Predictors of Adolescent Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cognitive Reappraisal and Humor

Changes in emotion regulation strategies during the pandemic: prospective pathways to adolescent depressive symptoms

BACKGROUND

Emotion regulation (ER) is considered central in adolescent psychopathology, and ER strategies may change during challenging times, such as a global pandemic. Despite this, there remains a limited understanding of individual differences in ER mechanisms and their associations with psychopathology. This study examined whether and how cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and self-compassion changed over COVID-19 and how these changes uniquely predicted adolescents' depressive symptoms.

METHODS

A total of 2,411 adolescents (58.6% females; Mage = 18.51, SD = 0.80) completed the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, the Self-compassion Scale, and the Symptom Checklist-90 before COVID-19 (in 2019) and during COVID-19 (in 2020). The predictive associations between each ER strategy and depressive symptoms were tested with latent change score models.

RESULTS

Adolescents' use of expressive suppression and self-compassion strategies both increased during COVID-19. More increases in expressive suppression predicted more depressive symptoms, whereas more increases in self-compassion predicted fewer depressive symptoms. Although, on average, cognitive reappraisal did not change, it did show significant variations within the sample - increases (vs. decreases) in cognitive appraisal predicted fewer depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The study indicates how adolescents' ER strategies changed during the unprecedented global pandemic. It underscores protective roles of increased cognitive reappraisal and self-compassion, as well as the adverse consequence of heightened expressive suppression on adolescents' depressive symptoms. Findings offer insights for targeted interventions aimed at addressing specific ER strategies.

The role of caregiver emotion regulation in youth mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented youth and families with a broad spectrum of unique stressors. Given that adolescents are at increased risk for mental health and emotional difficulties, it is critical to explore family processes that confer resilience for youth in the face of stress. The current study investigated caregiver emotion regulation (ER) as a familial factor contributing to youth ER and risk for psychopathology following stressful life events. In a longitudinal sample of 224 youth (M age = 12.65 years) and their caregivers, we examined whether caregiver and youth engagement in ER strategies early in the pandemic mediated the associations of pandemic-related stress with youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms six months later. Leveraging serial mediation analysis, we demonstrated that caregiver and youth rumination, but not expressive suppression or cognitive reappraisal, mediated the prospective associations of pandemic-related stress with youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Greater exposure to pandemic-related stressors was associated with greater caregiver rumination, which, in turn, related to greater rumination in youth, and higher levels of youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms thereafter. Family interventions that target caregiver ER, specifically rumination, may buffer against the consequences of stress on youth engagement in maladaptive ER strategies and risk for psychopathology.

The role of late adolescents' emotion regulation in the experience of COVID-19 lockdown: A longitudinal study

The COVID-19 pandemic may be considered a unique mass-trauma experience. This study examined the relations between Italian late adolescents' emotion regulation strategies, their anxiety states, and their experience of the lockdown (in terms of discomfort related to restrictions, capacities to create new functional daily routines, and to find positive changes in one's own life) during the first wave of this pandemic. We analysed how participants' reports of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression were associated with anxiety states during the 2020 Italian COVID-19 lockdown (large scale physical distancing and movement restrictions) and one month after the lockdown restrictions had been removed. We also examined how cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and anxiety states were linked to late adolescents' experience of lockdown. The participants were 497 Italian adolescents, aged from 17 to 24 years (Mage = 21.11, SD = 1.83). A longitudinal structural equation modelling showed that emotion regulation strategies and anxiety states were not associated across time. Cognitive reappraisal was positively associated with routine reorganization and positive changes. In contrast, participants' expressive suppression was negatively related to their discomfort related to restrictions, ability to functionally reorganise their daily routine, and ability to find positive changes related to the COVID-19 emergency. Anxiety was positively linked to discomfort related to restrictions. The findings are discussed in light of the current literature related to emotion regulation and anxiety. Limitations and implications for practice are presented.

Optimism, pessimism, and physical health among youth: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

High levels of optimism (and low levels of pessimism) are associated with improved physical health in adults. However, relatively less is known about these relations in youth. The present study aimed to review the literature investigating optimism, pessimism, and physical health in children and adolescents from populations with and without health conditions.

METHODS

We conducted a scoping review up until February 2024. Studies were included if they sampled youth (average age ≤18 years) and treated optimism or pessimism as predictors of health behaviors or outcomes. Data on study and sample characteristics, health outcome, optimism construct, and findings were extracted from eligible papers and results were synthesized.

