Optimism in dire times: The buffering role of optimism in the relationship between food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Considering the need to gain a deeper understanding of the protective factors associated with coping with food insecurity, specifically in times of severe prolonged stress, the current longitudinal study seeks to examine the role of optimism in the relationship between food insecurity and adverse mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. A three-wave longitudinal study involving 1921 Israeli adults was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed questionnaires assessing food insecurity, anxiety, depression, optimism, and socio-demographic characteristics. To explore the relationship between food insecurity and symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as the moderating role of optimism in this relationship, we employed a set of panel regression models with individual fixed effects. Our results indicate that the degree and change in food insecurity over time were positively associated with both anxiety and depression symptoms, whereas the degree and change in optimism were negatively correlated. Optimism was found to moderate the association between food insecurity and anxiety symptoms over time, but not the association between food insecurity and depression symptoms. A subgroup analysis revealed that optimism moderated the relationship between food insecurity and anxiety and depression for women, but not for men; for married/coupled individuals but not for singles; for non-parents with regard to anxiety, and for parents with regard to depression. Our results highlight the need to practice and enhance optimism in times of great despair, uncertainty, and hardship, especially in situations of food insecurity where tangible change may take time.

Home quarantines and cumulative risk exposure among young children: Isolation and maladaptation.

Self-isolation and quarantine are common and effective measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. However, it may have detrimental implications on young children's adaptation and mental health. The present study explores the prevalence of home quarantines among young children in Israel and their associations with children's maladaptive behaviors. The analysis is based on self-reported data obtained by 374 parents of young children in November 2021. Participants completed questionnaires, assessing the prevalence of home quarantines among children (aged 3-11 years old), and maladaptive behaviors, including rage outbursts, physical violence against family or friends, and panic attacks. Multivariate regression models were used to determine the relationships between the number of child quarantines and their maladaptive behaviors. Our results suggest that 51% of parents reported having their child quarantined more than once, which did not differ across socioeconomic characteristics. Furthermore, 66% of parents reported that during the pandemic, their child exhibited maladaptive behaviors at least once. Children who were quarantined more than once were more likely to exhibit rage outbursts, physical violence, and/or panic attacks. The associations between children's quarantine and physical violence were slightly stronger among families living in high-density households. Repeated experiences of home quarantine may operate as exposure to accumulative risk and have a lasting effect on young children's development. Practice and policy recommendations for interventions for young children and their families who experience home quarantines are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Perceived Job Performance of Child Welfare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

While the evidence on the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of frontline social workers is emerging, the research on the impact of the pandemic on their performance is scarce. The presented study explores how the relationship between work environment predictors and perceived stress explains the job performance of child welfare social workers during the pandemic using survey responses of 878 child welfare social workers. The findings revealed the mechanism through which environment predictors and perceived stress interacted in explaining job performance during a time of large-scale crisis. We found that C.W. social workers who experienced greater COVID-19-related service restrictions reported poorer job performance, that perceived stress disrupted workers' supervision and autonomy, and that supervision and job autonomy protected C.W. social workers from the adverse effects of perceived stress and workload on their job performance. Conclusions included the importance of autonomy and supervision in mitigating job-related stressors and the need to adapt and enhance child welfare supervision during times of national crisis.

On the Frontlines: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Workers' Well-Being.

The crisis created by the spread of COVID-19 brought increasing needs and referrals to social welfare services in many countries. However, at the same time, social services suffered from staff cutbacks and service closures, resulting in significant workload increases to address the hardships associated with the pandemic. This article investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Israeli social workers' well-being, using a mixed-methods design with a sample of 2,542 licensed social workers. Findings show that over 70 percent of social workers suffered from at least one health problem related to their work. Path analysis findings indicated that social workers who experienced greater service restrictions reported a greater decrease in job satisfaction and experienced higher levels of stress and work-related problems. Machine learning emotion-detection analysis revealed that the pandemic affected their lives, causing feelings of fear, frustration, and sadness. This article demonstrates how social workers whose work was characterized by greater service restrictions were less satisfied with their jobs, more stressed, and experienced greater job-related health problems, and concludes with a discussion of the implications for social work practice in times of crisis.

Household Spending Patterns and Hardships during COVID-19: A Comparative Study of the U.S. and Israel.

The combined supply and demand shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic have created the largest consumer behavior shift in recent history, while exposing millions of households to material hardships like food insecurity and housing instability. In this study, we draw on national surveys conducted early in the pandemic to investigate the pandemic's effects on self-reported consumer spending behaviors and experiences of hardship for households in the US and Israel; two countries that are similar in terms of their development but have had divergent experiences with and responses to the pandemic. We also examine the extent to which racial/ethnic/religious minority status and pre-pandemic employment characteristics predict these outcomes. Using descriptive and logistic regression approaches, we find that housing expenditures were fairly stable in the U.S. and Israel, while food and credit card payment expenditures were relatively volatile. We also find that skipped utility bill payments were much higher in the US than Israel, while rates of skipping housing payments and food insecurity were similar between the two countries. Generally speaking, racial/ethnic/religious minorities in both countries were more likely to experience spending volatility, while Black and Hispanic (in the US) and Arab (in Israel) households were more likely to experience hardships. Employment and financial characteristics also appeared much more predictive of hardship in the US than in Israel. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10834-021-09814-z.