The Role of Mass Media in Influencing the Lifestyle of the Elderly during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The elderly represent one of the categories that was most affected by the pandemic period. The purpose of this research was to analyze the ways in which mass media and very often contradictory information flows influenced the lives and personal communications of the Romanian elderly population during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to conduct the research, we used a mixed-methods approach. For the quantitative research, we gave a questionnaire to the elderly population of Romania, and for the qualitative research, we conducted interviews. Our quantitative sample included 881 retired persons with an age between 55 and 94 years old; the mean age was 71.48 years old with 6.6 years standard deviation. The elderly described the pandemic period using negative words: fear, loneliness, anxiety, disaster; the channel they mostly watched and trusted was the TV; they were aware of the measures they had to take to protect themselves; they missed most of the meetings with the family and the main problems they had were represented by loneliness, the inability to be with their families or the lack of access to medical services. The elderly's mass media consumption during the pandemic was mostly represented by TV consumption; the information spread by mass media was sometimes contradictory; it influenced their behavior and may have generated feelings of anxiety among them.

Anxiety, Stress, and Resilience Strategies in Parents of Children with Typical and Late Psychosocial Development: Comparative Analysis.

The child's developmental characteristics influence the psycho-social features in the behavior of parents. This aspect is relevant in building effective strategies for psychological and socio-educational assistance to parents for an increased quality of family life. The aim of the present study is to investigate the differences in anxiety, stress, and resilience strategies in the case of parents with children with late psychosocial development and those with children with neurotypical development. The research sample consisted of 620 subjects (380 women, 240 men, divided into two equal categories: parents of children with late development and with neurotypical development). The questionnaire survey (Levenstein's Perceived Stress Questionnaire for stress and Hobfoll's Strategic Approach to Coping Scale for resilience strategies) and interview (Hamilton's Anxiety Rating Scale for anxiety) were used. The anxiety levels did not differ significantly (t = 0.45, p = 0.65), but there were differences in the perceived stress levels (t = -7.10, p = 0.03). As for resilience strategies, significant differences were found for assertive action, social communion, precautionary action, and seeking social support, which were more pronounced strategies that were used by parents of children with late psychosocial development.

Association between Facebook Use, Depression and Family Satisfaction: A Cross-Sectional Study of Romanian Youth.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, Facebook has increasingly become an essential part of the lives of people, particularly youths, thus many research efforts have been focused on investigating the potential connection between social networking and mental health issues. This study aimed to examine the relationship between Facebook use, emotional state of depression, and family satisfaction. METHODS: This study used the online survey created in Google Docs on the Facebook 'wall', as research method. The survey was available during Jun-Jul 2015 in Romania. In our cross-sectional study on a sample of 708 young Facebook users (aged 13-35), we divided the sample into 3 groups: ordinary, middle, and intense Facebook users. Materials and instruments: the survey comprised a series of basic demographic as well as some measures of Facebook addiction, depression, and family satisfaction. We used two methods connected with extensive Facebook usage, the first one measuring only the intensity of use, and the second one measuring not only the intensity but also the consequences of this use. RESULTS: Facebook engagement is negatively related to family satisfaction. Moreover, Facebook engagement is positively related to depression symptoms. The Pearson correlations showed that higher Facebook intensity is positively associated with Facebook addiction. CONCLUSION: The study confirm previously published findings of other authors in the fields of social networking psychology. The study examined the relationship between Facebook use, depression, and life satisfaction and the hypotheses were supported.