RESULTS

Sixty studies were retained. Most studies were conducted in North America, with adolescents, and used cross-sectional designs and self-reported measures of health. Measures of optimism and pessimism differed across studies. Roughly one-third of studies sampled medical populations. Health categories included substance use, diet and physical activity, sexual health practices, medical adherence, other health behaviors, cardiometabolic health, subjective health/health-related quality of life, pain, sleep, and oral health. Generally, we observed adaptive associations between optimism and health. Higher optimism and lower pessimism were most consistently associated with lower rates of substance use and lower cardiometabolic risk.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of optimism or the absence of pessimism appears to be associated with various adaptive health outcomes among youth with and without health conditions. Developmental, methodological, and clinical considerations for future research are discussed, such as conducting longitudinal studies with objective measures of health and psychometrically validated instruments.

Resilience among Turkish adolescents: A multi-level approach

The objective of this study is to determine the components that contribute to psychological resilience in adolescents and to determine if physical exercise, emotion control, or self-efficacy are more effective predictors of resilience. Data from participants was collected through a personal information form, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form, the Self-Efficacy Scale for Children, the Emotion Regulation Scale for Children and Adolescents, and the Psychological Resilience Scale for Children and Adolescents. The data were gathered online from 16 out of the 81 provinces in Turkey, representing 7 different regions, using convenience sampling. The study sample comprised 505 adolescents, with 309 females and 196 males. The average age of the participants was 15.66 years, with a standard deviation of 1.34. The data obtained from the students was analyzed using SPSS 27.0 statistical software. The Chi-Square test was employed to establish the correlation between the demographic features of adolescents and their levels of physical activity. The relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable was determined using correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. According to the analyzed results, there was a substantial positive correlation between physical activity and resilience, reappraisal and resilience, and self-efficacy and resilience. In addition, it was noted that physical activity alone explains 4.8% of the overall variation in resilience and is a significant predictor of resilience. The inclusion of reappraisal in the model resulted in a partial prediction of resilience by physical activity. However, the primary strength of the model was attributed to reappraisal. The inclusion of self-efficacy in the model resulted in a significant prediction of resilience, accounting for 36.8% of the total variance. The self-efficacy variable had a higher impact level compared to the other variables. Furthermore, the inclusion of self-efficacy in the model resulted in the elimination of the influence of physical activity on resilience. The research conclusions point out that self-efficacy has a greater impact on psychological resilience compared to physical activity and emotion regulation.

A Daily Diary Investigation of the Fear of Missing Out and Diminishing Daily Emotional Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Cognitive Reappraisal

With modern societies becoming ever-increasingly interconnected due to technology and media, we have gained unprecedented access and exposure to other people's lives. This has resulted in a greater desire to constantly be socially connected with the activities of others, or the fear of missing out (FoMO). While much of the present available research has established the association between FoMO and diminished emotional well-being, little has been done to identify protective factors that can help one cope with the negative psychological consequences of FoMO. Utilizing data from a 7-day diary study of a large sample of young adults (N = 261), the current study aimed to examine the moderating role of cognitive reappraisal in attenuating diminished emotional well-being associated with FoMO. Multilevel modeling showed that cognitive reappraisal attenuated the day-to-day within-person associations between daily FoMO and indicators of daily emotional well-being such as negative affectivity, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.

Individual differences in the long-term impact of the pandemic: moderators of COVID-related hardship, worry, and social support

PURPOSE

Understanding people's response to the pandemic needs to consider individual differences in priorities and concerns. The present study sought to understand how individual differences in cognitive-appraisal processes might moderate the impact of three COVID-specific factors-hardship, worry, and social support-on reported depression.

METHODS

This longitudinal study of the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic included 771 people with data at three timepoints over 15.5 months. Participants were recruited from panels of chronically ill or general population samples. Depression was measured by an item response theory validated depression index created using items from existing measures that reflected similar content to the Patient Health Questionnaire-8. COVID-specific factors of hardship, worry, and social support were assessed with items compiled by the National Institutes of Health. The Quality of Life Appraisal Profilev2 Short-Form assessed cognitive appraisal processes. A series of random effects models examined whether appraisal moderated the effects of hardship, worry, and social support on depression over time.

RESULTS

Over time the association between low social support and depression was greater (p = 0.0181). Emphasizing the negative was associated with exacerbated depression, in particular for those with low social support (p = 0.0007). Focusing on demands and habituation was associated with exacerbated depression unless one experienced greater hardship (p = 0.0074). There was a stronger positive connection between recent changes and depression for those people with higher worry scores early in the pandemic as compared to later, but a stronger positive correlation for those with lower worry scores later in the pandemic (p = 0.0015). Increased endorsement of standards of comparison, emphasizing the negative, problem goals, and health goals was associated with worse depression scores (all p < 0.0001). People who were younger, disabled, or had greater difficulty paying bills also reported worse depression (p < 0.0001, 0.0001, and 0.002, respectively).

