Mental health symptoms and coping strategies among Ukrainians during the Russia-Ukraine war in March 2022.

CONTEXT: The Russian attack on Ukraine has been ongoing since February 24, 2022. Nevertheless, no research has documented the mental health of Ukrainians during the biggest land war in Europe after the Second World War, or how Ukrainians cope with the impact of the war. OBJECTIVES: To provide the prevalence rates of symptoms of psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia; and to link them with Ukrainians' productive coping strategies during the war. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Online survey conducted in Ukraine during the initial period of the Russian invasion (March 19-31, 2022), using a quota sampling method, of 1,400 Ukrainians aged 18 years or older, with a total of 801 valid responses for a response rate of 57.2%. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological distress assessed by the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K6); anxiety assessed by Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) scale; depression assessed by Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2); insomnia assessed by Insomnia Severity Index-4 (ISI-4); modes of coping assessed by Brief COPE. RESULTS: Of 801 Ukrainian adults, 52.7% had symptoms of psychological distress (mean = 13.3 [SD = 4.9]); 54.1% of them reported symptoms of anxiety (mean = 2.9 [SD = 1.7]); 46.8% reported symptoms of depression (mean = 2.6 [SD = 1.6]). Symptom criteria for insomnia were met by 97 respondents (12.1%) (mean = 10.4 [SD = 4.2]). Demographic variables (including gender, living in an urban area, having children or elderly persons in the household, living in an area occupied by Russian forces) were associated with symptoms of distress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. The productive coping strategies of using instrumental support, behavioral disengagement, self-distraction, and planning were significantly associated with mental health symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence rates of symptoms of psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia were high. These findings underscore the need for healthcare and productive coping strategies for Ukrainians during the war.

Early evidence on the mental health of Ukrainian civilian and professional combatants during the Russian invasion.

BACKGROUND: The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has led many Ukrainians to fight for their country, either in the regular army or as civilian members of voluntary territorial defense forces. There is, however, a dearth of knowledge on the mental health of combatants in this conflict. Prior research on the mental health of combatants is unlikely to translate to the situation at hand because such research is focused on combatants fighting abroad and neglects civilian combatants. METHODS: This study provides the first attempt to investigate the mental health of Ukrainian combatants in the regular army and voluntary territorial defense forces by analyzing the prevalence rates of common mental health issues, as well as their demographic and socioeconomic predictors. RESULTS: Between March 19 and 31, 2022, the initial period of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a sample of 178 Ukrainian combatants (104 in the regular army and 74 civilian combatants) participated in a survey on symptoms of anxiety (GAD-2), depression (PHQ-2), and insomnia (ISI). CONCLUSIONS: A sizable portion of Ukrainian combatants reached cut-off levels for clinical symptoms of anxiety (44·4%), depression (43·3%), and insomnia (12·4%). Importantly, the mental health of Ukrainian combatants varied between professional soldiers and civilian combatants, as well as by gender, marital status, by whether or not they were located in Russian-occupied/active-combat areas, and dependent on whether they were personally involved in combat. This study provides early evidence on the mental health of Ukrainian combatants, pointing to their urgent need for mental health assistance in the ongoing war.

Predicting Managers' Mental Health Across Countries: Using Country-Level COVID-19 Statistics.

