Longitudinal study on affect, psychological well-being, depression, mental and physical health, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

Differential Impact of Emotional and Contextual Factors Associated with COVID-19 on Adolescent Mental Health

Background

During the confinement, there was an increase in the incidence of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. In this regard, affectivity is of particular interest, as emotions play a fundamental role in overall mental health. The literature on COVID-19 in this population has often focused on the analysis of risk factors for mental health, while less attention has been paid to protective factors. In this paper, we propose an inclusive model of risk and protective factors for adolescent mental health through the indirect effect of negative and positive affect.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study with a Spanish community sample of 477 adolescents (Mage = 16.23, range:14 to 20 years old; 43.4% were boys; response rate: 100%). We measured the perceived hardness of confinement, worrying about contagion, quality of relationships at home, pleasant activities, affect (positive and negative), and mental health.

Results

The results revealed a positive relationship between the perceived hardness of confinement and worrying about contagion with mental health, through the indirect effect of negative affect, and a positive relationship between home relationships and pleasant activities with mental health through an indirect effect of positive affect.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that different types of emotions generated by the various contextual variables associated with COVID-19 may have a differential impact on mental health. These findings support the inclusive model of risk and protective factors for adolescent mental health. Practical implications, future studies, and limitations are discussed.

The evolution of the subjective well-being of the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic period: the case of Belgium

The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic period on a nation's well-being remain inadequately understood, especially over time. Therefore, this research aims to map the changes in the subjective well-being (SWB) of the general Belgian adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyses of variances (ANOVA) were performed to evaluate the changes in SWB during the pandemic at five different time points during the period from February 2020 until December 2022 using repeated cross-sectional representative samples of the Belgian population. The differences over time in subjective well-being were investigated in terms of life evaluation, positive affect, and negative affect. The changes in autonomy, competence, relatedness, loneliness and peace of mind were also explored as explanatory variables. Moderation analyses were performed to investigate the differential changes in well-being for different age groups. Our results show the subjective well-being of the Belgian population decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, notably during the second lockdown and the fifth wave. Furthermore, younger individuals are significantly more susceptible to negative changes in well-being during the pandemic period. Finally, our results show that peace of mind is an important predictor of all SWB components during the pandemic. Based on these results several policy recommendations are formulated.

Exploring the Variables of the Psychological Well-Being of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Self-Compassion and Psychological Hardiness

Present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between self-compassion and psychological hardiness, and psychological well-being among mothers of children with autism. The research design was correlational, and its statistical population sample consisted of 101 mothers of children with an autism spectrum disorder. The results of a correlational analysis showed a significant positive relationship between self-compassion and psychological hardiness, and psychological well-being. Multiple regression analysis showed that among the variables of self-compassion and psychological hardiness, the variable of self-compassion had the largest share in predicting the psychological well-being of mothers. Concerning self-compassion, conscious awareness of self-kindness along with psychological hardship could predict the psychological well-being in these groups of mothers, such as raising a child with ASD.

How regulation strategies protected or worsened emotional experience during France's three lockdowns: Prepandemic versus pandemic comparisons and longitudinal approach

The COVID-19 pandemic remains hugely challenging, but its impact on emotional experience, especially over time, has often been neglected. The French Government imposed three COVID lockdowns with varying degrees of strictness that induced different types of emotional discomfort and emotion regulation. The present longitudinal study explored affect and emotion regulation strategies in each of these lockdowns, comparing samples assessed before and during the pandemic. The objective was to understand how government measures influenced subjective experience and how people adjusted their emotion regulation accordingly. The longitudinal lockdown sample comprised 164 participants (M_age = 37.60 years, SD = 12.50). Affect and emotion regulation were assessed in the first week of each of the three lockdowns (20-27 March 2020, 23-30 November 2020, and 19-26 April 2021). The 120 participants in the prepandemic (control) sample were drawn from previous studies focusing on affect and regulation strategies in natural everyday situations. Results indicated that affect deteriorated considerably, compared with prepandemic levels. Whereas activated negative affect (nervous and worried) tended to decrease, deactivated negative affect (sad and bored) increased. Regarding emotion regulation strategies, negative emotion expression was associated with more negative affect and less positive affect, while positive emotion expression and proactive behaviour were associated with a better emotional experience. A multivariate growth curve showed that in the absence of psychological support, stressful situations and repeated lockdowns do not induce people to make better emotion regulation strategy choices. As government restrictions had a negative impact on individuals' emotional experience, support programs should be implemented in future pandemics to promote emotion regulation.

Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Perception and Use of Urban Green Spaces in Korea

Faced with the prospect that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change will be far-reaching and long-term, the international community is showing interest in urban green space (UGS) and urban green infrastructure utilization as a solution. In this study, we investigated how citizens' perceptions and use of UGS have changed during COVID-19. We also collected their ideas on how UGS can raise its usability. As a result, more people became to realize the importance of UGS. In particular, the urban environmental purification function from UGS was recognized as giving great benefits to respondents. On the other hand, the patterns of UGS use were mixed with decreasing UGS use to maintain social distancing or increasing UGS use to maintain health or substitute other restricted facilities. More than half of respondents had their UGS visit patterns impacted by COVID-19. In particular, the increase rate of UGS use was rather high in the group that seldom used UGS before COVID-19. In addition, they increased the use of UGS to replace other limited facilities, and thus tended to demand an increase in rest facilities. Based on these results, this paper suggested securing social support and sustainability for the policy by reflecting users' demand in landscape planning related to the increase of UGS in the city. This study can contribute to improving the resilience of UGS and the sustainability of urban space planning.

Do State and Trait Affect Measures Retain Their Measurement Properties during a Disaster? An Investigation of Measurement Invariance during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Psychologists have begun to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emotionality, though such investigations assume that the measurement properties of affect scales have not changed as a function of the pandemic. To our knowledge, no prior study has tested measurement invariance (MI) of an affect scale during a disaster, and very few studies have explored MI of scales administered through ecological momentary assessment (EMA). The current study tested invariance of trait and state affect measures across homogenous groups of 18-year-olds assessed prior to and during the first acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Long Island, New York. Trait affect was measured with a single administration of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality-Youth Version. State affect was assessed with items developed for the EMA portion of this study, which were administered 5 times daily for 14 consecutive days using a smartphone application. A baseline correlated 2-factor (positive and negative affect) model was fit for both measures. Invariances tests established up to strict MI across pre-/COVID-19 groups for both affect measures. These findings suggest that valid comparisons of observed score means and variances can be made between groups assessed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Investigation of Major Predictors of Well-Being in a Sample of Romanian University Students in the Post-Covid-19 Period

"The Coronavirus-induced pandemic has had a significant impact on the physical and psychological functioning of the entire world’s population. Research has indicated that besides the physical threat to health itself, the implications of constant uncertainty, separation from and/or loss of loved ones, loss of freedom to travel, shortage of food and financial resources, disruptions of usual life-routines, changing work and learning habits, further aggravate the effect of initial stressors, leading to increased levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, lowered levels of well-being, and confusion. Unfortunately, just as the two-years long pandemic ended, the Ukrainian war started, and the Romanian population, since our country borders Ukraine, has experienced a novel type of stress, that of the possibility of being attacked, affected economically. Almost simultaneously, the online education has returned to classical form of teaching, amidst semester, being another stress factor for students. Our results indicated that the two-year long pandemic was considered as having the greatest impact by almost two-thirds of the students. Furthermore, the lack of self-efficacy component of perceived stress was a constant and strong predictor of all components of well-being (subjective and psychological), and perceived helplessness for subjective well-being. Regarding emotion regulation strategies refocus on planning, positive reevaluation, self- and other blame, withdrawal and actively approaching the source of stress proved to be the most important predictors. The results of our investigation may be beneficial for the tailoring of future prevention and intervention programs that would target the enhancement of psychological adaptation of students. Keywords: stress, depressive symptoms, uncertainty, emotion regulation strategies, subjective and psychological well-being, post COVID-19. "