CONCLUSION

At the aggregate level, COVID-specific stressors changed over the course of the pandemic, whereas depression and social-support resources seemed stable. However, deeper analysis revealed substantial individual differences. Cognitive-appraisal processes showed considerable variability across individuals and moderated the impact of COVID-specific stressors and resources over time. Future work is needed to investigate whether coaching individuals away from maladaptive cognitive-appraisal processes can reduce depression and lead to better overall well-being.

How Does Physical Activity Enhance the Subjective Well-Being of University Students? A Chain Mediation of Cognitive Reappraisal and Resilience

BACKGROUND

Regular physical activity is an effective means to enhance university students' subjective well-being. However, current research needs to understand how physical activity enhances the subjective well-being of Chinese university students. Therefore, the study investigated the mechanism of physical activity's impact on university students' subjective well-being and the mediating roles of cognitive reappraisal and resilience in this mechanism.

METHODS

The physical activity scale, subjective well-being scale, cognitive reappraisal scale and resilience scale were used to investigate 1350 university students, and the relationship between physical activity, cognitive reappraisal, resilience and university students' subjective well-being was verified through correlation analysis, regression analysis and a Bootstrap method.

RESULTS

(1) There is a significant positive correlation between physical activity, cognitive reappraisal, resilience and university students' subjective well-being (p < 0.01); (2) physical activity, cognitive reappraisal and resilience all have a significant positive effects on university students' subjective well-being (p < 0.01); (3) cognitive reappraisal and resilience have significant mediating roles in the process of physical activity affecting university students' well-being, with mediating-effect values of 0.052 and 0.285; (4) the chain-mediating role of cognitive reappraisal and resilience in the process of physical activity affecting university students' well-being is significant, with the chain-mediating effect value of 0.062.

CONCLUSION

Promoting university students' participation in physical activity not only directly enhances university students' subjective well-being but also indirectly improves university students' subjective well-being through cognitive reappraisal and resilience.

Protective factors for resilience in adolescence: analysis of a longitudinal dataset using the residuals approach

INTRODUCTION

The residuals approach, in which residual scores from regression models are used as a proxy for resilient functioning, offers great potential to increase understanding of resilience processes. However, its application in child and adolescent wellbeing research is limited to date. We use this approach to examine how adversity exposure impacts later wellbeing (life satisfaction, and internalising mental health difficulties) in the early-to-middle adolescence transition; whether gender and ethnic differences in resilience exist; which internal and external factors confer protective effects for resilience; and, whether the protective effect of these factors differs by gender and level of adversity exposure.

METHOD

Secondary analysis of the #BeeWell longitudinal data set (N = 12,130 adolescents, aged 12/13 at T1 and 13/14 at T2, representative of Greater Manchester, England) was undertaken, using a series of linear regressions to establish adversity indices for later wellbeing, before assessing the protective effects of internal and external factors on resilience.

RESULTS

Multiple adversity factors (e.g., home material deprivation, sexuality discrimination, bullying) were found to impact later wellbeing. Girls and white adolescents presented lower levels of resilience than their peers. Internal psychological factors (self-esteem, emotional regulation, optimism) consistently conferred the strongest protective effects, but behavioural/activity factors (physical activity, sleep) also contributed to resilience. Among external factors, friendships and peer support were the most salient. Physical activity yielded stronger protective effects among boys (compared to girls). Effects of protective factors were stronger among those at lower (compared to higher) levels of adversity exposure.

CONCLUSION

The residuals approach can make a considerable contribution to our understanding of the interplay between adversity exposure and access to protective factors in determining adolescent wellbeing outcomes. Moreover, its application provides clear implications for policy and practice in terms of prevention (of adversity exposure) and intervention (to facilitate resilience).

Youth psychosocial resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Globally, youth have experienced heightened levels of stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though many youth showed resilience to mental health problems despite this increased stress. The current review covers emerging literature published in the past three years on resilience factors that promote more positive mental health in youth ages 10-18 years. These factors generally fall into three categories: 1) resilience factors at the level of the individual, 2) social resilience factors, and 3) interventions to enhance youth resilience during the pandemic. We include recommendations for future longitudinal research to better understand and promote resilience given the context of the pandemic, particularly for youth who experienced high levels of adversity.

