Assessment of the challenges and adaptation strategies of pediatric nurses in charge of caring for children with COVID-19

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic cause severe acute respiratory syndrome. It is a major public health crisis threatening humanity since world war two. Aim(s): This study aimed to assess challenges and adaptation strategies of pediatric nurses in charge of caring for children with COVID-19. Methodology: A descriptive research design was used to conduct this study. Setting(s): This study was carried out at pediatric hospital affiliated to Fayoum university hospitals. A purposive sample of 100 nurses who providing care for children with COVID-19 in the previous mentioned setting. A structured interview questionnaire sheet consisted of four parts were used for data collection: Part (1): Assess characteristics of studied sample;Part (2): Assess pediatric nurses' knowledge regarding caring for children with COVID-19;Part (3): Challenges that faced pediatric nurses in caring of children with COVID-19;Part (4): Adaptation strategies used by pediatric nurses to face of COVID-19 of children. Result(s): The results showed that 55% of the studied nurses had unsatisfactory knowledge level of caring for children with COVID-19. Regarding total challenges 75% of studied nurses had psychological challenges and 65% of the studied nurses had high working pressure. Also, regard adaptation strategy 60%, 55% and 51% of the studied nurses not used cognitive and educational adaptation, psychological and emotional adaptation and physical adaptation respectively. Conclusion(s): The present study concluded that, there was highly statistically significant between total challenges of COVID-19 and total adaptation strategies among pediatric nurses in charge of caring for children with COVID-19. Recommendations: Continuous training program for pediatric nurses to improve using of the adaptation strategies of caring for children during the COVID-19.Copyright © 2023 Scientific Publishers of India. All rights reserved.

Associations between COVID-19-related disruptions and psychological adjustment in a sample of young adults

We examined the relations between disruptions experienced by young adults in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic and their psychological adjustment. An online sample (N = 180, Mage = 24.8) reported on the impact of the pandemic on their living arrangements, work status, and finances;their psychological adjustment overall and with specific reference to the pandemic;and whether they lived alone and, if living with others, there were children in the home. Results indicated a moderate association between financial strain and poor overall adjustment and a small association between job-related problems and sleep disruption. Women experienced negative effects of pandemic-related disruptions on their adjustment. Men were particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of financial strain. The results show the negative psychological effects of disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on young adults' mental health. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social media use for coping with stress and psychological adjustment: A transactional model of stress and coping perspective.

Introduction: The psychological well-being of individuals has become an essential issue during the global pandemic. As a pervasive activity for individuals to pull through COVID-19, social media use may play a role in psychological well-being. Drawing on the transactional model of stress and coping, the current study investigated the relationships between COVID-19-related stressors and the use of social media to facilitate specific coping strategies. We further investigated how social media coping strategies impact users' psychological adjustment. Methods: We collected the data from 641 quarantined residents through a two-wave survey that was conducted in two cities in China during government-mandated lockdowns. Results: The results showed that perceived COVID-19 stress was related to the intensity of social media use for problem-focused coping, socioemotional coping, and mental disengagement. In addition, individuals' psychological adjustment was positively associated with social media use for socioemotional coping and mental disengagement while negatively related to problem-focused coping. Age was also found to be a moderator of the relationship between socioemotional coping and psychological adjustment. Discussion: To relieve pandemic-related stress, individuals can actively utilize social media to implement various coping strategies. However, coping activities with social media may not always induce psychological benefits. By revealing the different levels of psychological adjustment among social media users with specific coping strategies, the current research enriched the literature on the effects of social media use on mental health. Findings from this study suggest the need for the prudent use of social media to cope with public health crises.

Mental health, self-efficacy and university adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This mixed study evaluated changes and stability in health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, alcohol consumption and amount of hours of sleep) and the belief in academic self-efficacy of Brazilian university students, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first step, quantitative and longitudinal, investigated 20 students (average age=20.8;SD=3.4) in the period of 2019 and 2020, suggesting the maintenance of mental health indicators and the reduction of alcohol consumption and self-efficacy. In the second, qualitative stage, interviews during the quarantine revealed processes of personal and academic adaptation, in addition to concerns about mental health in the face of the pandemic. Institutional responses by universities to these ongoing challenges are recommended, as opposed to an individual analytical perspective.Copyright © 2023 Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru. All rights reserved.

