Resilience and the Role of Depressed and Anxious Mood in the Relationship Between Perceived Social Isolation and Perceived Sleep Quality During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Exploring the impact of smartphone addiction on mental health among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of resilience and parental attachment

Smartphone addiction is an increasingly severe issue in modern society, particularly impacting the mental health of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to explore the relationship between smartphone addiction and mental health issues among college students, and the mediating and moderating roles of psychological resilience and parental attachment. We employed a cross-sectional study design with 100,097 college Chinese students to examine the relationships between smartphone addiction, mental health (anxiety and depression), and the mediating role of psychological resilience. Parental attachment was assessed as a moderator within these relationships. Data were analyzed using multiple regression and mediation/moderation models, controlling for relevant covariates. Our findings revealed a significant positive correlation between smartphone addiction and both anxiety and depression. Psychological resilience mediated these relationships, suggesting that higher resilience levels can mitigate the negative psychological impacts of smartphone addiction. Additionally, parental attachment moderated the effects of smartphone addiction on psychological outcomes; stronger attachment was associated with less pronounced effects of addiction on anxiety and depression. Specifically, for students with low parental attachment, the predictive effect of smartphone addiction on anxiety and depression was more pronounced, whereas higher attachment levels were protective.

The impact of resilience and coping strategies on depressive symptoms among Korean American older adults during COVID-19

OBJECTIVES

This study examined how resilience and coping strategies were associated with depressive symptoms among Korean American older adults during COVID-19. The prevalent depressive symptoms and low use of mental health services in this population have raised significant concerns among healthcare professionals. Therefore, this study aims to understand the relationships between resilience and coping types on depressive symptoms and provide valuable insights into addressing these issues within this ethnic group.

METHOD

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 132 Korean American older adults. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to assess the effect of sociodemographic factors (age, gender, marital status, years of living in the U.S., self-rated health, financial security), resilience, and coping strategies (problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, avoidant coping) on depressive symptoms. Next, the interactions between resilience and three coping strategies for depressive symptoms were tested.

RESULTS

The findings show that depressive symptoms were associated with financial security and avoidant coping. Also, resilience interacted with avoidant coping and emotion-focused coping. Among the participants with low resilience, depressive symptoms increased rapidly when avoidant and emotion-focused coping strategies increased, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This study emphasizes the importance of culturally tailored interventions to promote resilience and decrease avoidant and emotion-focused coping among Korean American older adults.

Resilience and Overcoming Experiences of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Hospitalized in a Single-Room Isolation Ward: A Mixed-Methods Study

PURPOSE

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused patients to suffer from various physical and psychological symptoms and social challenges, but the impact was harder for those COVID-19 patients receiving treatment in single-room isolation wards in South Korea. This study aimed to investigate resilience, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality of those patients and the relationships between those variables, and explore the patients' experience of resilience during the COVID-19 treatment in single-room isolation wards.

METHODS

This study employed a mixed-methods approach, collecting quantitative data through surveys and qualitative data through semistructured interviews conducted between May and October 2022. Quantitative surveys encompassing disease-specific and demographic information, visual analog scales to assess anxiety, depression, and sleep quality, and the Connor-Davidson resilience scale were administered to patients (N = 153). Qualitative thematic analyses were conducted following interviews with a subset of patients (N = 13) belonging to the high-resilience group.

RESULTS

Resilience exhibited a negative correlation with anxiety and depression, while showing a positive correlation with sleep quality. Factors affecting resilience include having a spouse, educational attainment, and depression. The qualitative thematic analysis results were categorized into: (1) facing the reality of being isolated in a room; (2) struggling to accept and adapt to isolation; and (3) seeking connections in isolation.

CONCLUSIONS

This research sheds light on the challenges faced by individuals in isolation and underscores the crucial role of resilience in overcoming such challenges. The resilience observed in these patients is grounded in both interpersonal and profound spiritual connections. These findings underscore the necessity for nurses to develop customized strategies to alleviate the impacts of social isolation.