Multilevel Factors Associated With Obesity Among South Korean Adolescents Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-necessitated lockdowns and school closures have limited social interactions among adolescents, which result in unhealthy behaviors. This study compared the multilevel factors associated with obesity among adolescents in South Korea before and during the pandemic. Method: We applied the social-ecological model and analyzed the 2019 and 2020 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS), including middle and high school students. We considered factors at the individual, family, and community levels in the logistic regression. Age and gender-adjusted obesity (body mass index ≥ the 95th percentile) was the dependent variable. Result: The prevalence of obesity slightly increased from 11.31% before the pandemic to 12.48% during it; the odds of obesity were 1.12 times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-1.16) as high during the pandemic compared to before it. Several individual factors (e.g., age, gender, fast-food consumption) and perceived family economic status were commonly associated with obesity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical activity and city type were related to obesity only before the pandemic. Downgraded economic status owing to COVID-19 was adversely related to obesity during the pandemic. Conclusion: Inclusive multilevel support is needed to combat obesity in adolescence during the pandemic and those economically impacted require additional support.

Resilience, Coping, and the Covid-19 Pandemic Across the Globe - an Update: What Have we Learned?

The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic is a mass traumatic event that has universally and indiscriminately negatively affected the world. The adverse consequences of the pandemic have globally impacted psychological health and well-being via increased stressors, such as uncertainty, health anxieties, and financial instability. During the initial months of the pandemic, we (Polizzi et al., 2020) identified coping strategies that may be well-suited to address the sequelae of the pandemic. These strategies included behavioral activation, acceptance-based coping, mindfulness practice, and loving-kindness meditation. We argued that these coping skills may foster resilience and recovery during the pandemic by generating a sense of social connection, encouraging meaning-making, and enhancing feelings of control amid uncertainty. Three years later, we update our initial suggestions by providing a narrative review that considers empirical evidence collected during the pandemic to support the utility of the previously identified coping strategies as well as additional strategies. We also discuss cross-cultural similarities and differences among these strategies and how research supports their application across diverse countries and groups. Finally, we conclude by synthesizing the literature within a regulatory flexibility framework that emphasizes flexible skill implementation with respect to sensitivity to context, coping repertoires, and feedback from the environment.

Emotion regulation moderates the association between COVID-19 stress and mental distress: findings on buffering, exacerbation, and gender differences in a cross-sectional study from Norway

Background

Maintaining good mental health is important during a crisis. However, little attention has been given to how people achieve this, or how they evaluate emotions associated with stressors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to (1) investigate whether emotion regulation, in particular cognitive reappraisal and suppression, moderates the relationship between COVID-19 stress and general mental distress and (2) examine gender differences in the interrelations between COVID-19 stress, emotion regulation, and mental distress.

Methods

Data from a population in Norway (n = 1.225) were collected using a cross-sectional survey during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emotion regulation was measured using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire Scale (ERQ), COVID-19 stress with the COVID-19 Stress Scale, and mental distress with the Patient Health Questionnaire 4 (PHQ-4). Moderation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

Results

There was a strong association between COVID-19 stress and general mental distress (r = 0.61). The moderation analyses showed substantial moderation effects of cognitive reappraisal and suppression on the relationship between COVID-19 stress and mental distress. Cognitive reappraisal served as a buffer (p = 0.001) and suppression (p = 0.002) exacerbated the relation between COVID-19 stress and mental distress. Men had higher scores of suppression (p < 0.001), and women had higher scores of cognitive reappraisal (p = 0.025). The buffering effect of cognitive reappraisal presented itself only in women (p < 0.001), while the exacerbation effect of suppression appeared only in men (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The current study suggests that COVID-19 pandemic-related stress is easier to deal with for those who have the tendency to cognitively reappraise. In contrast, suppression is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. The prevention of mental distress can be supported by guiding people about the importance of using healthy emotion regulation strategies, as well as helping them to become more aware of the way they interpret and regulate their emotions. Gender differences in emotion regulation suggest gender awareness, e.g., tailored programs for men and women.

Bringing Covid to College: Incoming First-Year College Students' Making Meaning of the Pandemic

As time passes from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, new cohorts of emerging adults transition to college, carrying with them experiences and effects of the pandemic on their lives and development. This study uses semi-structured interviews and reflexive thematic analysis to investigate how a cohort of 36 young people made narrative meaning of the pandemic in relation to their identities. Data were collected at the beginning of their first year at college and focused on their experiences of the pandemic, its impact on their lives, and the lessons they took away from it. Findings demonstrate that even amid deep and varied challenges, young people coped in nuanced ways and some built narratives of personal growth, development, new social identities, and maturing values. The study contributes to greater depth in understanding the impacts of the pandemic on young people as they develop into emerging adults.

