Predicting health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.

We investigated the social, emotional, and cognitive predictors of adherence to four health behaviors (handwashing, mask wearing, social contact limitations, and physical distancing) during one critical phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data (N = 5803, mean age = 53; 57% women) in Belgium at five time points between April and July 2021, a time during which infections evolved from high (third wave of the pandemic) to low numbers of COVID-19 cases. The results show that the social, emotional, and cognitive predictors achieved high levels of explained variance (R2 > .60). In particular, the central components of behavioral change (attitudes, intentions, control, habits, norms, and risk) were the strongest and most consistent predictors of health behaviors over time. Likewise, autonomous motivation and empathetic emotions (e.g., attentive, compassionate) had a positive impact on health behavior adherence, whereas it was the opposite for lively emotions (e.g., active, enthusiastic). These results offer policymakers actionable insights into the most potent and stable factors associated with health behaviors, equipping them with effective strategies to curtail the spread of future infectious diseases.

The role of self-compassion in loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: a group-based trajectory modelling approach.

Research has suggested an increase in loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, but much of this work has been cross-sectional, making causal inferences difficult. In the present research, we employed a longitudinal design to identify loneliness trajectories within a period of twelve months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium (N = 2106). We were particularly interested in the potential protective role of self-compassion in these temporal dynamics. Using a group-based trajectory modelling approach, we identified trajectory groups of individuals following low (11.0%), moderate-low (22.4%), moderate (25.7%), moderate-high (31.3%), and high (9.6%) levels of loneliness. Findings indicated that younger people, women, and individuals with poor quality relationships, high levels of health anxiety, and stress related to COVID-19, all had a higher probability of belonging to the highest loneliness trajectory groups. Importantly, we also found that people high in two of the three facets of self-compassion (self-kindness and common humanity) had a lower probability of belonging to the highest loneliness trajectory groups. Ultimately, we demonstrated that trajectory groups reflecting higher levels of loneliness were associated with lower life satisfaction and greater depressive symptoms. We discuss the possibility that increasing self-compassion may be used to promote better mental health in similarly challenging situations.

Trajectories of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness during the COVID-19 pandemic: A person-oriented multi-trajectory approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced unprecedented changes in the lives of many people. Although research has documented associations between concerns related to COVID-19 and poor mental health indicators, fewer studies have focused on positive factors that could help people better cope with this stressful social context. To fill this gap, the present research investigated the trajectories of self-compassion facets in times of dramatic social change. Using a longitudinal research design, we described the trajectories of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a representative sample of Canadian adults (N = 3617). Relying on a multi-trajectory group-based approach, we identified clusters of individuals following persistently low (4.0%), moderate-low (39.3%), moderate-high (46.7%), and high (10.0%) levels of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Interestingly, we found that compassionate self-responding trajectories were mainly stable over time with minor fluctuations for some groups of individuals, in line with the epidemiological situation. In terms of covariates, we observed that older women were more likely to follow trajectories of high compassionate self-responding, as compared to the other age and gender groups. In terms of mental health indicators, we demonstrated that trajectory groups with high levels of compassionate self-responding were associated with greater life satisfaction, more happiness, better sleep quality, higher sleep quantity, and fewer negative emotions, as compared to lower trajectory groups. The results supported the idea that self-compassion during the COVID-19 pandemic could have favored better mental health indicators and could possibly be promoted as a psychological intervention in the general population.

Trajectories of health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of handwashing, mask wearing, social contact limitations, and physical distancing.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the associations between health behavior adherence and psychological factors during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on identifying trajectories of handwashing, mask wearing, social contact limitations, and physical distancing. METHODS: We employed a multi-trajectory group-based approach to analyze data from 6026 Belgian residents, including 60% women, with an average age of 52.65. Data were collected over six waves spanning from April 2021 to December 2021. RESULTS: Participants were categorized into trajectory groups based on persistently low (11.9%), moderate-low (20.9%), moderate-high (39.1%), and high (28.1%) levels of adherence to the specified health behaviors. Our findings indicate a declining trend in health behavior adherence over the study period. Additionally, we observed that females, older individuals, and those with prior COVID-19 infection had a higher likelihood of belonging to trajectory groups characterized by the highest levels of health behavior adherence. Similarly, individuals with positive vaccination intentions, a heightened perception of consequences, and increased health anxiety demonstrated greater adherence to health behaviors over time. Furthermore, our investigation into the relationship between health behaviors and mental health revealed that participants in trajectory groups with higher levels of adherence to social contact limitations and physical distancing reported increased feelings of loneliness and decreased life satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives, and while vaccines have marked progress, maintaining health behaviors is crucial for virus prevention. To address potential mental health challenges from sanitary measures, policies and communication should promote health behaviors while acknowledging their psychological impact.

