Variables that enhance the development of resilience in young gay people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

AIMS

Sexual and gender minorities are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety caused by COVID-19. However, they also have specific variables that have been little studied but which may protect them from this adverse situation. The aim of this study was to find out whether there were differences in socio-demographic and psychosocial variables in two groups of Spanish gay young people (high and low resilience), and predictors of risk and protective factors were examined.

METHODS

Nine hundred and seventy-nine young homosexuals (389; 39.73% self-reported as women) aged between 18 and 26 years old who experienced mandatory confinement due to COVID-19, completed an anonymous online questionnaire. Hope, perceived self-efficacy, reappraisal index, coping humour, anxiety, depression were assessed along with socio-demographic information. Data were collected between 15 and 26 April 2020.

RESULTS

Socio-demographic variables that were predictive of highly resilient behaviour included being between 24 and 26 years old, living with LGBTI+ peers and living in big cities, protective psychosocial variables included reframing in reappraising the confinement situation, humour as coping, social support from significant others and self-efficacy.

CONCLUSION

This is one of the first studies on this subject of compulsory COVID-19 confinement on young homosexuals in Spain. Mental health professionals and organizations should also include work on psychosocial protective factors, not just risk factors, to enhance resilient outcomes in this group.

Applications of Intersectionality Theory to Enhance Career Development Interventions in Response to COVID-19

The school counseling profession has an ethical responsibility to provide and advocate for individual students’ career planning and development, while expanding school counselors’ own multicultural and social justice advocacy to become effective culturally competent professionals. Additional literature is needed to identify how school counselors can adapt their career counseling approaches to fit the unique challenges and barriers of historically marginalized students both during and after the global COVID-19 pandemic. We describe how school counselors can use intersectionality theory as a framework for career development with marginalized populations in response to COVID-19 and its impact on the economic decline.

Social connectedness, mindfulness, and coping as protective factors during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented psychological impact, revealing immense emotional disturbances among the general population. This study examined the extent to which social connectedness, dispositional mindfulness, and coping moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression in 1242 adults under the same government-issued COVID-19 stay-at-home mandate. Participants completed measures of anxiety, depression, dispositional mindfulness, social connectedness, and coping, and regression analyses were used to examine associations and interaction effects. Results indicated that social connectedness and dispositional mindfulness were associated with reduced symptoms. For individuals living with a partner, decreased mindfulness and avoidant coping were associated with anxious symptoms. In households with children, overutilization of approach coping served to increase symptoms of depression. Results indicate the importance of considering social connectedness, mindfulness, and coping in counseling to enhance factors serving to protect clients during a public health crisis. Implications for professional counselors and areas of future research are discussed.

Integrating trauma‐informed care into career counseling: A response to COVID‐19 job loss for Black, indigenous, and people of color

The drastic increase among the U.S. unemployment rate led to increased trauma among those who lost their job as a result of the global COVID‐19 pandemic. Combined with racial and ethnic disparities, the culmination of these traumatic stressors creates unique challenges and barriers for individuals from historically marginalized populations and low socioeconomic backgrounds. In this article, we explore how trauma‐informed care can be integrated into career development practices for career practitioners. We provide a conceptualization of trauma‐informed practice, interventions, and practical implications for career practitioners to incorporate in their work with historically marginalized clients.

Vocational Rehabilitation in the COVID-19 Era: The Importance of Supervision

The rehabilitation counseling profession, as an essential career, has been facing unforeseen and unprecedented complications as a result of the coronavirus-19 pandemic. As practitioners were required to begin completing their work virtually or using telehealth modalities, it became apparent that may be gaps in preparation for such a shift. It is as yet unknown what implication these changes have on employment rates of people with disabilities, in addition to other markers for independence (e.g., independent living, etc.). Implications of the sudden shift to virtual practice are especially of interest following the changes to the comprehensive system of personnel development legislated by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act reauthorization of 2014. Decreased educational requirements may lead vocational rehabilitation (VR) employees to navigate a national crisis without the essential knowledge domains required for qualified provider status. The current study asked VR personnel to indicate their comfort and preparedness in various areas, in light of the pandemic and virtual service provision ( n = 88). Items were assessed at three levels: Counselor, Agency, and Client. Taken together, the results indicate that the sample feels able to maintain evidence-based services, and that supervisors have been regularly available during this uncertain time. Implications for rehabilitation researchers, supervisors, and educators are discussed.

Effects of COVID‐19‐Related Racial Discrimination on Depression and Life Satisfaction Among Young, Middle, and Older Chinese Americans

This study examined the relationship between age and gender on Chinese American adults’ (N = 184) experiences of COVID‐19‐related racial discrimination, depression, and life satisfaction. Results indicated that COVID‐19‐related racial discrimination explained 47.9% of the variance in depression, and COVID‐19‐related racial discrimination and depression explained 42.3% of the variance in life satisfaction.

Infusing Self-Care and Wellness into CACREP Curricula: Pedagogical Recommendations for Counselor Educators and Counselors during COVID-19

Although self-care and wellness practices are important in counselor education, they have yet to be mapped and incorporated into the CACREP curriculum. Counselor educators are called to teach and model these practices for counselors in training (CIT) in a post-pandemic reality. The authors provide specific recommendations for integrating self-care and wellness practices across the CACREP curriculum in counselor education training programs, as well as pragmatic approaches for professional counselors, to address the paucity of literature.