COVID-19 Stressful Life Events and Chinese Adolescents' Mental Health: Examining Resilience, Peer Relationship, and Parenting as Moderators

The current study examines intrapersonal characteristics or factors (i.e., resilience), peer (i.e., quality of peer relationships), and family processes (i.e., parental involvement, critical comparison) as potential risk and protective factors for mental health of Chinese adolescents during COVID- 19 pandemic. A total of 504 seventh-grade students (52% boys) and their caregivers in Beijing, China completed an online survey in September 2020. Youth reported experiencing various COVID-19-related stressful life events (i.e., conflicts with parents, poor learning environment and efficiency, family financial pressure), and about 15% reported slightly elevated scores of mental health difficulties. Findings suggested personal resilience and quality of peer relationship predicted positive mental health (i.e., covitality or co-occurrence of positive psychological dispositions) and less mental health difficulties. Parent's critical comparison intensified the negative link between stressful life events and youth mental health. Implications for promoting youth mental health as schools reopen are discussed.

The relationship between mindfulness and mental health among Chinese college students during the closed-loop management of the COVID-19 pandemic: A moderated mediation model

To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic on campus, universities in outbreak areas in China can implement closed-loop management.

OBJECTS

This study aimed to explore the relationship between mindfulness and mental health of college students under closed-loop management.

MEASURES

11,939 college students from a university in Changsha, China participated in the online survey during the closed-loop management period. The Chinese version of Perceived Stress Scale, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Cognitive Reappraisal, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, the 7-item General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire were administered to the college students.

RESULTS

We found that mindfulness was negative association with mental health during the closed-loop management period. Perceived stress mediated the relationship between mindfulness and mental health. Cognitive reappraisal moderated the relationship between mindfulness and perceived stress. Specifically, when the level of mindfulness is the same, individuals with more cognitive reappraisal tend to experience a less perceived stress.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study are of great significance to improve the mental health of college students during closed-loop management period.

Cognitive mechanisms and resilience in UK-based general practitioners: cross-sectional findings

BACKGROUND

Being a general practitioner (GP) is a stressful occupation, and the strain GPs are under can have negative effects on their psychological well-being, as well as on the patients' experience of healthcare. Resilience can help buffer against this and is a dynamic process by which one can cope with adversity and stress.

AIMS

This study aimed to identify modifiable cognitive mechanisms related to resilience in GPs, specifically interpretation bias and cognitive reappraisal.

METHODS

One hundred and fourteen GPs completed an online cross-sectional correlational study. This comprised questionnaires assessing resilience, emotional distress, work environment and cognitive mechanisms (emotion regulation), as well as a task assessing interpretation bias.

RESULTS

Resilience of GPs was negatively correlated with measures of emotional distress. Furthermore, resilience was positively correlated with positive interpretation bias (r = 0.60, ρ = 0.60, P < 0.01) and cognitive reappraisal (r = 0.39, ρ = 0.40, P < 0.01). In a hierarchical regression, positive interpretation bias (B = 0.25, SE B = 0.06, β = 0.39, P < 0.01) was a significant independent predictor of resilience when controlling for depression, anxiety and stress.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to establish an association between resilience and positive interpretation bias and cognitive reappraisal in GPs. Future research should use longitudinal designs to determine if they have a causal role in promoting resilience, and importantly whether interventions focusing on these processes may foster resilience in less resilient GPs.

Adolescent mental health during covid-19 pandemics: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had wide-ranging outcomes on adolescents' well-being. However, less attention has been paid to the adolescent's mental health during the pandemic. The pandemic may impair adolescents' mental health through stress spillover from other family members, contextual and policy changes, and the disruption of everyday life routines. Therefore, our research is motivated by a need to address the relative scarcity of research examining adolescent mental health during the pandemic.

CONTENT

This systematic review was conducted through the medical database, Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases for peer-reviewed, cross-sectional, cohort studies assessing the mental health status of adolescents during the Covid-19 virus pandemic from May 2020 till Dec 2022 without language restriction. Keywords were selected based on the Mesh terms and Emtree.

SUMMARY

Studies on coronavirus have revealed many significant psychological effects on teens of all ages. The most commom problems were on the stress and anxiety, sleep disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder. Risk factors were concidered as prior mental health problem, female sexuality, fear of covid-19, nutrition, physical activity and listening the covid 19 news.

OUTLOOK

Considering the critical age of teenagers, the role of parents is vital. Health policy maker should support parents as a key factors to approprate care for adolescent. Parents should be educated on parenting methods during the covid pandemic to avoid irreparable damage of adolescent's mental health.