Predicting Compliance with Sanitary Behaviors among Students in Higher Education During the Second COVID-19 Wave: The Role of Health Anxiety and Risk Perception.

To limit the spread of COVID-19, public authorities have recommended sanitary behaviors such as handwashing, mask-wearing, physical distancing, and social distancing. We recruited a large sample of higher education students in Belgium (N = 3201-3441) to investigate the role of sociodemographic variables, mental health, previous COVID-19 infections, academic involvement, and risk perception on adherence to these sanitary behaviors. This cross-sectional study took place during the second COVID-19 wave in Belgium, between February and March 2021. Analyses showed that living alone, being female, later in the academic curriculum, having higher general and health anxiety, higher academic involvement, and higher risk perception were positively associated with adherence to the four aforementioned sanitary behaviors. Conversely, previous infection with COVID-19 and having been quarantined were negative predictors. Our results show a set of predictors highly similar for the four sanitary behaviors. We discuss potential initiatives to increase adherence to sanitary behaviors in this group of highly educated youngsters.

Promising effect of multi-family therapy on BMI, eating disorders and perceived family functioning in adolescent anorexia nervosa: an uncontrolled longitudinal study.

This contribution reports on the results of an uncontrolled longitudinal study investigating the effects of a Multi-Family Therapy (MFT) as treatment for adolescent Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and the role played by perceived family functioning in these effects. 150 patients (144 females) and their families took part in an MFT and were assessed at the beginning, middle, end of the therapy, as well as 6 and 12 months after the end of therapy. BMI, eating disorders symptomatology (EDI-II) and perceived family functioning (FAD) all improved over the time of MFT, and these benefits remained at both times of follow-up. Ultimately, we found that the improvement of some dimensions of family functioning (i.e., roles, communication, and general family functioning) mediated the improvement of several dimensions of symptomatology (i.e., ineffectiveness, impulsivity, social insecurity, interpersonal distrust). These observations provide further support for MFT as useful for improving mental health, weight restoration, and perceived family functioning of adolescents with AN.

A cross-national and longitudinal analysis of handwashing and its predictors during the COVID-19 pandemic in France and Belgium.

BACKGROUND: Using a longitudinal design, we investigate how the adherence to handwashing and its underlying socio-psychological predictors evolved over time during the COVID-19 pandemic and under distinct circumstances (e.g. when the crisis was more acute or chronic). METHOD: We collected data (N = 753) in Belgium and France at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when the crisis was at its peak (April 2020), and almost a year later (February 2021), when the outbreak was more manageable. RESULTS: Regression models suggest that the compliance with handwashing and its pattern of underlying predictors remained remarkably stable over time despite the variations in contextual factors such as the severity of the health crisis and the stringency of health measures. As such, the findings also highlight the robustness of the models that predict it, namely the Theory of Planned Behavior. The intentions to perform the behavior, the perceived control over it, and being part of the (para)medical field were among the strongest predictors. CONCLUSIONS: In practice, the stability of the underlying factors suggests a set of action levers that can be used in communication campaigns aimed at fostering its adherence throughout the pandemic.

Interoceptive Awareness and Anorexia Nervosa: When Emotions Influence the Perception of Physiological Sensations.

ABSTRACT: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is related to difficulties in emotion regulation, including a deficit in interoceptive awareness. The lack of interoceptive awareness is considered a vulnerability involved in the development and maintenance of anorexic symptoms. Surprisingly, no study has been conducted that focuses on these associations in an emotional context. This study measures the interoceptive awareness-using heartbeat self-counting and a sphygmomanometer-of 25 subjects suffering from AN and 25 control subjects, first at rest and then in an emotional situation. The results show that a deficit in interoceptive awareness was observed for the subjects suffering from AN at rest as well as when an emotional context was induced. This study encourages future investigations to focus on the impact of interoceptive deficit in AN to develop as efficient a care regimen as possible for these subjects.

Predicting health behaviors across Belgium and France during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

The objective of the current research was to investigate how a series of psychological factors may underlie two COVID-19 health behaviors, and how a contextual factor (country of residence) could shape their influence. Cross-sectional results from the first pandemic wave (NBelgium = 4878, NFrance = 1071) showed that handwashing and social contacts limitation are predicted by a unique set of psychological variables that holds across Belgium and France, despite their distinct lockdown-policies strictness. In practice, policy-makers could leverage on these unique predictors and fine-tune their strategies accordingly to promote adherence to each measure while generalizing it across similar nations.

You read what you eat! Selective exposure effects as obstacles for environmental risk communication in the meat consumption debate.