Intersectionality and COVID-19: Academic Medicine Faculty's Lived Experiences of Well-Being, Workload, and Productivity During the Pandemic

Purpose: The aim of this study was to utilize an intersectional framework to examine academic faculty's lived experiences during COVID-19. Specifically, we set out to: (1) describe the multiple intersectional identities (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, rank, caregiver status, disability status) represented by the faculty, (2) examine potential disparities in well-being, workload, and productivity linked to these intersectional factors, and (3) identify qualitative themes endorsed by faculty as they relate to lived experiences during COVID-19. Methods: This was a cross-sectional mixed-methods research study. The Center for Women in Medicine and Science (CWIMS) at the University of Minnesota developed and implemented a survey between February-June of 2021 in response to national reports of disparities in the impacts of COVID-19 on faculty with lived experiences from multiple intersections. Results: There were 291 full-time faculty who participated in the study. Quantitative findings indicated that faculty with multiple intersectional identities (e.g., woman+assistant professor+caregiver+underrepresented in medicine) reported greater depression symptoms, work/family conflict, and stress in contrast to faculty with fewer intersectional identities. Furthermore, faculty with more intersectional identities reported higher clinical workloads and service responsibilities and lower productivity with regard to research article submissions, publications, and grant submissions in contrast to faculty with fewer intersectional identities. Qualitative findings supported quantitative findings and broadened understanding of potential underlying reasons. Conclusions: Findings confirm anecdotal evidence that faculty with lived experiences from multiple intersections may be disproportionately experiencing negative outcomes from the pandemic. These findings can inform decisions about how to address these disparities moving into the next several years with regard to promotion and tenure, burnout and well-being, and faculty retention in academic medical settings. Given these findings, it is also important to intentionally plan responses for future public health crises to prevent continued disparities for faculty with multiple intersectional identities.

Changes in sleep quality and sleep disturbances in the general population from before to during the COVID-19 lockdown: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to explore changes in sleep quality and sleep disturbances in the general population from before to during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Methods

The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021256378) and the PRISMA guidelines were followed. The major databases and gray literature were systematically searched from inception to 28/05/2021 to identify observational studies evaluating sleep changes in the general population during the lockdown with respect to the pre-lockdown period. A random effects meta-analysis was undertaken for studies reporting (a) the means of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global scores or the means of the sleep onset latency (SOL) times (minutes - min) before and during the lockdown, (b) the percentages of poor sleep quality before and during the lockdown, or (c) the percentages of changes in sleep quality. Subgroup analysis by risk of bias and measurement tool utilized was carried out. A narrative synthesis on sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, insomnia and sleep medication consumption was also performed.

Results

Sixty-three studies were included. A decline in sleep quality, reflected in a pooled increase in the PSQI global scores (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.26; 95% CI 0.17-0.34) and in SOL (SMD = 0.38 min; 95% CI 0.30-0.45) were found. The percentage of individuals with poor sleep quality increased during the lockdown (pooled relative risk 1.4; 95% CI 1.24-1.61). Moreover, 57.3% (95% CI 50.01-61.55) of the individuals reported a change in sleep quality; in 37.3% (95% CI 34.27-40.39) of these, it was a worsening. The studies included in the systematic review reported a decrease in sleep efficiency and an increase in sleep disturbances, insomnia, and in sleep medication consumption.

Discussion

Timely interventions are warranted in view of the decline in sleep quality and the increase in sleep disturbances uncovered and their potentially negative impact on health. Further research and in particular longitudinal studies using validated instruments examining the long-term impact of the lockdown on sleep variables is needed.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021256378, identifier CRD42021256378.

Associations between trait and state perceived stress and daily moods: COVID-19 stressful experiences as a moderator