Stress and depressive symptoms in university students in Hong Kong under the pandemic: Moderating effect of positive psychological attributes

Introduction

There are very few studies examining the psychological well-being of university students in Hong Kong under the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides COVID-19-related stress, the "social event" in 2019-2020 has caused significant stress in young people. As such, we attempted to answer several research questions in this paper. First, what are the relationships between stresses (COVID-19 and "social event" related stresses) and psychological well-being indexed by depressive symptoms? Based on the stress and coping perspective, we predicted that there would be positive relationships between both types of stress and depression. Second, what are the relationships between different positive psychological factors (including life satisfaction, resilience and emotional management, flourishing, and beliefs about adversity) and depression? Based on different theoretical models of positive psychology, we hypothesized that negative relationships would exist between positive psychological factors and depressive symptoms. Third, do positive psychological attributes moderate the associations between stresses (COVID-19 and "social event" related stresses) and depressive symptoms? Based on the positive psychology literature, we hypothesized that positive psychological attributes would buffer the negative impact of stresses on depression.

Methods

We recruited university students roughly one year after the first wave of the pandemic (N = 1,648) in early 2021. We used 25 items to measure COVID-19-related stress and "social event" related stress. For psychological well-being indexed by depressive symptoms, we used the "Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESD-R)". For positive psychological attributes, we employed established measures of life satisfaction, resilience and emotional management, flourishing, and beliefs about adversity.

Results

Regarding the relationship between stress and depression, we found positive relationships between both types of stress and depressive symptoms. As predicted, negative relationships existed between all positive psychological attributes and depressive symptoms. Besides, the positive psychological attributes significantly moderated the effects of stresses on depression, suggesting that these factors can reduce the negative impacts of stresses on depression. The present findings provide support for those models, highlighting the importance of positive psychological attributes as protective factors for university students' depression.

Discussion

The findings of this study underscore the important role of positive psychological attributes in the stress-depression relationship in university students under the pandemic. The findings also generalize the positive youth development theory in the Chinese context. In terms of practice, university administrators and service providers should consider cultivating positive psychological attributes in university students with the purpose of promoting their psychological well-being.

Psychological Resilience: An Affect-Regulation Framework

Exposure to adversity (e.g., poverty, bereavement) is a robust predictor of disruptions in psychological functioning. However, people vary greatly in their responses to adversity; some experience severe long-term disruptions, others experience minimal disruptions or even improvements. We refer to the latter outcomes-faring better than expected given adversity-as psychological resilience. Understanding what processes explain resilience has critical theoretical and practical implications. Yet, psychology's understanding of resilience is incomplete, for two reasons: (a) We lack conceptual clarity, and (b) two major approaches to resilience-the stress and coping approach and the emotion and emotion-regulation approach-have limitations and are relatively isolated from one another. To address these two obstacles,we first discuss conceptual questions about resilience. Next, we offer an integrative affect-regulation framework that capitalizes on complementary strengths of both approaches. This framework advances our understanding of resilience by integrating existing findings, highlighting gaps in knowledge, and guiding future research.

Predictors of Adolescent Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Community Sample of Hispanic and Latinx Youth: Expressive Suppression and Social Support

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruptions in the daily lives and mental health of adolescents. Less attention has been given to the psychosocial resources that may mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent mental health, particularly among minoritized populations. In the present study, 259 youth (aged 11-18) were recruited from a community center for integrated prevention and intervention services in a predominantly Latinx and Hispanic community. Youth completed questionnaires about the impact COVID-19 has had on their lives, psychosocial resources (humor, optimism, emotion regulation, social support), and psychiatric symptoms (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, sleep disturbances, aggression). After accounting for age, sex, and exposure to early life adversity, higher reported COVID-19 impact was associated with more depressive symptoms, b = 6.37 (SE = 1.67), 95% CI [3.08, 9.66], p < 0.001, more anxiety symptoms, b = 9.97 (SE = 1.63), 95% CI [6.75, 13.18], p < 0.001, and more sleep disturbances, b = 1.24 (SE = 0.34), 95% CI [0.57, 1.91], p < 0.001. Youth that reported infrequent expressive suppression and the lowest scores on giving social support were at the greatest risk for aggressive behavior in the context of high COVID-19 impact, ps < 0.007. Increasing emotion regulation skills, such as expressive suppression, and opportunities to give social support may promote resilience among high risk youth in the context of this ongoing community stressor.

Investigating measurement invariance of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-8 (ERQ-8) across 29 countries

The widely used Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) measures the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Recently, a more economical 8-item version of the ERQ was proposed that showed good model fit. We assessed whether the latent constructs of the ERQ-8 are generalizable across different countries and cultures. To this end, we used data from the COVIDiSTRESS survey and investigated measurement invariance of the ERQ-8 in a large sample that included 11,288 individuals from 29 countries with diverse cultural backgrounds. Our analyses revealed configural and metric invariance of the ERQ-8 in 14 countries. The results suggest that emotion regulation strategies may not readily converge across all cultures. This underscores the importance of testing measurement invariance before interpreting observed differences and similarities between countries.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-04220-6.