The selective exposure effect describes people's tendency to prefer information that confirms rather than challenges existing beliefs. The present research replicates the selective exposure effect in the context of meat reduction as a proposed strategy to combat climate change. Additionally, we tested whether biased information selection can help explain polarization dynamics on the individual and group-level. We recruited a French crowd working sample (n = 351) to take part in an online study. Our research design included a selective exposure paradigm in which people could skip through a set of news headlines and decide for each headline whether to access an associated full text. The headlines either promoted or rejected meat reduction as effective environmental strategy. In accordance with the selective exposure effect, participants systematically preferred information in favor of their dietary habits. On a personal level, selective exposure indirectly accounted for attitudes towards meat reduction. On a social level, selective exposure indirectly accounted for indicators of group polarization. Overall, the findings demonstrate how psychological motives underlying information selection may hamper effective risk communication and could sharpen social divide in the climate change context. We discuss opportunities for future research and practical efforts to improve the efficacy of environmental risk communication.

The Theory of Planned Behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparison of health behaviors between Belgian and French residents.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a global crisis and authorities have encouraged the population to promote preventive health behaviors to slow the spread of the virus. While the literature on psychological factors influencing health behaviors during the COVID-19 is flourishing, there is a lack of cross-national research focusing on multiple health behaviors. The present study overcomes this limitation and affords a validation of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a conceptual framework for explaining the adoption of handwashing and limitation of social contacts, two health behaviors that highly differ in their nature. Specifically, we compare TPB model on these two protective behaviors among people living in Belgium (N = 3744) and France (N = 1060) during the COVID-19 sanitary crisis. Data were collected from March 18 until April 19, 2020, which corresponds to the spring lockdown and the first peak of the pandemic in these countries. Results indicated that more positive attitudes, greater social norms, increased perceived control and higher intentions were related to higher adherence to handwashing and limitation of social contacts, for both Belgian and French residents. Ultimately, we argued that the TPB model tends to manifest similarly across countries in explaining health behaviors, when comparing handwashing and limitation of social contacts among individuals living in different national contexts.

Does Self-Objectification Entail an Opposition Between Appearance and Competence? The Likert Version of the Self-Objectification Questionnaire (LSOQ).

We propose a new method to test the reliability of Fredrickson et al.'s self-objectification questionnaire (SOQ). This scale being based on a ranking, traditional reliability estimates are inappropriate. Based on generalizability theory, we suggest to compute the reliability of each subset of questions related to physical appearance vs. physical competence separately in order to average them. We applied this method to a sample of female US undergraduates (n = 395) and evidenced that the reliability of the scale is very low (corrected Cronbach's alpha = .31). We also noted that a large proportion of the sample (32%) failed to complete the scale correctly. In a second study (n = 93), we propose a Likert adaptation of the scale and show that the two dimensions of the SOQ are independent. In Study 3 (n = 195), we confirm results of Study 2 and demonstrate that the general structure of the Likert version has satisfactory model fit statistics. These observations lead us to discourage the use of the original version of the SOQ and rely on the Likert version of the Self-Objectification Questionnaire (LSOQ, see appendix).

Two Preregistered Direct Replications of "Objects Don't Object: Evidence That Self-Objectification Disrupts Women's Social Activism".

Self-objectification has been claimed to induce numerous detrimental consequences for women at the individual level (e.g., sexual dysfunction, depression, eating disorders). Additionally, at the collective level, it has been proposed that self-objectified women might themselves contribute to the maintenance of the patriarchal status quo, for instance, by participating less in collective action. In 2013, Calogero found a negative link between self-objectification and collective action, which was mediated by the adoption of gender-specific system justification. Here, we report two preregistered direct replications (PDRs) of Calogero's original study. We conducted these PDRs after three failures to replicate the positive relation between self-objectification and gender-specific system-justification belief in correlational studies. Results of the two PDRs, in which we used a Bayesian approach, supported the null hypothesis. This work has important theoretical implications because it challenges the role attributed to self-objectified women in the maintenance of patriarchy.

How self-compassion moderates the effect of body surveillance on subjective happiness and depression among women.

According to objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), being treated as an object leads women to engage in self-objectification, which in turn increases body surveillance and body shame as well as impairs mental health. However, very little is known about what factors could act as buffers against the detrimental consequences of self-objectification. This paper seeks to understand the role of self-compassion (the ability to kindly accept oneself or show self-directed kindness while suffering) in the perception that women have of their own bodies. Results indicate that self-compassion moderated the effect of body surveillance on depression and happiness separately among women. More specifically, for women low in self-compassion, body surveillance was negatively associated with happiness, which was explained by increased depression. In sum, our results indicate that self-compassion protects against the detrimental consequences of body surveillance.