The Psychological Sequelae of COVID-19 Among Disease Survivors in Argentina

Background: While more than a year has passed since the COVID-19 outbreak, it is still a growing health concern. Moreover, ample consensus exists for the presence of not only a physical but also a psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those reported as hardest hit were individuals who had been infected with COVID-19. Survivors have exhibited a higher prevalence of psychological morbidity i.e., PTSD, depression, and anxiety-as compared with the general population and health workers. Additionally, COVID-19 patients and survivors have been psychologically impacted by a staggering number of disease-related stressors. Objective(s): The study was aimed at analyzing COVID-19's impact on the psychological state of Argentinian disease survivors. Method(s): Two hundred and ninety-six COVID-19 survivors (67.2% female;Mage = 44.81;SDage = 12.16) from a major Buenos Aires hospital completed a questionnaire and a set of psychological measures-COVID-19 emotional impact, psychological sequelae, disease-related stressors, PTSD, and psychological distress. Result(s): The most impactful psychological sequelae and disease stressors revolved around having the disease awaiting test results, fear of infecting loved ones, being apart from family and friends during the disease, fear of physical sequelae and symptoms, and returning to isolation. PTSD prevalence rates were 33.8%. Survivor's psychological distress levels were moderately higher than pre-COVID-era general population levels, yet not significantly different from preCOVID-era clinical inpatients. Female gender, age, and hospital admission emerged as significant predictors of increased adverse psychological outcomes. Conclusion(s): Intervention for COVID-19 survivors is urgently needed, with particular attention to the alarming PTSD prevalence rates, as discussed in the study.Copyright © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.

Word of Mouth from Left-Behind Children in Rural China: Exploring Their Psychological, Academic and Physical Well-being During COVID-19.

COVID-19 has had considerable effects on people's lives worldwide, particularly left-behind children in China as they tragically witnessed the outbreak. From the outset, millions of left-behind children in rural areas experienced extensive physical and psychological disturbances because their migrant parents who lived in the city or another province could not be with them. This study explored the psychological, academic, and physical well-being of rural left-behind children during COVID-19. We captured the experiences of 10- to 15-year-old children and adolescents who were left behind by their migrant parents before the COVID-19 outbreak. The results of the present study suggest that left-behind children have exhibited severe psychological illnesses since the pandemic has limited their social interactions with peers and increased improper caretaking from grandparents.

Linguistic Predictors of Psychological Adjustment in Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 broke out in China in December 2019 and rapidly became a worldwide pandemic that demanded an extraordinary response from healthcare workers (HCWs). Studies conducted during the pandemic observed severe depression and PTSD in HCWs. Identifying early predictors of mental health disorders in this population is key to informing effective treatment and prevention. The aim of this study was to investigate the power of language-based variables to predict PTSD and depression symptoms in HCWs. One hundred thirty-five HCWs (mean age = 46.34; SD = 10.96) were randomly assigned to one of two writing conditions: expressive writing (EW n = 73) or neutral writing (NW n = 62) and completed three writing sessions. PTSD and depression symptoms were assessed both pre- and post-writing. LIWC was used to analyze linguistic markers of four trauma-related variables (cognitive elaboration, emotional elaboration, perceived threat to life, and self-immersed processing). Changes in PTSD and depression were regressed onto the linguistic markers in hierarchical multiple regression models. The EW group displayed greater changes on the psychological measures and in terms of narrative categories deployed than the NW group. Changes in PTSD symptoms were predicted by cognitive elaboration, emotional elaboration, and perceived threat to life; changes in depression symptoms were predicted by self-immersed processing and cognitive elaboration. Linguistic markers can facilitate the early identification of vulnerability to mental disorders in HCWs involved in public health emergencies. We discuss the clinical implications of these findings.

The role of cognitive flexibility and hope in the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment: a moderated mediation model