University Students' Well-Being and Engagement in Activities in the Early Days of Covid-19

Governments worldwide took measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. Universities moved to online teaching almost overnight. This paper explores Belgian university students' perceptions, behaviors, and emotional well-being during the first weeks of strict preventive measures. We conducted a survey with 614 business administration students at the University of Antwerp. The results indicate that, in comparison to the pre-lockdown period, students feel less productive, engage less in healthy behaviors (e.g., healthy snacking, exercising alone), and report more study problems. Based on the emotional quality of their everyday experience, students can be clustered into two groups. One group (54.5%) experiences mostly negative affect, while the other reports experiencing mostly positive affect and personal optimism. The "negative affect" group consists of more women and students in the early years of their bachelor's. This group experiences more financial difficulties and spends more time on social media. These students seem to have a more challenging time coping with the lockdown: they perceive higher study load increase and more significant reduction of social contacts while facing more study problems, studying fewer hours, and perceiving a lower study efficiency. They also engage in less healthy behaviors (e.g., unhealthy snacking more, drinking more alcohol, and exercising alone less) to a greater extent than the positive affect group. These results confirm previous research, demonstrating a positive relationship between emotional well-being and the engagement in and the intensity of productive and healthy activities. Several recommendations are provided in light of these findings.

The adaption of the Chinese version of the COVID Stress Scales as a screening instrument of stress: Psychometric properties during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID Stress Scales (CSS) was used to access related distress concerning Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Based on China's epidemic prevention and control policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, the adaption of the Chinese version of the CSS was developed. Our study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Chinese adapted version of the CSS during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was employed to construct a national sample of 2,116 participants in Chinese mainland. We examined the factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity. The results demonstrated that the six-factor solution for the Chinese adaptation of the CSS proved a good fit with the data after comparing the factor structure with the five-factor model. The six-factor model had good reliability and supported good convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity of the CSS Chinese adaption. Overall, our findings supported the Chinese adapted version of the CSS as a psychometrically sound measure of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Existential Well-being, Mental Health, and COVID-19: Reconsidering the Impact of Lockdown Stressors in Moscow

Background

Initial psychological papers on COVID-19, mental health and wellbeing mostly focus on the aftermath lockdown-related stress and stress related to the disease itself. Still, we presume that personal well-being can be resistant to stressors depending on the way the person is settled in their life.

Objective

We seek to reconsider the contribution of lockdown-related stressors to existential well-being, to assess existential well-being during the outbreak and to compare the contribution of living conditions and COVID-19-related factors on well-being.

Design

An online survey was conducted during the peak of the outbreak in Moscow (April-May 2020) (N=880). The data was obtained using the "Test of Existential Motivations" questionnaire and a series of questions addressing (1) living conditions - mental and physical health, employment, and social distancing; (2) COVID-19-related stressors - non-chronic illness, financial losses, and unavailability of goods or services; (3) sociodemographic indicators - age, gender, and income. Data analysis included hierarchical multiple regression, one-sample t-test, and analysis of variance.

Results

Surprisingly, the existential well-being of Moscow citizens during the research period was moderate. Each of the three groups of factors predicted a similar proportion of the variance of well-being (3-3,9%). The strongest predictors of well-being were long-term mental health status and financial stability. The effect of COVID-19-related stressors was most pronounced when they co-occur.

Conclusion

The negative association between lockdown-related stressors and poor well-being is not universal. It is necessary to study the effect of COVID-19-related stressors in combination with individual living conditions and region-specific factors and to focus on the prevention of the occurrence of stressors.