Drastically disrupting daily routines, the global pandemic of COVID-19 has posed critical mental health threats to adolescents and young adults worldwide. Many of the extant empirical findings, however, have focused on individuals' psychological adjustment during the initial phase of the pandemic. It is less clear how COVID-19 stressful experiences impact young people's daily lives in the post-pandemic "new normal." Drawing on 7-day diary reports, the present study fills this gap by examining: (1) how daily perceived stress impacted daily emotional adjustment; and (2) the moderating effects of COVID-19 stressful experiences on these associations among 582 Chinese young adults (M age = 18.12, SD = .65; 69% females). Results indicated that higher levels of both trait (i.e., average levels) and state (i.e., daily fluctuations) perceived stress were associated with greater negative and anxious moods, and that prior pandemic-related experiences exacerbated the adverse impact of both trait and state perceived stress on daily moods. Specifically, young adults reporting greater COVID-19 stressful experiences demonstrated poorer emotional adjustment (i.e., lower levels of positive mood and higher levels of negative mood) on days when they had more fluctuations in perceived stress; the aggravating impact was stronger when the average levels of perceived stress were higher. By illuminating the moderating effects of COVID-19 stressful experiences, this study contributes to the limited, but burgeoning, research examining the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on daily emotional adjustment in post-pandemic life.

Bouncing back from COVID-19: The role of resilience in depression, substance use, and loneliness in college students amidst the pandemic

Objective: To assess the influence of specific COVID-19 impacts on college student depression, loneliness, and alcohol and cannabis use, and to investigate if resilience moderates these relationships. Participants: Data were collected from students (N = 1849, 80.9% white, 66.6% female) at a midwestern university during the 2021 winter/spring semester. Methods: Data were gathered cross-sectionally through an online survey platform. COVID-19 impacts and resilience's relationships with mental health variables were analyzed with multiple regression analysis. Moderation analyses were conducted using PROCESS. Results: The COVID-19 impacts measured in this study were significantly related to student depression and cannabis use. Resilience moderated the association between COVID-19 impacts and (a) depression and (b) cannabis use. Conclusion: Resilience may mitigate the effect of pandemic-related impacts on depression and cannabis use in college students, but not loneliness and alcohol use. These findings hold important implications for further research and practice.

Young Adults' Loneliness and Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Model

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, millions of people have been infected with the disease. The COVID-19 pandemic also produced severe mental health problems, such as loneliness and depression. The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of cognitive reappraisal and moderating role of resilience in the relationship between young adults’ loneliness and depression during the pandemic by adopting a cross-sectional research approach. In March 2020, 654 young adults (18–29 years old) were recruited to complete the measures for loneliness, depression, emotion regulation, and resilience. Results found that loneliness was positively and moderately associated with depression (r = 0.531, p < 0.001), and that both loneliness and depression were separately negatively associated with cognitive reappraisal (r = −0.348, p < 0.001; r = −0.424, p < 0.001) and resilience (r = −0.436, p < 0.001; r = −0.419, p < 0.001). The results indicated that both loneliness and depression were not associated with expressive suppression (r = 0.067, p = 0.087; r = −0.002, p = 0.961). The moderated mediation model results revealed that only cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between loneliness and depression (b = −0.301; Boot 95% CI = −0.388, −0.215). In addition, the results of the moderated mediation model indicated that resilience moderated the association between loneliness and depression (b = 0.035, p < 0.001, Boot 95% CI = 0.014, 0.055), while also moderated the impact of cognitive reappraisal on depression (b = −0.031, p < 0.001, Boot 95% CI = −0.058, −0.005). These findings have practical implications that broaden our understanding of depression in young adults and shed light on how to enhance cognitive reappraisal and resilience as a means of combating depression in this age group during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uncertainty and psychological distress during COVID-19: What about protective factors?

The present study examined the relationship between perceived uncertainty and depression/ anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and it tested the moderating roles of resilience and perceived social support in this relationship. A cross-sectional study was conducted between March 31st and May 15th, 2020, using an online, multi-language, international survey built within Qualtrics. We collected data on sociodemographic features, perceived uncertainty, perceived social support, depression and anxiety symptoms, and resilience. A moderation model was tested using model 2 of Hayes' PROCESS macro for SPSS. The study included 3786 respondents from 94 different countries, 47.7% of whom reported residence in the United States of America. Results demonstrated that higher perceived uncertainty was associated with more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Higher resilience levels and higher perceived social support were associated with fewer depression and anxiety symptoms. The moderation hypotheses were supported; the relationship between uncertainty and symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased as levels of resilience increased and as perceived social support increased. The results suggest that resilience and social support could be helpful targets to reduce the negative effects of uncertainty on depression and anxiety symptoms.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03244-2.

