Personality and perceived stress during COVID-19 pandemic: Testing the mediating role of perceived threat and efficacy

Synergy between psychological impact and biochemical manifestation of stress among the COVID-19 pandemic-affected population

Objective

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the world experienced an unprecedented increase in stress in the general population. Even after normal life has been reestablished, the new normal is punctuated by severely impacted vulnerable groups. Stress-associated symptoms display an intricate relationship with biochemical modulations, which coordinate the stress response. Identifying these biochemical factors is inherent to deciphering the mode of treatment needed to diminish the health-care gap resulting from the pandemic.

Methods

We applied psychological measures using the perceived stress (PS) and COVID-19 anxiety (CA) scales and preventive health behavior (PHB) to evaluate stress in the general population. Biochemical markers of stress, that is, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), cortisol, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were tested in the serum samples of the participants. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 22.0.

Results

Stress scores for PS, CA, and PHB indicate the prevalence of moderate-to-high stress among participants, and a correlation between psychological stress and biochemical correlates, TAC, TBARS, cortisol, and CRP. Serum concentrations of TBARS, Cortisol, and CRP were found to be significantly increased, while the TAC was decreased across all stress types and levels. Our findings demonstrate a positive correlation between PS, CA, PHB TBARS, cortisol, and CRP and a strong negative correlation with TAC.

Conclusion

The results of this study will help in tailoring targeted interventions and preventive regimes to mitigate COVID-19-associated anxiety and stress disorders prevailing even after the actual pandemic has subsided.

Examining the Mediating Role of Resilience and Life Satisfaction in the Relationship Between Anxiety Sensitivity and Perceived Stress

This study examines the mediation role of life satisfaction and resilience variables in the relationships between anxiety sensitivity and perceived stress. The data was collected with the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, Life Satisfaction Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Brief Psychological Resilience Scale from 347 university students (Mage = 23.15, SD = 5.15; 70% girls, 30% boys). The analyses were examined by structural equation modeling using AMOS 24. The findings suggest that students with high anxiety sensitivity and perceived stress have low resilience and life satisfaction levels. More importantly, resilience and life satisfaction were found to have partial mediation. As a result, it is seen that anxiety sensitivity has a significant effect on reducing perceived stress by increasing students' resilience and life satisfaction. Therefore, this situation facilitates decreased anxiety levels, greater satisfaction with life, and more robust mental health.

Psychological Factors Associated with General Quality of Life in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study on a Multicultural Sample of Romanian Medical Students

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the general quality of life (GQOL) of a large number of individuals, including those in the academic environment. This study investigated GQOL in a sample of 613 Romanian medicine students (81.57% were female; mean age = 21.40 ± 1.749 years) in relation to their Big Five personality characteristics, Perceived Stress and Fear of COVID-19. The study was conducted between June 2020 and March 2022. These variables were investigated with the Big Five Inventory-2: Extra-Short Form, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), the Perceived Stress Scale-10 and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Statistical analysis included hierarchical linear regression and t-tests. The results indicated a significant direct relationship between GQOL and the personality traits of Conscientiousness, Extraversion and Agreeableness. However, a significant inverse relationship was observed between GQOL and Perceived Stress and Neuroticism. Fear of COVID-19 was significantly higher in women, while no other socio-demographic variables were associated with GQOL. A total of 61.7% of the studied population returned to their original residency during the pandemic years. These results could be important for better understanding the vulnerability to significant epidemiological events in academic populations and for planning adequate preventive or interventional measures.

Daily implementation of health-protective behaviors and family life during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated the use of health-protective behaviors (HPB), such as social distancing, staying at home, frequent handwashing, and wearing facemasks to mitigate the transmission of disease. An investigation of interpersonal costs associated with the use of HPB can help inform strategies to promote their sustained implementation. This study examined the daily associations between the implementation of HPB and family functioning and assessed moderation by coparenting quality, economic strain, and the number of days that state-level stay-at-home policies had been in effect, during the early days of the pandemic. Mothers and fathers from 155 families with children who were 9 years old, on average, completed daily reports of HPB, parental stress, and family relationship quality over eight consecutive days in April or May of 2020. Hierarchal linear models showed that HPB was associated with increased levels of parental stress and interparental conflict. Negative coparenting relations exacerbated the next-day association between HPB and interparental conflict. HPB was also associated with increased levels of parent-child and interparental closeness, but these linkages dissipated for families who had spent more days under state-level stay-at-home policies. Although crucial for public health, the implementation of HPB may have detrimental short-term effects on daily family life. Family support and interventions are necessary to minimize the psychosocial burden of these important public health measures and increase their sustained adherence.

Personality Trait Change Across a Major Global Stressor

The current research examined three related questions in a 21-month longitudinal study of a diverse sample of U.S. participants (N = 504): (a) How did Big Five traits change during the COVID-19 pandemic? (b) What factors were associated with individual differences in trait change? and (c) How was Big Five trait change associated with downstream well-being, mental health, and physical health? On average, across the 21-month study period, conscientiousness increased slightly, and extraversion decreased slightly. Individual trajectories varied around these average trajectories, and although few factors predicted these individual differences, greater increases in conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness, and greater decreases in neuroticism were associated better well-being and fewer mental and physical health symptoms. The present research provides evidence that traits can change in the context of a major global stressor and that socially desirable patterns of trait change are associated with better health.

The Relation of Big Five Personality Traits on Academic Performance, Well-Being and Home Study Satisfaction in Corona Times

INTRODUCTION

As a result of the protective measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, German students experienced home study in the spring of 2020. The present study addressed the relation between coping with the home study situation and personality.

METHODS

The interrelations of the Big Five factors with students' well-being, study satisfaction and academic performance were examined in 287 German online participants.

RESULTS

The results showed significant positive correlations of positive affect and conscientiousness, as well as of better academic performance and academic satisfaction. For extraversion, a positive supporting effect on the affective level emerged, although previous studies suggested negative influences of extraversion on affect in home study settings in other phases of the pandemic. Furthermore, in contrast, neuroticism showed a negative relation to study satisfaction and mood in home study.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the personalities of students should be considered in order to provide protective measures and avoid negative coping effects.

Long-term impact of resilience and extraversion on psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal investigation among individuals with and without mental health disorders

Background

Over the past years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions in daily routines. Although the pandemic has affected almost everyone, it has been particularly challenging for people with pre-existing mental health conditions. Therefore, this study investigated the long-term impact of resilience and extraversion on psychological distress in individuals diagnosed with mental health disorders (MHD) compared to the general population. In addition, possible gender-specific differences were investigated.