Background: There is limited research focusing on publicly available statistics on the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as predictors of mental health across countries. Managers are at risk of suffering from mental disorders during the pandemic because they face particular hardship. Objective: We aim to predict mental disorder (anxiety and depression) symptoms of managers across countries using country-level COVID-19 statistics. Methods: A two-wave online survey of 406 managers from 26 countries was performed in May and July 2020. We used logistic panel regression models for our main analyses and performed robustness checks using ordinary least squares regressions. In the sample, 26.5% of managers reached the cut-off levels for anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7; GAD-7) and 43.5% did so for depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PHQ-9) symptoms. Findings: We found that cumulative COVID-19 statistics (e.g., cumulative cases, cumulative cases per million, cumulative deaths, and cumulative deaths per million) predicted managers' anxiety and depression symptoms positively, whereas daily COVID-19 statistics (daily new cases, smoothed daily new cases, daily new deaths, smoothed daily new deaths, daily new cases per million, and smoothed daily new cases per million) predicted anxiety and depression symptoms negatively. In addition, the reproduction rate was a positive predictor, while stringency of governmental lockdown measures was a negative predictor. Individually, we found that the cumulative count of deaths is the most suitable single predictor of both anxiety and depression symptoms. Conclusions: Cumulative COVID-19 statistics predicted managers' anxiety and depression symptoms positively, while non-cumulative daily COVID-19 statistics predicted anxiety and depression symptoms negatively. Cumulative count of deaths is the most suitable single predictor of both anxiety and depression symptoms. Reproduction rate was a positive predictor, while stringency of governmental lockdown measures was a negative predictor.

Predictors of managers' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study reports early evidence of managers' mental health and its predictors during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in May 2020. In a sample of 646 managers from 49 countries, 5.3% (32) of managers reached the cut-off levels for disorders in distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-6; K-6), 7.3% (38) experienced anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7; GAD-7), and 10.7% (56) had depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PHQ-9). Age, relative income, and work status each predicted at least one of the conditions. Managers' 'illegitimate tasks' caused by COVID-19 predicted all three. Particularly noteworthy is the finding that the degree of downsizing an organization experienced during COVID-19 significantly predicted distress, anxiety, and depression for managers at the highest level (board members) only. This study helps identify managers in need of healthcare services as the COVID-19 pandemic affects organizations and their managers around the world.

Este estudio informa sobre evidencia temprana en salud mental de los gerentes y sus predictores durante la pandemia de la enfermedad del coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) en mayo de 2020. En una muestra de 646 gerentes de 49 países, el 5.3% (32) de los gerentes alcanzaron niveles de punto de corte para trastornos en angustia (escala de angustia Psicológica de Kessler-6; K-6), el 7,3% (38) experimentó ansiedad (Trastorno de ansiedad generalizado-7; GAD-7) y el 10,7% (56) tenía depresión (Cuestionario de salud del paciente- 9; PHQ-9). La edad, los ingresos relativos y la situación laboral predijeron por si solos al menos una de las condiciones. Las 'tareas ilegítimas' de los gerentes causadas por COVID-19 predijeron las tres. Particularmente digno de mención es el hallazgo de que el grado de reducción que experimentó una organización durante el COVID-19 predijo significativamente angustia, ansiedad y depresión solo para los gerentes del más alto nivel (miembros del directorio). Este estudio ayuda a identificar a los gerentes que necesitan servicios de atención médica, ya que la pandemia de COVID-19 afecta a las organizaciones y sus gerentes en todo el mundo.

Social media use as a predictor of handwashing during a pandemic: evidence from COVID-19 in Malaysia.

Although handwashing is an effective way to prevent infections, there is scarce evidence on predictors of handwashing during a pandemic. This paper aims to identify behavioural and demographic predictors of handwashing. The study surveyed 674 adults in Malaysia in May 2020 regarding whether the time spent on social media predicted handwashing contingent on gender and number of children. More time spent on social media was positively associated with handwashing for males with three or more children. However, for males without children, social media use was negatively associated with handwashing. The association was not significant for males with one or two children. For females, more time spent on social media was significantly linked to more handwashing only for females with one child. Gender, a traditional predictor of handwashing, was a useful predictor only for those who spent more than three hours per day on social media and had at most one child. Number of children was a novel negative predictor for males who did not use social media and who averaged one hour per day on social media, a positive predictor for males who spent lots of time on social media, but not a predictor for females. In sum, social media use predicts handwashing, and is thus a helpful variable for use in targeted health communication during a pandemic - particularly through social media. Further, more conventional predictors like gender and number of children exhibit contingency effects with social media use.