Health related behaviours and physical activity level of hypertensive individuals during COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, all countries implemented lockdown to prevent transmission of coronavirus. The prolonged stay-at-home process created some unfavourable effects like unhealthy lifestyle, physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour especially in patients with cardiovascular risk. Hypertensive individuals are also affected in the pandemic because of limited access to healthcare services, screening, and altered lifestyles. We aimed to investigate physical activity (PA) level, sedentary behaviour, mental health and healthy lifestyle behaviours in patients with hypertension and compare these parameters with healthy controls. This prospective, cross-sectional study included 40 hypertensive and 40 age-sex matched healthy controls. We assessed PA with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire long-form, quality of life with Short-Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire, anxiety and depression with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and lifestyle behaviours with Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile Scale-II (HPLP-II). Moderate and vigorous PA levels of hypertensives' were statistically lower than healthy controls (P = 0.001; P = 0.003, respectively). Hypertensive patients exhibited lower SF-36 physical function (P = 0.001), energy/vitality (P = 0.042), body pain scores than those of healthy controls (P = 0.007). Although HADS-anxiety, depression scores were similar (P > 0.05), the depression ratio (45%) was more common in the hypertensive group during the lockdown. The main findings are that hypertensive patients have lower PA levels and worse quality of life than healthy controls during the pandemic. In addition, the presence of depression is more common among hypertensive patients. Considering unhealthy lifestyles, governments, and health professionals should take some precautions and plan interventions against physical inactivity. As known, providing regular physical activity is a keystone to fighting against cardiovascular disease.

Students' Emotional Well-Being, and Perceived Faculty Incivility and Just Behavior Before and During COVID-19

This research set out to measure the impact of the lockdown condition and social distancing imposed on higher education by the Israeli government during the COVID-19 period and the shift to online learning, on students’ emotional well-being, the way they perceived their teachers’ just behavior, and faculty incivility, compared to pre-pandemic conditions. An additional aim was to explore the set of connections among these factors. The total sample included 396 undergraduate students from three academic colleges. Data were gathered via three questionnaires: Positive/negative affect, Faculty Incivility, and Teacher Justice. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The main finding showed that students’ negative emotions were informed by the lockdown condition. This perceived negative affect had an impact on how the participants experienced social interactions with their faculty. Those who exhibited higher levels of negative affect perceived themselves as targets of faculty incivility. The same trajectory was detected with the way students experienced their teachers’ just behavior. Students who held negative emotions, partly because of the COVID-19 restrictions, also viewed their teachers’ behavior toward them as unjust. This study stresses the role of one’s emotional condition in instigating negative interpretations of social interactions. Directions for subsequent research and practical implications for promoting students’ well-being and civil and just communications in the learning environment are discussed.

Portuguese adolescents' cognitive well-being and basic psychological needs during the COVID-19 outbreak: A longitudinal study

Confinements and social distancing measures during COVID‐19 pandemic were particularly challenging to adolescents, impacting significantly their life and routines. Following a longitudinal design, this study sought to compare adolescents' cognitive well‐being—satisfaction with life, social support, and quality of life—before (T1) and during (T2) the COVID‐19 pandemic. Additionally, it aimed to clarify the predictive value of the three dimensions of the cognitive well‐being to the satisfaction of basic psychological needs of adolescents at school at T2. One thousand ninety‐nine Portuguese adolescents participated, showing generally increased scores in satisfaction with life, social support, and quality of life at T2. Even so, girls revealed lower changes in cognitive well‐being components compared with boys, between T1 and T2. In addition, satisfaction with life and quality of life were predictive of satisfaction of basic psychological needs at T2. This work highlights the relevance of cognitive well‐being as a dispositional dimension in determining the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in adolescence, during a worldwide catastrophic event.

Viability of an Early Sleep Intervention to Mitigate Poor Sleep and Improve Well-being in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to drastic increases in the prevalence and severity of insomnia symptoms. These increases in insomnia complaints have been paralleled by significant decreases in well-being, including increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and suicidality and decreased quality of life. However, the efficacy and impact of early treatment of insomnia symptoms on future sleep and well-being remain unknown.

OBJECTIVE

Here, we present the framework and protocol for a novel feasibility, pilot study that aims to investigate whether a brief telehealth insomnia intervention targeting new insomnia that developed during the pandemic prevents deterioration of well-being, including symptoms of insomnia, depression, anxiety, suicidality, and quality of life.