Methods

123 patients with pre-existing MHD and 343 control subjects from Austria and Italy participated in three online surveys that had been conducted after the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (t0), during the second lockdown in both countries (t1), and one year thereafter (t2). Participants completed standardized questionnaires on psychological distress (Brief-Symptom-Checklist), resilience (Resilience Scale), and extraversion (Big Five Inventory). A mediation model was employed to test the primary hypothesis. Possible gender-specific differences were analyzed using a moderated mediation model.

Results

The prevalence of psychological distress was consistently higher in patients compared to controls (t0: 37.3% vs. 13.2%, t1: 38.2% vs 11.7%, t2: 37.4% vs. 13.1%). This between-group difference in psychological distress at the first follow-up was fully mediated by baseline resilience scores (65.4% of the total effect). During the second-follow up, extraversion accounted for 18% of the total effect, whereas resilience slightly decreased to 56% of the total effect. Gender was not a significant moderator in the model.

Conclusion

Next to showing that people with MHD were particularly affected by the pandemic, these findings indicate that higher degrees of resilience and extraversion are related to less long-term psychological distress. Our findings stress the relevance of strengthening resilience and extraversion and to provide mental health support in times of crises, both to patients with MHD and the general population.

The Effect of COVID-19 on Middle-Aged Adults' Mental Health: A Mixed-Method Case-Control Study on the Moderating Effect of Cognitive Reserve

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the vulnerability of adults to mental health effects, and the study of protective factors has become crucial. Cognitive reserve (CR) is a well-known protective factor against cognitive decline and several health factors; however, its protective effect on mental health during the pandemic has been rarely addressed. Thus, this study explored, through a mixed-method design, the effect of CR on perceived distress and PTSD-like symptoms in middle-aged participants who have survived severe COVID-19 and a matched control group. A total of 432 participants filled out self-report measures of CR, PTSD, depression, and anxiety, and were also asked to provide narration about their COVID-19-related experience. COVID-19 significantly affected the chances of reporting different mental health symptoms; levels of CR played a protective role in reducing their severity. Moreover, adults with higher CR seemed to be more realistic, focusing less on positive emotions, and elaborating more on the sense of anxiety when describing their experience: this might be an indication of a lower use of suppression to regulate emotions. Practical implications of these findings and future directions have been also discussed.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of neuroticism and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

In response to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about mental health, particularly anxiety levels, have become prominent. This study aims to explore the relationship between neuroticism, a personality trait associated with emotional instability, and anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the Cochrane Library, HINARI, Google Scholar, and PUBMED, resulting in the identification of 26 relevant papers. The study protocol has been registered with PROSPERO under the number CRD42023452418. Thorough meta-analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis V4 software.

Results

Meta-analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between anxiety and neuroticism, with 26 studies supporting this association (OR = 3.213, 95% CI 2.352 to 4.391). The findings underscore the importance of considering personality traits, particularly neuroticism, in understanding psychological responses to major global crises such as the COVID-19 epidemic.

Discussion

The observed connection between neuroticism and heightened anxiety levels emphasizes the need for targeted interventions, especially for individuals with high levels of neuroticism. Further research into potential therapeutic approaches for mitigating anxiety consequences in the context of a significant global catastrophe is warranted.

Systematic Review Registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#CRD42023452418.

Communication Modalities, Personality Traits, and Change in Perceived Control Over Social Life Following Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Older Americans

We examined associations between change in social contact communication modalities and change in perceived control over social life (PCOSL) following onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among older Americans and evaluated the extent to which associations were moderated by personality. Data were from the 2016 and 2020 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Multivariate ordinary least squares regression analyses were computed adjusting for baseline PCOSL, sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial factors. Multiple moderation analyses revealed that extraversion moderated the association between change in social media communication and change in PCOSL before to during COVID-19. As levels of engagement in social media communication increased, those with high extraversion experienced increases in PCOSL, whereas those with low extraversion experienced decreases in PCOSL. Findings suggest that social interventions targeting perceived control and communication modality may be useful for older adults during global health events and that personality characteristics can help to inform intervention choices.

Association Between Negative Affect and Perceived Mortality Threat During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Brain Activity and Connectivity

The prevalence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been considered a major threat to physical and mental health around the world, causing great pressure and mortality threat to most people. The current study aimed to investigate the neurological markers underlying the relationship between perceived mortality threat (PMT) and negative affect (NA). We examined whether the regional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) before the COVID-19 outbreak (October 2019 to December 2019, wave 1) were predictive for NA and PMT during the mid-term of the COVID-19 pandemic (February 22 to 28, 2020, wave 2) among 603 young adults (age range 17-22, 70.8% females). Results indicated that PMT was associated with spontaneous activity in several regions (e.g., inferior temporal gyrus, medial occipital gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, angular gyrus, and cerebellum) and their RSFC with the distributed regions of the default mode network and cognitive control network. Furthermore, longitudinal mediation models showed that ALFF in the cerebellum, medial occipital gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, and angular gyrus (wave 1) predicted PMT (wave 2) through NA (wave 2). These findings revealed functional neural markers of PMT and suggest candidate mechanisms for explaining the complex relationship between NA and mental/neural processing related to PMT in the circumstance of a major crisis.

Autistic traits predict social avoidance and distress: The chain mediating role of perceived stress and interpersonal alienation

Social avoidance and distress are the primary aspects of social anxiety. Nonautistic people with high levels of autistic traits are more likely to exhibit social avoidance and distress. However, research has yet to reveal how autistic traits induce social avoidance and distress. To fill this gap, the present study recruited 708 participants to complete the 25-item Autism Spectrum Quotient, Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Chinese Perceived Stress Scale, and Interpersonal Alienation Subscale. The results indicated that autistic traits significantly predicted social avoidance and distress in nonautistic people. In addition, autistic traits induced social avoidance and distress through perceived stress and interpersonal alienation, respectively. Importantly, perceived stress and interpersonal alienation (including the subdimensions of interpersonal alienation: sense of loneliness, sense of social isolation, and alienation between family members) partially mediated the relationships between autistic traits and social avoidance and distress. Overall, autistic traits predict social avoidance and distress via perceived stress and interpersonal alienation. This finding extends the hypothetical model of clinical anxiety in autism spectrum disorders. Furthermore, reducing perceived stress and interpersonal alienation in nonautistic people with high levels of autistic traits may be a valid intervention method to prevent and eliminate their social avoidance and distress.