Sense of Coherence and Self-Rated Aggression of Adolescents during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, with a Focus on the Effects of Animal Assisted Activities

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused extreme deviations from everyday life. The aim of this study was to investigate how these deviations affected adolescents' sense of coherence and their level of aggression, and whether this was influenced by their relationship with animals, especially horses. In two random samples of students from vocational schools in Hungary, taken in June 2018 and June 2020 (n1 = 525, n2 = 412), separate groups were drawn from those who had regularly engaged in equine-assisted activities (ES) and those who had not (OS) before the pandemic. Data were collected using an anonymous, paper-based questionnaire, and during the pandemic an online version of the Sense of Coherence (SOC13) and Bryant-Smith (B12) scales. During the pandemic, boys' sense of coherence weakened and their aggressiveness increased. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that, regardless of gender and age group, increased time spent using the internet (p < 0.001), a lack of classmates (p = 0.017), reduced time spent outdoors (p = 0.026) and reduced physical activity (p < 0.038) during the pandemic significantly increased the tendency for aggressive behavior, whereas being with a horse or pet was beneficial (p < 0.001). The changes imposed by the curfew were rated as bad by 90% of the pupils, however, those with a strong sense of coherence felt less negatively about them. Schools should place a great emphasis on strengthening the students' sense of coherence.

Role of emotion regulation capacities in affective state among Chinese high school students in the post-pandemic era of COVID-19

Objective

Psychological wellbeing and emotion regulation skills of vulnerable adolescents have been severely threatened by the long-term impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to seek out the potentially effective emotion regulation strategies to minimize the mental health risk of adolescents during the COVID-19 post-pandemic era.

Methods

A total of 436 high school students aged 16.07 ± 1.08 years were included in this cross-sectional study to complete questionnaires to self-report socio-demographic information, positive and negative affect state, and emotional regulation abilities. Student's t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for intergroup comparisons among socio-demographic variables. Pearson's correlation analysis was used for evaluating the association between each emotion regulation strategy and positivity or negativity. Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis was used for the determination of the predictors for adolescents' positivity and negativity.

Results

Adolescents' affect was influenced by multiple emotion regulation strategies, including cognitive reappraisal, acceptance and engagement, difficulty in awareness, acceptance, and modification of emotions after adjusting for a range of socio-demographic variables.

Conclusion

Overall, our findings highlight the importance of emotional regulation strategies in the modulation of the mental health of the vulnerable youth population in China during the COVID-19 crisis. In view of the continuous, multifaceted influence on adolescents' mental health of the ongoing pandemic, more effort should be made to leverage emotion regulation strategies to benefit their coping abilities.

Burnout, psychopathology and purpose in life in healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in the workload of healthcare workers that, together with the risks associated with exposure to this new virus, has affected their mental health.

Objectives

The objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence of psychopathology and burnout syndrome in healthcare workers and the predictive role of purpose in life and moral courage in this relationship.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out in 115 Spanish healthcare workers.

Results

Participants with burnout had higher anxiety (p = 0.001), depression (p < 0.001), post-traumatic stress (p = 0.01) and alcohol consumption (p = 0.03) levels. The different components of burnout (emotional fatigue and despersonalization) were associated with the occurrence of anxiety (OR = 0.31) and depression (OR = 0.26), respectively. A strong purpose in life decreased emotional fatigue (OR = -0.39) depersonalization (OR = -0.23) scores, increased personal accomplishment (OR = 0.52), subsequently reducing burnout levels (OR = -0.45).

Conclusions

Purpose in life was most strongly related to decreased levels of burnout. Furthermore, an association between anxiety, depression and the components of burnout was found.

Adolescent social emotional skills, resilience and behavioral problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study in three European countries

Objectives

The consequences of long-lasting restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have become a topical question in the latest research. The present study aims to analyze longitudinal changes in adolescents' social emotional skills, resilience, and behavioral problems. Moreover, the study addresses the impact of adolescents' social emotional learning on changes in their resilience and behavioral problems over the course of seven months of the pandemic.

Methods

The Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2) measuring points were in October 2020 and May 2021, characterized by high mortality rates and strict restrictions in Europe. For all three countries combined, 512 questionnaires were answered by both adolescents (aged 11-13 and 14-16 years) and their parents. The SSIS-SEL and SDQ student self-report and parent forms were used to evaluate adolescents' social emotional skills and behavioral problems. The CD-RISC-10 scale was administered to adolescents to measure their self-reported resilience. Several multilevel models were fitted to investigate the changes in adolescents' social emotional skills, resilience, and behavioral problems, controlling for age and gender. Correlation analysis was carried out to investigate how changes in the adolescents' social emotional skills were associated with changes in their resilience and mental health adjustment.