The role of social support and resilience in the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers in Spain

BACKGROUND

Healthcare workers (HCWs) from COVID-19 pandemic hotspots across the globe have reported mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, or sleep problems. Many studies have focused on identifying modifiable risk factors, such as being afraid of getting infected or reporting shortage of personal protective equipment, but none have explored the role of protective factors.

METHOD

This cross-sectional study used an online survey to describe the association between three potentially protective factors (self-reported resilience, self-perceived social support from colleagues at work, and self-perceived social support from relatives and friends) and three mental health outcomes, namely psychological distress, depression symptoms, and death thoughts in a large sample of Spanish HCWs during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

We recruited 2372 respondents between April 26th and June 22nd, 2020. Resilience and self-perceived social support were inversely associated with mental health problems (psychological distress, depression symptoms, and death thoughts), after adjusting for potential sources of confounding.

CONCLUSIONS

Resilience and self-perceived social support might protect HCWs against negative mental health outcomes. Public health strategies targeting these modifiable determinants might help to reduce the impact of the pandemic on HCWs' mental health.

Social Isolation and Sleep: Manifestation During COVID-19 Quarantines

Although researchers have investigated the impact of social isolation on well-being, the recent quarantines due to COVID-19 resulted in a social isolation environment that was unique to any examined in the past. Because sleep is one of the endogenous drives that impacts short and long-term health and well-being, it is important to consider how social isolation during the COVID-19 government-mandated quarantines affected sleep and sleep habits. A number of researchers have addressed this question during the last 2 years by examining several concepts related to possible changes in sleep during the quarantines. To best understand these recent results, the current mini review provides a background on the pre-pandemic literature on the effects of social isolation and loneliness with a focus on sleep and then summarizes the recent literature on sleep and sleep habits. In general, sleep was negatively impacted for many people during the pandemics but not all. One group that seemed to benefit from the pandemic in terms of sleep patterns, were younger people who could more easily adapt their sleep times to match their internal chronobiology. Given the potential broad impact of sleep on health and well-being, better understanding how social isolation impacts sleep is an important consideration for individuals, work organizations, and governments.

Furthering the Focus on Translational Sleep Science in Behavioral Medicine

Translational sleep science has become a critical and fundamental focus in the field of behavioral medicine. This is the second issue in the special series of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine focused on the physiological, psychological, social, and environmental concomitants of sleep and human health. The articles included in this issue draw further attention to the range and significance of sleep as a marker of health status and as a target of behavioral intervention. The research included in this series highlights the pervasive manner in which sleep health is intrinsically connected to health risk, behavior, and outcomes. The next decade promises to further behavioral medicine approaches to improving the provision of care and the overall public health through the implementation of translational sleep science research.

Sleep and Awakening Quality during COVID-19 Confinement: Complexity and Relevance for Health and Behavior

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate sleep and awakening quality (SQ and AQ) during COVID-19 in a large and diversified population in order to identify significant associations and risks in terms of demography, health and health-related behaviors, sleep variables, mental health, and attitudes. Methods/Results:Online surveys were used for data collection, received from 5479 individuals from the general population, sleep disorder patients, and COVID-involved (medical doctors (MDs) and nurses) and COVID-affected professionals (teachers, psychologists, and dentists). SQ and AQ were worse in adults, females, and high-education subjects. Feeling worse, having economic problems, depression, anxiety, irritability, and a high Calamity Experience Check List (CECL) score during COVID were significantly associated with poor SQ and AQ. Shorter sleep duration, increased latency, poor nutrition, low physical activity, increased mobile and social network use, more negative and less positive attitudes and behaviors were associated with poor AQ. Conclusions: The SQ logistic regression showed gender, morbidities, CECL, and awakenings as relevant, whereas, for AQ, relevant variables further included age and physical activity. Aiming to have a high stress compliance, each individual should sleep well, have important control of their mood, practice positive behaviors while dismissing negative behaviors and attitudes, practice exercise, have adequate nutrition, and beware of technologies and dependences.