Examining the role of perceived stress on learning satisfaction under the influence of academic burnout in the post-COVID world

BACKGROUND

In the last two years, due to the impact of COVID-19, students were forced to continue their education online because the government imposed restrictions to limit the spread of the virus. However, with the resumption of offline classes, the students seem to be suffering more from stress and isolation as they must face the challenges of the real world, which are quite different from the virtual one to which they have become accustomed. In this study, the effect of stress on students leading to their academic burnout and the influence of burnout on their learning satisfaction was studied.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The data were collected from 343 students of final year postgraduation courses in business management studies in India. The collected data were subject to analysis using PLS-SEM through SmartPLS 4.0 software.

RESULT

The results of the study state that the perceived stress significantly increases cynicism, and exhaustion with a coefficient value of 0.481 each and decreases self-efficacy with - 0.03. Additionally, exhaustion acts as a mediator that decreases the effect of perceived stress over learning satisfaction with a positive indirect effect of 0.176.

CONCLUSION

The study concludes that not all types of stress are bad for students; hence, increasing perceived stress leads to increased learning satisfaction. Whereas, in the presence of burnout factors, such as exhaustion and cynicism, learning satisfaction decrease. However, self-inefficacy, one of the factors under burnout, doesn't show any effect on learning satisfaction. The present study is widely applicable to industry and academia to deal with burnout to improve students learning satisfaction.

Serially mediated effects of psychological inflexibility on quality of life of refugees in Uganda during coronavirus pandemic

The unexpected outbreak and rapid spread of COVID-19 necessitated radical and stringent control measures, consequently changing how people live globally. To vulnerable populations like refugees, who were already living a disrupted life, the outbreak of COVID-19 and accompanying control measures complicated their living conditions and drastically affected their mental health and, consequently, their quality of life. The current study aimed to test whether psychological inflexibility was a factor in lowering the quality of life of refugees in Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study further examines whether the effects of psychological inflexibility on quality of life were serially mediated by avoidance coping, perceived threat, adherence to COVID-19 control measures, and general mental health states. The study was conducted among refugees living in Kampala city suburbs and Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda. Data was collected using a survey questionnaire during the partial reopening of the economy in mid-2020, after the first lockdown. The analysis assesses a serial mediation model of the effects of psychological inflexibility on the quality of life of refugees through avoidance coping, perceived threat, adherence to COVID-19 control measures, and mental health using PROCESS Macro. The study involved 353 participants. Our analyses revealed that psychological inflexibility was negatively associated with the perceived threat, adherence, and quality of life. Psychological inflexibility was positively associated with avoidance coping and poor mental health. The data supported all hypothesized mediation paths. These findings support literature suggesting that psychological inflexibility is a maladaptive attribute that thwarts positive coping and behavior adjustment in times of crisis. Consequently, psychological inflexibility can worsen mental health problems and quality of life, especially in populations such as refugees in low-income countries who live in precarious conditions. Incorporating interventions that reduce psychological inflexibility in crisis management efforts can help refugees maintain good psychological functioning and quality of life.

The role of employee assistance programs under COVID-19-induced work-family conflict: Effects on service employees' work engagement and burnout

The COVID-19 pandemic places substantial stress on service employees' work and home lives. Little research has explored the negative effects of perceived stress from COVID-19 on work and home domains in terms of employees' attitudes toward work. We adopt a job demands-resources perspective to examine how perceived stress from COVID-19 affects employees' work (i.e., work engagement and burnout) and home life (i.e., work-family conflict and family-work conflict). In particular, we address whether organizational employee assistance programs can buffer these negative effects. We sampled service employees (n = 248), and results show that perceived stress from COVID-19 increases work engagement and burnout through work-family conflict and family-work conflict. Furthermore, employee assistance programs mean that employees are less likely to experience work-family conflict and family-work conflict when faced with perceived stress from COVID-19. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and propose directions for future research.

Longitudinal associations of chronic health stress and COVID-19-related anxiety among outpatients with anxiety and mood disorders

BACKGROUND

The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to elevated levels of psychological distress on a global scale. Given that individuals with pre-existing physical conditions are at risk for worse COVID-19 outcomes, those dealing with the stress of physical health problems (including knowing someone with health problems) may experience more severe distress during the pandemic.

METHODS

Patients with emotional disorders who completed a diagnostic assessment in the 6 months prior to COVID-19 were surveyed in May-June 2020 on their emotional reactions to COVID-19 (N = 77).

RESULTS

Multiple linear regression was used to test the hypothesis that chronic stress due to having and knowing others with physical health problems would predict COVID-related worries and behaviours, holding pre-COVID levels of depression, anxiety and worry about health constant. Chronic stress surrounding the health of others was significantly associated with experiencing more severe COVID-related worry and behaviours. In comparison, chronic stress due to one's own health problems had weak and non-significant associations with COVID-related worries and behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicate that outpatients who report stress about surrounding loved one's health are at risk for experiencing more severe distress during a health pandemic and thus, may benefit from targeted outreach, assessment and intervention.

The impact of social support and emotion dysregulation on COVID-19 depressive symptoms

Introduction

Stress resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to psychological consequences, such as depressive symptoms, for individuals worldwide. Outbreaks and pandemics are known to accentuate stressors or generate new ones owing to health-related worries, reduced mobility, and social activity due to quarantine, and sudden life changes. Although post-lockdown U.S. research findings suggest a greater risk of depression among 18- to 25-year-olds, familiarity with technology and virtual socializing may offer college students some protective effect, warranting research with such groups.

Methods

The current study thus explored emotion dysregulation (ED) and perceived social support (PSS) as potential mechanisms for the relationship between COVID-19 stress and depressive symptoms among students at a southern university in the United States. Participants (N = 489) completed a cross-sectional survey assessing their current levels of COVID-19 stress, ED, PSS, and depressive symptoms.

Results

Path analysis showed that PSS buffered the effect of ED on depressive symptoms. The results support the explanatory role of ED in the relationship between COVID-19 stress and depressive symptoms.

Discussion

The perceived social connection may be an essential factor for psychological outcomes during periods of stress and isolation, particularly for those reporting high ED.

Predicting attitudes toward mitigation interventions and social distancing behaviors at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Aim

The goal of this research was to assess the influence of adult attachment, personality, and cultural orientation on social distancing and attitudes toward COVID-19 mitigation interventions.