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic caused people to suffer from secondary problems such as social isolation and loneliness as well as experiencing anxiety about catching and spreading the virus. Existing research emphasizes the roles of cognitive flexibility and hope for psychological adjustment but the mediating and moderating mechanisms have not yet been researched widely. Therefore, this study examined whether hope mediated the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment problems and whether cognitive flexibility moderated this mediation effect of hope in the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment problems during the COVID-19 pandemic curfew in Turkey. Methods: A total of 512 Turkish students and young adults completed UCLA Loneliness Scale, Brief Psychological Adjustment Scale, Dispositional Hope Scale, and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory for this cross-sectional study. Results: The results indicated that loneliness had a significant and positive predictive effect on the psychological adjustment problems and that this relationship was partially mediated by hope. Further, psychological flexibility moderated the relationship between loneliness and hope. Conclusions: The current study contributes a better understanding of the influence of loneliness on psychological adjustment, especially during the COVID-19 curfew period. KEY POINTS: What is already known about this topic: (1) Loneliness is positively associated with psychological adjustment problems. (2) Hope proved to play an important role in psychological adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic. (3) Cognitive flexibility is positively related to hope. What this topic adds: (1) Hope mediates the relationship between loneliness and psychological adjustment problems during the COVID-19 curfew. (2) The association between loneliness and hope is moderated by cognitive flexibility, such that the association becomes weaker for those who report higher levels of cognitive flexibility. (3) The indirect effect of loneliness on psychological adjustment problems via hope is conditional on the levels of cognitive flexibility. © 2022 Australian Psychological Society.

Student adjustment during Covid-19 pandemic: Exploring the moderating role of university support.

The study investigates the moderating effect of university support on the association between fear of Cov19 and student adjustment including (a) academic; (b) psychological; and (c) social adjustment. A total of 592 students took part in the research by completing self-reported questionnaire. The respondents were chosen using a multi-stage sampling technique. The data was processed and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 24 and SEM-PLS, respectively. Results reveal fear of Cov19 negatively predict student's academic, psychological, and social adjustment. University support positively predicts student's academic, psychological, and social adjustment and further mitigate the impact of fear of Cov19 on students' academic, psychological, and social adjustment. This is the first study to examine university support as a moderator between fear of Cov19 and three dimensions of students' adjustment.

Testing Continued Effectiveness Through Multiple Modifications of an Empirically Supported Treatment for Organization, Time Management, and Planning Deficits in ADHD and Related Disorders

Objectives: Organizational skills training (OST) for youth with ADHD is an efficacious treatment that addresses impairments at home and in school. Modifications of OST were conducted to treat children with or without ADHD, to reduce treatment barriers, and to respond to changes in school demands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): After an initial RCT documenting OST efficacy, 3 further studies involved: 1) an open replication of the original RCT confirming improvements in organization, time management, and planning (OTMP) in children diagnosed with ADHD (N = 15) using twice-weekly in-person visits;2) a subsequent open trial investigating children with deficient organizational skills with or without ADHD and altering delivery to involve a combination of in-person and virtual meetings (N = 29);and 3) a third study with subjects with low OTMP skills who do not necessarily have ADHD, receive treatment with combined in-person and virtual delivery or, in response to COVID-19 restrictions, fully virtual delivery (N = 27, thus far), and, in response to remote school delivery, have altered OST content to fit varied school instruction demands (eg, use of electronic documents instead of papers) while adhering to the principles of OST. Change was measured on the Children's Organizational Skills Scales (COSS). Result(s): 1) Improvements in OTMP skills (parent ratings d = 3.73;teacher ratings d = 1.12) in the first open study were comparable to the initial RCT findings. 2) In study 2, parents also reported substantial improvements (d = 3.04), and teachers reported large changes (d = 0.88) in pre-post comparisons. 3) In the ongoing RCT, subjects who received treatment immediately were reported to have large changes by parents (d = 2.17) and moderate changes by teachers (d = 0.47) when compared to waitlist controls. Conclusion(s): Initial analyses indicate that OST leads to OTMP improvements in children struggling with disorganization with and without ADHD diagnosis. Improvements are found when treatment is delivered fully in-person, delivered in hybrid in-person and virtual meetings, or delivered fully virtually. OST could help children with or without ADHD improve behavioral and emotional adjustment at home and in school, when treatment delivery is modified to increase treatment availability, and when school demands are varied. ADHD, CBT, EBP Copyright © 2022

Coping with Burnout Syndrome Associated with a COVID-19 Flare-up in Santiago de Cuba