METHODS

The protocol details a 2-arm randomized controlled feasibility trial to investigate the efficacy of a brief, telehealth-delivered, early treatment of insomnia and evaluate its potential to prevent deterioration of well-being. Participants with clinically significant insomnia symptoms that began during the pandemic were randomized to either a treatment group or a 28-week waitlist control group. Treatment consists of 4 telehealth sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) delivered over 5 weeks. All participants will complete assessments of insomnia symptom severity, well-being, and daily habits checklist at baseline (week 0) and at weeks 1-6, 12, 28, and 56.

RESULTS

The trial began enrollment on June 3, 2020 and closed enrollment on June 17, 2021. As of October 2021, 49 participants had been randomized to either immediate treatment or a 28-week waitlist; 23 participants were still active in the protocol.

CONCLUSIONS

To our knowledge, this protocol would represent the first study to test an early sleep intervention for improving insomnia that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this feasibility study could provide information about the utility of CBT-I for symptoms that emerge in the context of other stressors before they develop a chronic course and deepen understanding of the relationship between sleep and well-being.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04409743; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04409743.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/34409.

The Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Cognition and Mental Health and Technology Use Among Socially Vulnerable Older People: Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

COVID-19 forced the implementation of restrictive measures in Spain, such as lockdown, home confinement, social distancing, and isolation. It is necessary to study whether limited access to basic services and decreased family and social support could have deleterious effects on cognition, quality of life, and mental health in vulnerable older people.

Objective

This study aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia as the main outcome and the quality of life, perceived health status, and depression as secondary outcomes and to analyze the association of living alone and a change in living arrangements with those outcomes and other variables related with the use of technology and health services. Likewise, this study aims to analyze the association of high and low technophilia with those variables, to explore the access and use of health care and social support services, and, finally, to explore the informative-, cognitive-, entertainment-, and socialization-related uses of information and communications technologies (ICTs) during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods

This cohort study was conducted in Málaga (Spain). In total, 151 participants with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, from the SMART4MD (n=75, 49.7%) and TV-AssistDem (n=76, 50.3%) randomized clinical trials, were interviewed by telephone between May 11 and June 26, 2020. All participants had undergone 1-3 assessments (in 6-month intervals) on cognition, quality of life, and mood prior to the COVID-19 breakout.

Results

The outbreak did not significantly impact the cognition, quality of life, and mood of our study population when making comparisons with baseline assessments prior to the outbreak. Perceived stress was reported as moderate during the outbreak. After correction for multiple comparisons, living alone, a change in living arrangements, and technophilia were not associated with negative mental health outcomes. However, being alone was nominally associated with self-perceived fear and depression, and higher technophilia with better quality of life, less boredom, perceived stress and depression, and also less calmness. Overall, health care and social support service access and utilization were high. The most used ICTs during the COVID-19 outbreak were the television for informative, cognitive, and entertainment-related uses and the smartphone for socialization.

Conclusions

Our findings show that the first months of the outbreak did not significantly impact the cognition, quality of life, perceived health status, and depression of our study population when making comparisons with baseline assessments prior to the outbreak. Living alone and low technophilia require further research to establish whether they are risk factors of mental health problems during lockdowns in vulnerable populations. Moreover, although ICTs have proven to be useful for informative-, cognitive-, entertainment-, and socialization-related uses during the pandemic, more evidence is needed to support these interventions.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04385797; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04385797

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

RR2-10.2196/26431

The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on services for substance use in Denmark: Implications for meeting users’ needs and recommendations for the future

Background: The aim of this study was to document employees’ experiences of changes in service provision for substance use disorders (SUDs) during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Denmark (spring 2020), as well as to examine their relation to challenges in meeting the service users’ needs. Methods: Employees (N = 373) working in SUD treatment and harm reduction services completed an online survey soon after the first national lockdown. The survey included questions about changes in service provision during the lockdown, perceived concerns of the service users, and challenges in meeting the users’ emerging needs. Results: Employees reported some positive changes in service provisions, such as increased flexibility in appointments, administering medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and use of telehealth. Negative changes were related to reduced contact with practitioners and harm reduction facilities. Approximately one third of employees reported significant challenges in meeting the users’ emerging needs. This was particularly so when users’ concerns were about physical and mental well-being, and substance use. In regression models, negative changes in the access to practitioners and MAT administration (but not other changes) predicted difficulties meeting the users’ needs. Conclusion: Employees in SUD treatment and harm reduction services in Denmark experienced both positive and negative changes as a result of the first lockdown. However, not all the provision changes were linked to challenges in meeting the users’ needs. We discuss practical and research implications of our findings with a focus on the users’ physical and mental health, use of telehealth, MAT, and overall service reorganisation.