Methods

Survey data was collected across two samples (NMTurk = 201, Nsnowball = 242) in the US from April 29 to May 11, 2020. Adult attachment was assessed via the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Short Form (ECR-S; Wei, M., Russell, D. W., Mallinckrodt, B., & Vogel, D. L. (2007). The experiences in close relationship scale (ECR)-short form: Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 88(2), 187-204), personality was assessed via the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI; Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann, W. B. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504-528), cultural orientation was assessed via the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism Scale (Triandis, H. C., & Galfand, M. J. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118-128), and social distancing and attitudes toward mitigation interventions were assessed via self-report measures developed for this assessment.

Results

In the MTurk sample, agreeableness (β = .19) and conscientiousness (β = .26) predicted positive mitigation intervention attitudes. Agreeableness (β = .24) and vertical collectivism (β = .25) positively predicted social distancing, while attachment anxiety (β = -.32) and vertical individualism (β = -.32) negatively predicted social distancing. In our snowball sample, residing primarily in New York, openness (β = .18) and horizontal collectivism (β = .16) predicted positive intervention attitudes, while horizontal individualism (β = -.20) predicted negative attitudes. Social contact in this sample was low and not associated with predictor variables. In both samples, mitigation attitudes and social distancing were only moderately correlated.

Implications

Our findings highlight the inherent inconsistency between attitudes and behaviors as well as the potential impact of mandated interventions on both attitudes and behavior.

A multifactorial framework of psychobehavioral determinants of coping behaviors: an online survey at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic

Coronavirus disease 2019 dramatically changed people's behavior because of the need to adhere to infection prevention and to overcome general adversity resulting from the implementation of infection prevention measures. However, coping behavior has not been fully distinguished from risk perception, and a comprehensive picture of demographic, risk-perception, and psychobehavioral factors that influence the major coping-behavior factors remain to be elucidated. In this study, we recruited 2,885 Japanese participants. Major coping-behavior and risk-perception factors were identified via exploratory factor analysis of 50 candidate items. Then, we conducted a hierarchical multiple regression analysis to investigate factors associated with each coping-behavior factor. We identified four types of coping behavior [CB1 (mask-wearing), CB2 (information-seeking), CB3 (resistance to social stagnation), and CB4 (infection-prevention)] and three risk-perception factors [RP1 (shortages of daily necessities), RP2 (medical concerns), and RP3 (socioeconomic concerns)]. CB1 was positively associated with female sex and etiquette. CB2 was positively related to RP1 and RP3. CB3 was positively related to RP1 and leadership, and negatively associated with etiquette. CB4 was positively associated with female sex, etiquette, and active well-being. This parsimonious model may help to elucidate essential social dynamics and provide a theoretical framework for coping behavior during a pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic had polarizing effects on trait scores depending on a person's resilience and predispositions: A longitudinal prospective study

While Covid-19 is, first and foremost, a pernicious physical illness, its highly contagious nature has led to significant disruption in social life and psychological stress, occasionally resulting in dire mental health consequences that are still not fully understood. To address this issue, a prospective longitudinal design study was conducted by administering standard self-reporting questionnaires covering the NEO-five factor inventory (NEO-FFI), shyness, alexithymia, autism quotient, anxiety, depression, and sensory processing sensitivity (SPS). A total of 114 participants (of which 71.93% were females) with an average age of 30.29 (standard deviation = 11.04) completed the survey before and a few months after the pandemic. Results revealed the distribution of population scores to become more extreme in either positive or negative trait directions despite the stability of average trait scores across the population. Higher resilience was found to be positively correlated with improved trait scores post-pandemic but corona anxiety score was not correlated with trait score changes. In addition, in the subjects with moderate negative trait scores, agreeableness and autism scores and in subjects with high negative trait scores, openness, SPS and shyness scores were significantly correlated with trait scores changes post-pandemic. These results reveal the nuanced effects of the pandemic on the people's psychological well-being and highlight vulnerabilities for certain groups despite the overall stability of population that needs to be taken into account for mental health policies going forward.

Feeling lonely during the pandemic: Towards personality-tailored risk profiles

This is the first study to disentangle associations of within- and between-person fluctuations in loneliness and their effect on evening mood during a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19. To contribute to the development of personality-tailored risk profiles, we additionally explored the moderating role of trait neuroticism and extraversion on the association of within- and between-person loneliness and mood. We employed an ambulatory assessment design during 21 days of nationwide lockdown in Germany (13/04/2020-03/05/2020) with two interval-based assessments. The final sample comprised 322 participants (74.5% women) aged between 15 and 82 years (M = 30.7, SD = 14.9) providing 6,084 evening assessments. Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the effects of within- and between-person fluctuations in loneliness on evening mood while controlling for unspecific effects of time, sex, and age. Moderation analysis was used to investigate the influence of neuroticism and extraversion on the relation between loneliness and mood, respectively. Results indicate that especially higher between-person loneliness (i.e. participants felt lonelier compared to the average participant) but also higher within-person loneliness (i.e. participants felt lonelier compared to their individual mean) were associated with a more unpleasant mood. Neuroticism augmented the effect of within-person loneliness, while extraversion seemed to buffer the effect of between-person loneliness on mood. Our findings underline the importance of carefully monitoring loneliness during COVID-19. The findings contribute towards the development of personality-tailored risk profiles (e.g. among newly arising risk groups for loneliness due to COVID-19). We discuss how the differential consideration of within- and between-psychological processes might help to elucidate currently mixed findings on psychological coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Mediator role of resilience in the relationship between neuroticism and psychological symptoms: COVID-19 Pandemic and supermarket employees

The current research aimed to examine the relationship between personality traits, resilience, and psychological symptom levels of front-line supermarket employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three-hundred and ten (310) supermarket employees participated in the research between March and May 2021. Participants filled out the questionnaire sets online The Demographic Information Form, Symptom Checklist, Five Factor Inventory and Resilience Scale for Adults were presented as questionnaire sets. Pearson Correlation Analyses were conducted to determine the relationships between variables, Multiple Regression and mediation analyses were conducted to discover the predictors of symptom level. It was found that personality traits, resilience and psychological symptom levels are related to each other. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness and resilience are significant predictors of psychological symptom level. In addition, resilience plays a mediating role in the relationship between neuroticism and psychological symptom levels. The findings were discussed within the framework of the relevant literature and COVID-19 research findings.

The implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) and environmental management system (EMS) practices and its impact on market competitiveness during COVID-19

Despite great academic interest in global green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, its effectiveness for environmental management systems (EMS) and market competitiveness during COVID-19 remains untapped. Existing literature suggests that a fundamental link between GSCM, EMS, and market competitiveness is missing, as supply management is critical to maintain market competitiveness. To fill this gap in the literature, this study examines whether environmental management systems influence the link between GSCM practice and market competitiveness in China. We also propose the articulating role of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) and environmental visibility toward these associations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the proposed model using regression-based structural equation modeling (SEM) with primary data (n = 330). This result provides empirical evidence of the impact of GSCM on EMS and market competitiveness. Moreover, the results show that the BDA-AI and the environmental visibility enhanced the positive relationship between GSCM-EMS and EMS and market competitiveness in China. Recent research shows that supply chain professionals, policymakers, managers, and researchers are turning to formal EMS, BDA-AI, and environmental visibility to help their organizations achieve the competitiveness that the market indicates they need.

The relationship between subjective well-being and individual characteristics, personality traits, and choice of transport mode during the first lock-down in Milan, Italy

Introduction

Concerning the adverse effect of COVID-19 virus pandemic on subjective well-being and daily travel, this research sought to analyse which personal characteristics, personality traits, and transport modes are related to positive and negative affect, and satisfaction with life during the first lock-down in Milan, Italy.

Method

In the spring of 2020, an online survey was conducted in Milan, and 1025 responses were collected. Then, three Multinomial Ordinal Regression models (MNOR) are carried out to examine the relationship between the data.

Results

Results show that women were more likely to feel fewer positive emotions than men. More physical activity, and income were positively associated with the models. Significant relevance of personality traits with subjective well-being is reported Regarding daily mobility during the pandemic, transport mode after lock-down, satisfaction with public transport, and worry about using public transport were found relevant to subjective wellbeing.

Conclusions

Whereas the feeling of worry about using public transport increased the negative affect. Transport mode during lock-down was not related to subjective well-being, though the preferred mode of transport after lock-down was related to satisfaction with life. Respondents who chose to use private cars more than other modes of transport were more likely to have higher satisfaction with life. Findings are discussed to improve transport and mobility planning during pandemics.

Protecting healthcare workers' mental health against COVID-19-related stress: The effects of stress mindset and psychological resilience

Healthcare workers have been on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19 disease. However, this has taken a toll on them, resulting in elevated stress and poor mental health. We argue that healthcare workers' stress mindset and resilience could mitigate negative outcomes of COVID-19-related stress by helping them view this stressful situation in a more positive light and appraise it as a challenge rather than a threat. Accordingly, we hypothesized that both a stress-is-enhancing mindset about COVID-19-related stress and resilience would improve healthcare workers' appraisal of their personal resources and increase their challenge appraisals, positively contributing to their mental health. We collected data from 160 healthcare workers and performed structural equation modeling for hypothesis testing. The results indicate that both a stress-is-enhancing mindset about COVID-19-related stress and psychological resilience are indirectly related to better mental well-being and lower health-related anxiety through challenge appraisals. This study contributes to research in mental health by suggesting that protecting and promoting healthcare workers' mental health is possible by empowering them through increasing personal resources such as a positive mindset about stressful situations and resilience.

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.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown: Associations With Personality and Stress Components

The present study examines the role of personality traits, interpersonal relationships, and sociodemographic factors on perceived stress, related to COVID-19, and compliance with measures to mitigate its spread. Data were collected in the midst of the 'first wave' lockdown, with the survey completed in full by 963 participants. We measured stress, directly related to the pandemic, rather than general stress, and were able to distinguish between symptoms of emotional, behavioural, cognitive, physical stress, and alienation with high concordance. We included personality scoring with standardized T-scores, allowing for cross-study comparison, and a broader questionnaire on the participants' support for COVID-19 mitigation measures. Results of the multiple regression models indicated that low emotional stability and introversion, and high conscientiousness, common conflicts with loved ones, and some demographics (female gender, middle age, chronic health problems) correspond to elevated stress. Conscientiousness was positively associated with total stress and some of its components, whereas opposite results were found for emotional stability. Extraversion was negatively correlated to total stress, its emotional and physical components, and alienation. Surprisingly, increased stress was not related to greater measure adherence. The present results shed light on how personality, interpersonal relationships, and sociodemographic factors influence people's stress response during a pandemic.

Direct and Interactive Effects of Personality and Experiencing Changes in Relationships on Symptoms of Internalizing Psychopathology During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose

The present study examined the prospective direct and interactive effects of personality (neuroticism, extraversion) and experiencing changes in friendships during the pandemic on symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Methods

A sample of patients (N = 77) at an outpatient treatment clinic who had received a diagnostic assessment in the 6 months prior to the COVID-19 lockdown was re-contacted during the pandemic (May-June 2020) and completed a survey assessing stressors and symptoms of internalizing psychopathology.

Results

Neuroticism had main effects on anxiety, whereas experiencing changes in friendships had main effects on stress and depression. Extraversion did not have main effects on stress, depression, or anxiety. The relationship between experiencing changes in friendships and stress and anxiety was moderated by extraversion, such that the strength of the relationship between changes in friendships and stress and anxiety waned as the level of extraversion increased. Neuroticism was not a moderator of the association between changes in friendships and emotional disorder symptoms.

Conclusion

These results suggest that higher levels of extraversion may protect against symptoms of stress reactivity and anxiety that are associated with COVID-related changes in friendships, while neuroticism may have limited prospective associations with symptoms during the pandemic.

Supplementary Information

The online version of this article contains supplementary material available 10.1007/s10608-023-10364-x.