Results

Comparing T1 and T2 evaluations, adolescents claim they have more behavioral problems, have less social emotional skills, and are less prosocial than perceived by their parents, and this result applies across all countries and age groups. Both informants agree that COVID-19 had a negative impact, reporting an increment in the mean internalizing and externalizing difficulties scores and reductions in social emotional skills, prosocial behavior, and resilience scores. However, these changes are not very conspicuous, and most of them are not significant. Correlation analysis shows that changes in adolescents' social emotional skills are negatively and significantly related to changes in internalized and externalized problems and positively and significantly related to changes in prosocial behavior and resilience. This implies that adolescents who experienced larger development in social emotional learning also experienced more increase in resilience and prosocial behavior and a decrease in difficulties.

Conclusion

Due to its longitudinal design, sample size, and multi-informant approach, this study adds to a deeper understanding of the pandemic's consequences on adolescents' mental health.

Need Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms Among University Students in Hong Kong During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Moderating Effects of Positive Youth Development Attributes

As studies on the mental health status of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic are almost non-existent in Hong Kong, we examined four research questions in this paper: What is the prevalence of depressive symptoms in university students in Hong Kong? What are the socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptoms? Do need satisfaction and positive youth development (PYD) attributes, including beliefs about adversity, psychosocial competence (resilience and emotional competence) and family functioning predict depression? Do PYD attributes moderate the predictive effect of need satisfaction on depression? We examined the above research questions using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESD-R) in 1,648 university students in Hong Kong. For PYD attributes, we utilized validated measures of Chinese beliefs about adversity, psychosocial competence (resilience and emotional competence), and family functioning. For need satisfaction, we used a measure derived from two focus group interviews involving university students. Results showed that 48.4% of the respondents (95% confidence interval = [45.9%, 51.1%]) scored 16 or above (i.e., "at-risk" for clinical depression). As predicted, age, gender, student status (local vs. international), and family financial hardship were significant socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptoms. Besides, need satisfaction and PYD attributes negatively predicted depression scores. Finally, multiple regression analyses controlling for gender, age, and student status as covariates showed that all PYD attributes moderated the impact of need satisfaction on depression. The findings reinforce the theoretical proposition that PYD attributes serve as important factors in protecting the mental health of university students during the pandemic.

Stress-related psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced widespread societal changes that have required ongoing adaptation. Unsurprisingly, stress-related psychopathology has increased during the pandemic, in both children and adults. We review these patterns through the lens of several leading conceptual models of the link between stress and psychopathology. Some of these models focus on characteristics of environmental stressors-including cumulative risk, specific stressor types, and stress sensitization approaches. Understanding the specific aspects of environmental stressors that are most likely to lead to psychopathology can shed light on who may be in most need of clinical intervention. Other models center on factors that can buffer against the onset of psychopathology following stress and the mechanisms through which stressors contribute to emergent psychopathology. These models highlight specific psychosocial processes that may be most usefully targeted by interventions to reduce stress-related psychopathology. We review evidence for each of these stress models in the context of other widescale community-level disruptions, like natural disasters and terrorist attacks, alongside emerging evidence for these stress pathways from the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss clinical implications for developing interventions to reduce stress-related psychopathology during the pandemic, with a focus on brief, digital interventions that may be more accessible than traditional clinical services.

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.

Conceptualizing Emotion Regulation and Coregulation as Family-Level Phenomena

The ability to regulate one's emotions is foundational for healthy development and functioning in a multitude of domains, whereas difficulties in emotional regulation are recognized as a risk factor for a range of adverse outcomes in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Caregivers play a key role in cultivating the development of emotion regulation through coregulation, or the processes by which they provide external support or scaffolding as children navigate their emotional experiences. The vast majority of research to date has examined coregulation in the context of caregiver-child dyads. In this paper, we consider emotion regulation and coregulation as family-level processes that unfold within and across multiple family subsystems and explore how triadic and whole family interactions may contribute to the development of children's emotion regulation skills. Furthermore, we will examine the implications of a family-centered perspective on emotion regulation for prevention of and intervention for childhood emotional and behavioral disorders. Because emotion regulation skills undergo such dramatic maturation during children's first several years of life, much of our focus will be on coregulation within and across the family system during early childhood; however, as many prevention and intervention approaches are geared toward school-aged children and adolescents, we will also devote some attention to later developmental periods.

Adolescent sleep - lessons from COVID-19

Sleep in adolescents was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We present a commentary on a range of articles exploring COVID-19's impact on sleep in teenagers, exploring the variety of effects internationally, interactions with sleep biology and the environment, mental health, online learning and Long COVID. We conclude with vicious and virtuous flowers suggesting ways to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on adolescent sleep.