Introduction: Health personnel have faced several risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, among them Burnout syndrome. In this process, the ways to face it are key. Objective: To identify the presence of Burnout syndrome, its factors, consequences and ways of coping in health professionals. Methods: Quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study, carried out at the "José Martí" Polyclinic, Santiago de Cuba, from December 2020 to February 2021. We worked with 71 professionals (physicians and nurses). The Brief Burnout Questionnaire, the Coping Modes Scale and observation were applied. The variables were age, gender, occupational category, working time, presence of Burnout syndrome, factors, and consequences and coping modes. The data obtained were grouped by means of frequencies and percentages. Results: Women prevailed (83.10 %), aged 31 to 50 years (52.11 %), with 1 to 5 years of work (36.62 %). Burnout was identified in 59 participants (83.10 %). Repercussions were found such as insomnia, headaches, and effects on interpersonal relationships and work performance. The main coping modes used were self-control, planning, positive reappraisal, distancing and flight-avoidance. Conclusions: The personnel evaluated were predominantly affected by Burnout, mediated by aspects related to the characteristics of the task, the organization and boredom generated by the activity performed. Physical, social and psychological consequences were manifested in them, privileging the use of coping resources focused on the solution of the problem, emotional regulation and cognitive coping. © 2022, Editorial Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.

Were there losses in social support during the pandemic? Testing the impact of COVID-19 on psychological adjustment to trauma in United States adults.

Introduction: Social support is a key protective factor in the psychological adjustment of individuals to traumatic events. However, since March 2020, extant research has revealed evidence of increased loneliness, social isolation, and disconnection, likely due to COVID-19 pandemic-related recommendations that restricted day-to-day contact with others. Methods: In this investigation, we applied a case-control design to test the direct impacts of the pandemic on social support in United States adults recovering from a significant injury caused by PTSD-qualifying, traumatic events (e.g., motor vehicle crashes, violence, etc.). We compared individuals who experienced trauma during the pandemic, the "cases" recruited and evaluated between December 2020 to April 2022, to trauma-exposed "controls," recruited and evaluated pre-pandemic, from August 2018 through March 9, 2020 (prior to changes in public health recommendations in the region). Cohorts were matched on key demographics (age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, income) and injury severity variables. We tested to see if there were differences in reported social support over the first 5 months of adjustment, considering variable operationalizations of social support from social network size to social constraints in disclosure. Next, we tested to see if the protective role of social support in psychological adjustment to trauma was moderated by cohort status to determine if the impacts of the pandemic extended to changes in the process of adjustment. Results: The results of our analyses suggested that there were no significant cohort differences, meaning that whether prior to or during the pandemic, individuals reported similar levels of social support that were generally protective, and similar levels of psychological symptoms. However, there was some evidence of moderation by cohort status when examining the process of adjustment. Specifically, when examining symptoms of post-traumatic stress over time, individuals adjusting to traumatic events during COVID-19 received less benefit from social support. Discussion: Although negative mental health implications of the pandemic are increasingly evident, it has not been clear how the pandemic impacted normative psychological adjustment processes. These results are one of the first direct tests of the impact of COVID-19 on longitudinal adjustment to trauma and suggest some minimal impacts.

The Trap of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Italian Adolescents Fare Well at First, Maybe Thanks to Protective Trait Expression.

Abundant research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has been negatively affecting mental health in adolescence. Few works, however, benefit from data from the same sample before and after the onset of the pandemic. The present longitudinal study involved a non-clinical group of 136 Italian adolescents (Mage = 16.3 years ± 1.08, 67% girls) to investigate their psychological response to the first lockdown and explore the role of a protective trait (i.e., Positivity) in moderating the effect of Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) on internalizing symptoms before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing psychopathological symptoms, psychological well-being, IU, and Positivity on three separate occasions: October 2019 (T1), January 2020 (T2), and April 2020 (T3). The results showed that internalizing and externalizing symptoms as well as psychological well-being did not vary significantly over time. Positivity was found to significantly moderate the relationship between IU and internalizing symptoms at T3 (i.e., during the COVID-19 lockdown) only. Overall, our findings suggest that the teenagers' good adjustment to the initial phase of the pandemic might have been associated with the enhanced weight of the Positivity trait, which may have encouraged a positive attitude towards self, life, and the future.

Psychological effects of COVID-19 in general Italian population in function of age and gender

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first recorded in late 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China. Italy was one of the hardest hit countries and on March 8th 2020 the Italian Government introduced a range of 'lockdown' restrictive measures, e.g., isolation and social distancing, intended to slow down the progression of the pandemic. Previous research conducted during this pandemic have demonstrated a wide range of negative psychological effects on both the individuals and the community, but the moderating factors are not yet well known. This study aimed to evaluate if the psychological, emotional and behavioral effects of COVID-19 and related restrictive measures are predicted by age and gender in a sample of Italian citizens. Methods: Following a snowball sampling technique, 300 individuals completed different online questionnaires aimed at measuring anxiety, PTSD and depression symptoms. Results: Results showed that gender predicted anxiety and PTSD symptoms, with women showing higher scores;age predicted PTSD and depressive symptoms with younger participants showing higher scores;gender*age effects predicted anxiety and depression scores. Conclusions: In order to plan preventive intervention in general population during pandemic, great caution must be given to vulnerable groups, such as female and young.