Psychological Capital and Quality of life of Refugees in Uganda During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Serial Mediation Model

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has in the past two years caused and continues to cause enormous effects on lifestyle, mental health, and quality of life. With no known treatment and vaccination, behavioral control measures became central in controlling the pandemic. However, the intensity of the pandemic and the stringent control measures were immensely stressful. The control measures became an added psychological burden to people living in precarious situations such as refugees in low-income countries. Purpose: Given the benefits of psychological capital, the present study aimed at investigating the role of psychological capital in enhancing the quality of life among refugees in Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was hypothesized that the effects of psychological capital on quality of life are serially mediated through coping strategies, adherence to COVID-19 control measures, and mental health. Methods: Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire in July and August 2020 after the first lockdown. Participants were 353 South Sudanese and Somali refugees living in Kampala city suburbs and Bidibidi refugee settlement. Findings: Psychological capital was positively associated with approach coping, mental health, and quality of life. However, psychological capital was negatively associated with adherence to COVID-19 control measures. Significant indirect effects of psychological capital on quality of life through approach coping, mental health, and adherence were found. However, serial mediation effects were only substantial via approach coping and mental health. Conclusion: Psychological capital is an important resource in coping with the challenges posed by COVID-19 and maintaining a good level of psychological functioning and quality of life. Preserving and boosting psychological capital is essential in responding to COVID-19 and other related disasters and crises, which are common in vulnerable populations such as refugee communities in low-income countries.

How did the beginnings of the global COVID-19 pandemic affect mental well-being?

The present study aims to investigate longitudinal changes in mental well-being as well as the role of individual differences in personality traits (Big Five) and the level of Personality Organisation during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Overall, 272 adults (Mage= 36.94, SDage= 16.46; 68.62% female, 23.45% male, 0.69% non-binary) took part in our study with four weekly surveys during the lockdown as well as a follow-up one month after restrictions were lifted. To analyse the development of mental well-being during and shortly after the first lockdown in Germany latent growth curve models (LGCM) were calculated. The considered facets of well-being differ by their trajectory. Additionally, results suggest that the lockdown did not affect all facets to the same extent. While Life Satisfaction decreases in the short term as a reaction to the lockdown, Stress and Psychological Strain were reduced after the second week of contact restrictions. When adding personality characteristics, our results showed that Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were the two dimensions associated most strongly with SWB during the first month of the pandemic. Thus, our research suggests that personality traits should be considered when analysing mental well-being.

The influence of distractions of the home-work environment on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Previous research showed that office workers are mainly distracted by noise, influencing their mental health. Little investigation has been done into the influence of other workspace characteristics (i.e. temperature, amount of space, visual privacy, adjustability of furniture, wall colours, and workspace cleanliness) on distractions at the office, and even fewer while working from home (WFH). The influence of home-workspace distractions on mental health also received limited attention. This research aims to investigate relationships between home-workspace and personal characteristics, distraction, and mental health while WFH during COVID-19. A path analysis approach was used, to find that, at home, employees were distracted by noise and when having a small desk. Those with a dedicated workroom were less distracted. Distractions mediated most relationships between home-workspace characteristics and mental health, while personal characteristics influenced mental health directly. Employers can use these results to redesign policies regarding home-and-office working to stimulate a healthy work environment.Practitioner summary: The investigation of the influence of home-workspace characteristics on distractions and mental health while WFH during COVID-19 appears to be limited. This research filled this gap by performing a path analysis, using a holistic definition of mental health. Findings showed that distractions mediate relationships between home-workspace characteristics and mental health.

Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stress and strain profiles in the German population

Clinical observations indicate that people frequently display stress-related behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although numerous studies have been published concerning pandemic-related psychological distress, systematic data on the interrelationships between stress sensitivity, personality, and behavioral characteristics of people are still lacking. In the present cross-sectional online survey study, we applied a German version of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) and standard psychological questionnaires to systematically identify the complex interplay between stress sensitivity, gender, and personality in the modulation of quality of life and mental health in the German population (N = 1774; age ≥ 16 years). A CSS-based cluster analysis revealed two clusters characterized by higher and lower stress levels. Study participants in each cluster differed significantly with respect to neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Females were significantly overrepresented in the higher stress cluster, while there was an overrepresentation of males in the lower stress cluster. Neuroticism was identified as a risk factor and extraversion as a protective factor for enhanced pandemic-related stress responses. For the first time our data show a taxonomy of factors, which modulate pandemic-related stress sensitivity and warrant consideration as key indicators of quality of life and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. We suggest that our data may advise governmental regulation of pandemic-related public health measures, to optimize quality of life and psychological health in different groups of the population.

A multilevel analysis of the links between daily emotional labor, daily spiritual experiences, and daily stress during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic both necessitate and obstruct emotional regulation and coping mechanisms. Despite growing interest in the connection between stress and spirituality, multilevel studies addressing day-level variance to understand how spiritual experiences and emotional regulation are linked with stress during this unique situation are scarce. This study aims to analyze how daily spiritual experiences (DSE) and daily emotional labor (EL) connect with the daily stress levels of employees during the pandemic.

DESIGN AND METHOD

Data collected from 132 employees for five consecutive workdays (660 d-level, 132 person-level responses) were analyzed via Hierarchical Linear Modeling.

RESULTS

Multilevel analysis provided evidence for the negative association between DSE and daily stress. The "faking emotions" and "hiding emotions" dimensions of daily EL were positively and significantly related to daily stress, while the "deep acting" dimension demonstrated no significant relationship. There was no evidence for the moderator role of DSE in the relationship between daily EL and stress.

CONCLUSION

The form of daily EL is crucial to understanding how it associates with daily stress. Although its buffering role on the adverse effects of EL is not significant, DSE directly relates to lower stress levels.

Stress and the brain: Emotional support mediates the association between myelination in the right supramarginal gyrus and perceived chronic stress

Perceived stress, which refers to people's evaluation of a stressful event and their ability to cope with it, has emerged as a stable predictor for physical and mental health outcomes. Increasing evidence has suggested the buffering effect of social support on perceived stress. Although previous studies have investigated the brain structural features (e.g., gray matter volume) associated with perceived stress, less is known about the association between perceived chronic stress and intra-cortical myelin (ICM), which is an important microstructure of brain and is essential for healthy brain functions, and the role of social support in this association. Using a sample of 1076 healthy young adults drawn from the Human Connectome Project, we quantified the ICMby the contrast of T1w and T2w images and examined its association with perceived chronic stress during the last month and social support. Behavioral results showed that perceived chronic stress was negatively associated with both emotional support and instrumental support. Vertex-wise multiple regression analyses revealed that higher level of perceived chronic stress was significantly associated with lower ICM content of a cluster in the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG). Interestingly, the emotional support, but not the instrumental support, significantly mediated the association of perceived chronic stress with ICM in the rSMG. Overall, the present study provides novel evidence for the cortical myelination of perceived chronic stress in humans and highlights the essential role of the rSMG in perceived chronic stress and emotional support.

