a high probability of effective reduction or management of clinical and non-clinical unwanted intrusive thoughts.

Suicidal Ideation among University Students: A Moderated Mediation Model Considering Attachment, Personality, and Sex.

The present study aimed to examine the link between attachment, personality traits, and suicidal ideation with consideration of the potential moderating role of age and sex. The Suicidal History Self-Rating Screening Scale, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form, and the Attachment Style Questionnaire were administered to 183 students. There was a significant indirect effect of need for approval on suicidal ideation via detachment. Moreover, the moderated mediation models of need for approval and preoccupation with relationships on suicidality via negative affectivity were significant in men, but not women, whereas the moderated mediation model of need for approval on suicidality via detachment was significant in women, but not men. Young men and women seem at risk for increased suicidal ideation based on specific attachment and personality characteristics, which should be considered for the development of prevention and therapeutic interventions.

[Clinical and immunological correlates in endogenous psychoses developed after COVID-19]. / Kliniko-immunologicheskie korrelyaty pri endogennykh psikhozakh, razvivshikhsya posle perenesennogo COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: The clinical and immunological study of the potential impact of coronavirus infection on the course of endogenous psychosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-three female patients, aged 16 to 48 years, with depressive-delusional conditions (ICD-10 F20.01, F21, F31) developed after coronavirus infection, of whom 15 people (group 1) had depressive-delusional states 1-2 months after COVID-19 and 18 people (group 2), who developed similar psychoses in later periods (2-6 months). The severity of the psychopathologic symptoms was evaluated with PANSS and HDRS-21 scales. The activity of inflammatory markers - leukocyte elastase (LE) and α1-proteinase inhibitor (α1-PI) in the blood was determined. The absolute neutrophil count, the absolute lymphocyte count and the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio were calculated. As a control, we used standard values of indicators of age - and sex-matched healthy donors. RESULTS: The endogenous psychosis that developed later after a coronavirus infection (group 2) is associated with a "typical" inflammatory reaction with an increase in the activity of acute phase proteins (according to α1-PI) and degranulation activity of neutrophils (according to LE), which is associated with the development of depressive-delusional states in patients with the dominance of manifestations of positive affectivity (anxiety, melancholy) and the extended nature of delusional disorders, which were predominantly incongruent to affect. On the contrary, the development of endogenous psychosis during the first two months after COVID-19 (group 1) is characterized by a spectrum of inflammatory biomarkers with a decrease in the number of neutrophils and low activity of LE. This immunological profile is associated with the predominance of manifestations of negative affectivity (apathy, asthenia, adynamia) in the structure of depressive-delusional states and the relatively undeveloped nature of delusional disorders, which were predominantly congruent to affect. CONCLUSION: The clinical and biological correlates presumably indicate the modulating effect of the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on neuroinflammation and the structure of endogenous psychosis.

Suicidal Ideation among University Students: A Moderated Mediation Model Considering Attachment, Personality, and Sex

The present study aimed to examine the link between attachment, personality traits, and suicidal ideation with consideration of the potential moderating role of age and sex. The Suicidal History Self-Rating Screening Scale, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form, and the Attachment Style Questionnaire were administered to 183 students. There was a significant indirect effect of need for approval on suicidal ideation via detachment. Moreover, the moderated mediation models of need for approval and preoccupation with relationships on suicidality via negative affectivity were significant in men, but not women, whereas the moderated mediation model of need for approval on suicidality via detachment was significant in women, but not men. Young men and women seem at risk for increased suicidal ideation based on specific attachment and personality characteristics, which should be considered for the development of prevention and therapeutic interventions.

Evaluation of Coping Strategies among Students with Type D Personality.

OBJECTIVE: Personality type D may be associated with a predisposition to develop stress under external adverse influences, for example, in the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, type D personality is associated with higher burnout levels; thus, it may contribute to the development of diseases symptoms. The current study was designed to examine the coping strategies in young healthy persons with personality type D. METHODS: The study included 98 medical students, with 30 being males. The participants completed questionnaires to identify personality type D (DS-14) and the coping strategies. Depending on the results of the DS-14 questionnaire, four subgroups were distinguished with different levels of points on the NA and SI subscales. RESULTS: For persons with type D personality, the escape-avoidance strategy was used more often, the accepting responsibility and self-controlling strategies were less common compared with non-type-D individuals. When type D was adjusted for the NA and SI subscales, the correlation remained only with escape-avoidance strategy. We did not find a synergistic effect of the NA and SI subscales in regard to coping. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated a link between personality type D and maladaptive coping strategies. The predominance of the maladaptive coping strategy in type D is a possible point of application for psychosocial training in such individuals that requires further research.

Negative Affectivity, Authoritarianism, and Anxiety of Infection Explain Early Maladjusted Behavior During the COVID-19 Outbreak.

During the first phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, Italy experienced problems of public order and maladjusted behavior. This study assessed the role of negative affectivity, right-wing authoritarianism, and anxiety of COVID-19 infection in explaining a variety of the maladjusted behaviors (i.e., "China-phobic" discrimination, panic buying) observed with an Italian sample. Specifically, we examined the effect of Negative Affectivity and Right-Wing Authoritarianism on maladjusted behaviors, and the moderating role of anxiety of infection. Seven hundred and fifty-seven Italian participants completed an online survey between March 3rd to the 7th 2020, which was immediately before the lockdown. A moderated-mediation model was tested using a structural equation modeling approach. Results indicated that both Negative Affectivity and Right-Wing Authoritarianism were positively associated with COVID-19-related maladjusted behavior, and that Right-Wing Authoritarianism mediated the relationship between Negative Affectivity and maladjusted behavior. Furthermore, the effect of Right-Wing Authoritarianism on maladjusted behavior was greater for those with high anxiety of infection, and the indirect effect of Negative Affectivity on maladjusted behavior through Right-Wing Authoritarianism was moderated by infection anxiety. Findings highlight potential psychological paths that may inform communication strategies and public health initiatives aimed at promoting healthy behavior during an outbreak.