Role of resilience in psychological adjustment and satisfaction with life among undergraduate students in Turkey: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Cultivation of resilience is shown to reduce mental health problems and improve well-being. The effect of resilience on psychological adjustment problems and satisfaction with life is however not adequately discussed. This study investigated the predictive effect of resilience in psychological adjustment and satisfaction with life among undergraduate students during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a convenience sampling method was utilized to recruit undergraduate students from a public educational institution in Turkey. Psychometric valid tools, such as the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Brief Psychological Adjustment-6 (BASE-6) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used to measure the primary outcomes of the study. Data were analyzed using the independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results: Of total 224 undergraduates participated in this study, nearly 74% were males and the mean age of the sample was 21.03±1.66 years. More than half of the participants had average socioeconomic status (53.57%) followed by above-average (40.18%) and below-average (6.25%). The results indicated that males and individuals who had low socioeconomic status reported greater psychological maladjustment problems. Furthermore, the resilience negatively predicted the psychological maladjustment (β =-0.31, p<0.01) and positively predicted satisfaction with life (β = 0.17, p< 0.05) after controlling for age, gender, and perceived socioeconomic status. Discussion: These results shed light on the relationship of resilience with psychological outcomes in terms of satisfaction with life and psychological adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study point to the potential role of resilience in improving satisfaction with life and psychological adjustment among undergraduate students in Turkey. Additionally, efforts by practitioners and policymakers should be made in developing resilience-building interventions to foster post-traumatic growth among students. Take-home message: The current findings will serve as preliminary evidence to develop innovative preventative intervention programs aiming at reducing psychological adjustment problems and promoting satisfaction with life among undergraduate students in Turkey. © 2022 by the authors.

The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience in the Relationship between Emotional Reactivity, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Psychological Maladjustment in Children Receiving Orthodontic Treatment.

The aim of this research was to examine the various psychological characteristics that affect psychological maladjustment in children undergoing orthodontic treatment. In this context, the predictive and mediating relationships between emotional reactivity, intolerance of uncertainty, psychological resilience and psychological maladjustment were considered. The study was conducted cross-sectionally with 543 children and adolescents aged 10-18 years, who were being treated at a state university orthodontic clinic in Turkey. Standardized measurement tools (The Emotional Reactivity Scale, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, Brief Resilience Scale and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale) and online data collection processes were used in the data collection process. The findings show that emotional reactivity and intolerance of uncertainty pose a risk for psychological maladjustment in children and adolescents receiving orthodontic treatment, but psychological resilience has a protective function against this risk (p < 0.001). It is suggested that these findings may contribute to the expansion of pediatric dentists' perspectives on the secondary outcomes of orthodontic treatment practices.

COVID-19 and Vulnerable Children Well-Being: Interview with Left-Behind Children in Rural China.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: This study sought to explore the psychological well-being, academic adjustment, and quality of parental attachment of LBC during COVID-19 based on Left-Behind Children's (LBC) word of mouth. METHOD: In light of the abundance of quantitative studies, this qualitative study explored the psychological, academic, and parental attachment experiences of rural LBC during COVID-19. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 LBCs aged 10-15 in May 2021. RESULT: The study results reveal that LBCs developed severe psychological illnesses after the pandemic severely disrupted their already disturbed lives. Our findings showed that most LBCs feel they do not need their parents, which reflects their long record of hopelessness and agony regarding the absence of their parents. CONCLUSION: Although COVID-19 is a global problem, its impact was particularly devastating for LBCs who have nobody around who could help them with their academic, personal and social need. In the modern COVID-19 era, it seems that Chinese grandparenting has become unreliable in the face of radical change in contemporary Education, society, and the economic system. Therefore, this study suggests that the Chinese government should seek to identify and monitor these children by working with NGOs that target such children.

Latent profiles of multi-dimensionality of self-compassion predict youth psychological adjustment outcomes during the COVID-19: A longitudinal mixture regression analysis.