Good Personality and Subjective Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study in Chinese Contexts

Numerous studies have emphasized the importance of examining psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to identify the factors that affect the influence of COVID-19 on people's mental health. The present research was a three-wave longitudinal study (N = 1495) examining the concurrent and prospective relations of good personality with subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results showed that good personality positively predicted the subsequent well-being after controlling for the respective autoregressive effects and Big Five personality traits. Specifically, individuals who scored higher on measures of good personality tended to maintain higher well-being in the face of COVID-19. However, subjective well-being could positively predict subsequent personality only at the first time point. In addition, the prospective effect of good personality on subjective well-being was greater than the reverse effect. These findings support the opinion that as a positive value orientation in personality, good personality has a significant positive impact on the response to the pandemic situation.

Prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress and its relationship with knowledge about COVID-19 in medical and laboratory medicine students of Umm-Al-Qura University: a cross-sectional survey

Introduction

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has continued relentlessly for over one and half years now, causing a threat to life, fear of falling sick, helplessness, anxiety, depression and, pessimism about the future. There has been an increasing concern over student mental health in higher education. Our study was designed to measure current mental health status and its relationship with sociodemographic variables and level of knowledge about COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

Method

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among laboratory medicine students of Makkah city, Saudi Arabia from October, 2020 to January, 21. A semi-structured questionnaire was circulated through mail and What’s App. Data collected included sociodemographic details and level of knowledge towards the COVID-19 among the students. Depression anxiety and stress-21 item (DASS 21) was used to assess psychological status.

Result

Our study reported 51.4% depressive symptoms, 57.9% anxiety symptoms, and 48.5% stress in the study participants. History of being hospitalized with COVID-19 and ICU reported high anxiety (p = 0.0003) and depression scores (p = 0.04). Respiratory droplet as a mode of transmission revealed higher scores on anxiety subscale (p = 0.007), whereas surface contamination reported high score of stress (p = 0.004) and anxiety (p = 0.002). Knowing that COVID-19 can also clinically present with gastrointestinal symptoms was found to show high stress (p = 0.005) and anxiety (p = 0.01) scores than any other way of clinical presentation.

Conclusion

COVID-19 is likely to cause negative effect on the psychological health of students.

Neuroticism and fear of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic: Testing the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty and sense of control among Chinese high school students

Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2019, neuroticism has been proven a predictor of fear of COVID-19 infection. However, only few studies have been conducted on the factors affecting the relationship between neuroticism and this kind of fear. The present study is aimed at analyzing the role intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and sense of control (SOC) play in relation to neuroticism and the fear of COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, China, and we collected complete datasets from 792 high school students. The main results can be described as follows: (a) individuals with high neuroticism tended to have higher intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and a lower sense of control (SOC); (b) IU and SOC played a mediating role between neuroticism and fear of COVID-19, and a serial mediation effect was found between these factors; (c) after controlling for both IU and SOC, the effect of neuroticism on fear was no longer significant. The results suggested a critical role of IU and sense of control in the causal relationship between neuroticism and fear.

Impact of resilience, social support, and personality traits in patients with neuroinflammatory diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the well-being of persons with neuroinflammatory diseases (pwNID). Identifying factors that influence the response to challenging conditions could guide supportive care.

METHODS

2185 pwNID and 1079 healthy controls (HCs) from five US centers completed an online survey regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and psychological well-being. Survey instruments included resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC), loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale), social support (modified social support survey, MSSS-5), personality traits (NEO-Five Factor Inventory, NEO-FFI), and disability (Patient-Determined Disability Steps (PDDS). Step-wise regression models and mediation analyses assessed whether the level of self-reported resilience, size of the social support, and specific personality traits (study predictors) were associated with self-reported disability and/or loneliness (study outcomes).

RESULTS

The response rate varied significantly between the questionnaires. While, all pwNID completed the demographic questionnaire, 78.8% completed the loneliness questionnaire and 49.7% completed the NEO-FFI. Based on 787 responses, greater neuroticism (standardized β = 0.312, p < 0.001), less social support (standardized β = -0.242, p < 0.001), lower extraversion (standardized β = -0.083, p=0.017), lower agreeableness (standardized β = -0.119, p < 0.001), and lower resilience (standardized β = -0.125, p = 0.002) were associated with the feeling of loneliness. Social support and resilience modestly but significantly mediated the association between personality traits and loneliness. Older age (standardized β = 0.165, p < 0.001) and lower conscientiousness (standardized β = -0.094, p = 0.007) were associated with worse disability (higher PDDS scores). There were no differences in outcomes between pwNID and HCs.

CONCLUSION

Greater social support potentially attenuates the association between neuroticism and the feeling of loneliness in pwNID during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessment of personality traits may identify pwNID that are in greater need of social support and guide targeted interventions.

Changes in perceived stress during the COVID-19 pandemic among American veterans

American veterans are a population that suffer from both context specific stressors as well as many population-specific major-life events. The present exploratory study utilises a longitudinal cohort of 1230 U.S. veterans surveyed from February 2020 through February 2021. We sought to understand heterogeneity in perceived stress, using growth mixture modelling, over this time period, how COVID-specific factors such as negative reactions to the pandemic, loneliness, and employment disruptions influence perceived stress trajectories, and how veterans vary across distal outcomes including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pain, depression, sleep problems, physical health, and alcohol use disorder. Results revealed a 4-class solution: Stable High, Stable Low, Steady Increasing, and Steady Decreasing classes. In terms of COVID specific factors, negative reactions to COVID were consistently associated with perceived stress for those in the Stable High and Steady Increasing classes whereas loneliness was associated with stress trajectories for all emergent classes. Finally, in terms of our distal outcomes, results showed a relatively robust pattern with veterans in the Stable High or Steady Increasing classes reporting worse scores across all outcomes including PTSD, pain, sleep problems, physical health, depression, and alcohol use disorder. Understanding the interplay between existing vulnerabilities, ongoing stressors, and behavioural health outcomes among veterans is crucial for prevention and intervention efforts.

Understanding the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on teleworkers' experiences of perceived threat and professional isolation: The moderating role of friendship

Drawing from conservation of resource theory and the social support resource theory, this study examines how the severity of an exogenous disruptive event - the COVID-19 pandemic - in one's community influences teleworkers' well-being outcomes indirectly through their perceptions of pandemic-related threat and experience of professional isolation, as well as the buffering effect of friendship on these relationships. Utilizing time-lagged data from participants of a two-wave survey panel (N = 351) and objective data of COVID-19 severity from counties around the United States, we found that perceived threat, but not professional isolation, mediated the negative effect of proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the community on teleworkers' well-being outcomes. Further, consistent with our predictions, support from friends significantly weakened the negative effects of threat and professional isolation on well-being. Key theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.

Longitudinal examinations of changes in well-being during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic: Testing the roles of extraversion and social distancing

The present research, by using longitudinal data collected in South Korea (N = 69,986) during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic (1 January-7 April 2020), examined the pandemic-related changes in the relationship between extraversion and well-being. Multilevel analyses revealed that participants experienced decreased well-being during the pandemic. When analyzing the responses (n = 3,229) completed during all the periods encompassing the COVID-19-related events (e.g., outbreak of COVID-19), we found the greater within-person decreases in well-being among extraverts than introverts after the intensive social distancing. This finding suggests that social distancing, as a necessary means to curb the spread of COVID-19, inadvertently reduced well-being of extraverts. Implications for the person-environment fit literature, limitations, and future research avenues are discussed.

Psychosocial Influences on Coping and Wellbeing during the Covid-19 Lockdown in the Early Days of the Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Research

This study focuses on the psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on wellbeing and uses a mixed methods design to develop a more profound understanding about adaptive coping during stressful situations. The quantitative phase of this study examined the association between psychological capital, perceived stress, coping and wellbeing. The online survey was conducted in May 2020 and had 257 participants. The Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) results showed that the hypothesized model had an adequate fit [χ2(306, N = 257) = 547.185, p = 0.00]; and that both psychological capital and perceived stress were significant predictors of wellbeing. Significantly, young people reported a more negative impact on their wellbeing during the lockdowns. In the subsequent qualitative phase, in-depth interviews with 21 voluntary participants (14 females and 7 males) suggested that individuals could reappraise stressful situations and use coping strategies for psychosocial adaptation. From this research, it was identified that especially the younger age group is at risk, and that that psychosocial resources, such as psychological capital, could be developed to enhance coping and wellbeing with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.

Relationship between stress due to COVID-19 pandemic, telecommuting, work orientation and work engagement: Evidence from India

The purpose of the present study is to examine the effect of stress induced by coronavirus (COVID-19), telecommuting, and work orientation on work engagement among employees in the Information Technology (IT) sector. Using a structured survey instrument, data were collected from 285 respondents from four cosmopolitan cities in the southern part of India—Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, and Madurai using a structured instrument. The hierarchical regression results reveal that (i) stress induced by COVID-19 was negatively related to work engagement, (ii) work orientation is positively associated with work engagement, and (iii) telecommuting is positively associated with work engagement. The results also reveal that (i) telecommuting weakened the relationship between stress induced by COVID-19 and work engagement and (ii) strengthened the positive relationship between work orientation and work engagement. These results are consistent with Job Demands and Resources (JDR), Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), and Career Construction Theory (CCT). The study highlights the importance of telecommuting as a strategic move on the part of the companies to reduce stress and enhance work engagement. Considering the global pandemic situation, employees in the IT sector would find it comfortable to work from their homes and contribute their best for the success of organizations. The present study also suggests ways for the organizations to promote work engagement and remain committed to performing during stressful situations like a global pandemic. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Cyber violence caused by the disclosure of route information during the COVID-19 pandemic

Disclosure of patients' travel route information by government departments has been an effective and indispensable pandemic prevention and control measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this measure may make patients susceptible to cyber violence (CV). We selected 13 real cases that occurred in China during the COVID-19 pandemic for analysis. We identified several characteristics that commonly appeared due to route information, such as rumors about and moral condemnation of patients, and determined that patients who are the first locally confirmed cases of a particular wave of the pandemic are more likely to be the victims of CV. We then analyzed and compared six real cases using data mining and network analysis approaches. We found that disclosing travel route information increases the risk of exposing patients to CV, especially those who violate infection prevention regulations. In terms of disseminating information, we found that mainstream media and influential we-media play an essential role. Based on the findings, we summarized the formation mechanism of route information disclosure-caused CV and proposed three practical suggestions-namely, promote the publicity of the media field with the help of mainstream media and influential we-media, optimize the route information collection and disclosure system, and ease public anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic. To our knowledge, this study is one of the first to focus on CV on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that our findings can help governments better carry out pandemic prevention and control measures on a global scale.

Leading with a cool head and a warm heart: trait-based leadership resources linked to task performance, perceived stress, and work engagement

Leaders of today need to achieve well in terms of task performance, perceiving low stress, and having high levels of work engagement. One may ask whether trait-based leadership resource factors can be identified and how such resource factors might relate to task performance, perceived stress, and work engagement. Our aim was to test the hypothesis, derived from Hobfoll's motivational Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, that there are trait-based leadership resource factors, which are differentially correlated to the leaders' task performance, perceived stress, and work engagement. Leaders (N = 344) aged from 23 to 65 years (M = 49, SD = 8.6; 58% women) completed an online questionnaire including measures of task performance, perceived stress, work engagement, personality traits, trait emotional intelligence, empathy, performance-related self-esteem, compassionate and rational leadership competence, and coping resources for stress. Using exploratory factor analysis, we identified four trait-based leadership resource factors. With Bonferroni adjustment, and controlling for sex, age, number of years in the current managerial position, self-deceptive enhancement, and impression management, only Rational Mastery was significantly positively correlated with task performance. Rational Mastery, Efficient Coping, and Modesty were negatively correlated with perceived stress, and all factors except Modesty, but including the fourth (Good-Heartedness) were positively correlated with work engagement. Organizations striving for sustainable work conditions should support trait-based leadership, which depends not only on a task-oriented resource such as rational mastery, but also on human-oriented resources such as efficient coping, modesty, and good-heartedness, all of them being differentially related to task performance, perceived stress, and work engagement.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03767-8.

The COVID-19 Student Stress Questionnaire: Validation in Spanish university students from health sciences

This study aimed to validate the Spanish version of the COVID-19 Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ), a 7-item tool assessing COVID-19-related stressors among university students, namely, Relationships and Academic Life, Isolation, and Fear of Contagion. Participants were 331 Spanish university students. Factor analyses sustained the three factor solution of the original tool. Data also revealed satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity, suitable internal consistency, and significant associations with psychological symptoms, as measured by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. The Spanish version of the CSSQ represents a valid tool to be used in clinical settings to timely identify students at high psychological risk and to develop evidence-based interventions during/after the pandemic.