The multi-dimensionality of self-compassion and its influence on college students' adjustments have not been widely examined during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study aims to explore profiles of self-compassion dimensions in Chinese college students and examine the predictive effects of different profiles on students' adjustment outcomes. A longitudinal online survey of college students was conducted in mainland China. In May of 2020, college students (N = 1361) completed Neff's Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form during the home quarantine period. Six months after the baseline assessment, students (N = 717) reported their level of anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, insomnia symptoms, complex post-traumatic stress (CPTSD) symptoms, post-traumatic growth (PTG), and positive youth development (PYD). A latent profile analysis was adopted to identify profiles of self-compassion dimensions. A longitudinal regression mixture model was used to examine the predictive effects of different self-compassion profiles on college students' adjustment outcomes. Three classes best characterized the self-compassion dimensions of college students: the compassionate group (54.1%), the uncompassionate group (38.6%), and the extremely uncompassionate group (7.3%). College students in the compassionate group scored significantly higher on positive adjustment indicators (PTG and PYD), and significantly lower on negative adjustment indicators (anxiety, depression, insomnia, and CPTSD symptoms) than students in the other two groups. College students in the uncompassionate group scored significantly lower on negative indicators, and higher on PYD scores than students in the extremely uncompassionate group, but did not differ in PTG levels from students in the extremely uncompassionate group. College students in the compassionate group adjusted best across groups. The limitations that using a composite score to represent the relative balance of self-compassion dimensions were highlighted. Intervention programs need to focus on improving the level of positive self-responses in college students.

Loneliness, college belongingness, subjective vitality, and psychological adjustment during Coronavirus pandemic: Development of the College Belongingness Questionnaire

Loneliness is a serious risk factor for healthy development and flourishing. Although loneliness has been revealed to play an important role in psychological health and well-being, little is known about moderating and mitigating mechanisms underlying this association, especially during adverse experiences (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic). The current study purposed to explore whether subjective vitality mediated the association of loneliness with psychological adjustment and whether college belongingness moderated the mediating effect of subjective vitality on students' adjustment in the context of loneliness. The study sample comprised 333 undergraduate students (69% female) from a public university in Turkey. They ranged in age between 19 and 41 years (M = 21.94, SD = 4.15). Findings from mediation analysis revealed that loneliness had a significant predictive effect on subjective vitality and psychological adjustment challenges. Subjective vitality also mediated the effect of loneliness on the psychological adjustment of college students. Further, college belongingness moderated the mediating effect of subjective vitality on adjustment and had a protective effect on the association between loneliness and subjective vitality in college students. These results indicate that subjective vitality and college belongingness are important mechanisms that may help develop prevention and intervention strategies to foster students' psychological health and well-being in university settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Becoming a mother during COVID-19: A national study on the experiences of pregnancy and childbirth in Portugal

Background Having a baby during the COVID-19 pandemic poses a number of challenges for mothers, which can seriously compromise their mental health. Aims and Objectives This study aims to describe the birth and postpartum experiences of a national sample of Portuguese postpartum mothers. It also aims to investigate the role of the negative emotional impact of the pandemic on mothers' mental health. Methods During December 2020, 1413 Portuguese mothers (70.8% primiparous) of infants with an average age of 2.5 months (SD = 1.32, range: 0-6) completed an online survey that included a sociodemographic and obstetric form, questions about the perceived emotional impact of the pandemic, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the Postpartum-Specific Anxiety Scale. Results Most mothers (75.5%) were on pregnancy leave due to an obstetrical complication (45.2%), to avoid COVID-19 infection (44.8%), or both (10%). 95.9% of mothers did a COVID test before labour, but only 1.1% tested positive. Women who did not have the delivery they desired (45.2%), who were unable to be with their baby shortly after birth (14.6%), and who did not perform skin-to-skin contact (33.4%) were significantly more anxious and depressed in the postpartum than those who had the delivery they desired, contacted with their baby after birth and performed skin-to-skin contact. Women who scored above the cut-off on EPDS (37.9%) and who reported that COVID-19 had a negative emotional impact during pregnancy (77.5%) and postpartum (80.1%) presented higher levels of postpartum anxiety and depression. Interpretation/Discussion Having a baby during COVID-19 seems to have a significant impact on postpartum mothers' mental health. In addition, a positive birth experience seems to be a key factor in women's psychological adjustment. Conclusions Despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, it is essential to promote a positive birth experience and to ensure that women in the perinatal period can obtain psychological support whenever they need it.