The Effects of a Brief Lifestyle Intervention on the Health of Overweight Airline Pilots during COVID-19: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study

The aim of this study was to perform a 12-month follow-up of health parameters after a 17-week lifestyle intervention in overweight airline pilots. A parallel-group (intervention and control) study was conducted amongst 72 overweight airline pilots (body mass index > 25) over a 12-month period following the emergence of COVID-19. The intervention group (n = 35) received a personalized dietary, sleep, and physical activity program over a 17-week period. The control group (n = 37) received no intervention. Measurements for subjective health (physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, fruit and vegetable intake, and self-rated health) via an electronic survey, and objective measures of body mass and blood pressure were taken at baseline and at 12 months. Significant interactions for group × time from baseline to 12-months were found for all outcome measures (p < 0.001). Body mass and mean arterial pressure significantly decreased in the intervention group when compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Outcome measures for subjective health (physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, fruit and vegetable intake, and self-rated health) significantly increased in the intervention group when compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Results provide preliminary evidence that a brief three-component healthy sleep, diet and physical activity intervention can elicit and sustain long-term improvements in body mass and blood pressure management, health behaviors, and perceived subjective health in pilots and may support quality of life during an unprecedented global pandemic.

Effects of COVID-19 Social Distancing Measures in Individuals with Chronic Pain Living in Spain in the Late Stages of the Lockdown

Social distancing measures during the lockdown have had a negative impact on chronic pain patients' function. Research, however, has only focused on the early stages of the first lockdowns. The aim of this study was to improve the understanding of the effects of COVID-19 social distancing measures on individuals with chronic pain living in Spain during the late stages of the lockdown. A group of 361 adults with pain participated in this study. They responded to an online survey and provided information on sociodemographic issues, pain, fatigue, perceived health, and quality of life. The data showed that most participants suffered moderate to severe pain and interferences with pain treatment and an increase in pain intensity during the lockdown. Most participants also informed us that fatigue had worsened during the lockdown (62%). Importantly, females with lower monthly family income and lower education have been found to be associated with greater levels of pain and fatigue. Despite this, participants perceived themselves as having good health and good quality of life. The findings from this study can be used to inform policy and specific responses for future COVID-19 waves and future pandemics where social distancing measures must be implemented.

Quality of Life (QoL) Is Reduced in Those with Severe COVID-19 Disease, Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19, and Hospitalization in United States Adults from Northern Colorado

The longitudinal quality of life (QoL) of COVID-19 survivors, especially those with post-acute sequelae (PASC) is not well described. We evaluated QoL in our COVID-19 survivor cohort over 6 months using the RAND SF-36 survey. From July 2020–March 2021 we enrolled 110 adults from the United States with a positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) into the Northern Colorado Coronavirus Biobank (NoCo-COBIO). Demographic data and symptom surveillance were collected from 62 adults. In total, 42% were hospitalized, and 58% were non-hospitalized. The Rand SF-36 consists of 36 questions and 8 scales, and questions are scored 0–100. A lower-scale score indicates a lower QoL. In conclusion, hospitalization, PASC, and disease severity were associated with significantly lower scores on the RAND SF-36 in Physical Functioning, Role Limitation due to Physical Health, Energy/Fatigue, Social Functioning, and General Health. Long-term monitoring of COVID-19 survivors is needed to fully understand the impact of the disease on QoL and could have implications for interventions to alleviate suffering during recovery.

Depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in Brazilian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Predictors and association with life satisfaction, psychological well-being and coping strategies

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic raises concerns about the mental health of the world population. Protection measures to prevention the disease impacted education and undergraduate students were exposed to additional stressors.

Objectives

Analyze depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in undergraduates, their respective predictors and the association with satisfaction with life, psychological well-being and coping strategies.

Methods

An online cross-sectional study was conducted from September 14 to October 19, 2020, involving undergraduate students enrolled in 33 courses from 5 public university campuses in the state of Parana, Brazil, using: questionnaire with sociodemographic, academic, health and pandemic effects variables; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21); Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS); Psychological Well-Being (PWB); BriefCOPE. The convenience sample was composed of 1,224 participants, with 18 years old or older, that completed all research instruments. Spearman correlation and logistic analysis (univariate and multivariate) were applied to the collected data.

Results

Most of the undergraduates presented symptoms of depression (60.5%), anxiety (52.5%) and stress (57.5%). Depression, anxiety and stress presented significant correlations in common: negative with satisfaction with life, all dimensions of psychological well-being, and 3 adaptive copings (active coping, planning, positive reframing); positive with 5 maladaptive copings (behavioral disengagement, denial, self-blame, self-distraction, substance use). In addition, there were 7 common predictors for symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress: female; age 18–24 years old; having a chronic disease; lower scores in 2 dimensions of psychological well-being (positive relations with others, self-acceptance); higher scores in 2 maladaptive copings (self-blame, substance use).

Conclusions

The data indicate a high prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and suggest that higher scores of satisfaction with life, psychological well-being dimensions and adaptive copings may present protective effects in undergraduates during a pandemic crisis.

The Impact of Parental Stress on Italian Adolescents' Internalizing Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study

The challenges and consequences of COVID-19 imposed massive changes in adolescents' daily routines (e.g., school closures, home confinement, and social distancing rules), which impacted their mental health. This longitudinal study aimed to better understand the changes in adolescents' internalizing symptoms and the underlying mechanisms of parental stress due to COVID-19. We asked 1053 parents of adolescents to complete an online survey during the second and fifth weeks and at the end of home confinement (i.e., four weeks later). Results showed that parents reported their adolescents' anxiety and depression symptoms were more severe at Time 2 than at the first administration. Anxiety symptoms slightly decreased at Time 3, while there was no significant change in depression symptoms. Moreover, parents' expressive suppression mediated the association between parental stress and adolescents' anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. The findings suggest that as restriction increased, adolescents' anxiety and depression became more severe. Moreover, due to the link between parental stress and adolescents' internalizing disorders helping families to cope with the distress due to the pandemic may have a positive impact on parents, the child, and the family as a whole (i.e., the family climate).

Detecting Emotional Evolution on Twitter during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Text Analysis

Early in 2020, an unexpected and hazardous situation occurred threatening and challenging all of humankind. A new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 was first identified in Wuhan, China, and its related disease, called COVID-19, has induced one of the most dangerous crises at a global level since World War II. The ultra-fast transmission rate of the virus and the high mortality rate led the World Health Organization (WHO) to officially declare the situation a pandemic. Governments, for their part, were forced to implement unprecedented mobility restrictions and cease a large part of their economic activities. These facts triggered multiple reactions from people who expressed their feelings mainly through social networks (like Twitter), using them as vectors of information and opinion. In this paper, a study carried out in different Spanish speaking countries (Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Spain) is presented, which addresses the manner in which the evolution of the pandemic outbreak has affected the emotions expressed by individuals on Twitter over the last 13 months (from March 2020 to March 2021). We used a total of 3 million tweets to achieve this task. We made use of a well-known framework called EmoWeb to capture the dynamic variation in the sentimental value of pandemic-related words. The results reflect to what degree the pandemic and its derived problems have influenced and affected the population of the selected countries in different ways. The outcomes also illustrate the evolution over time of opinions published on Twitter regarding several topics related to COVID-19.

The Experience of Patients with COVID-19 in China: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Aim

The present study examined the experiences of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 to better understand their concerns and inspiration and provide better care.

Methods

Semistructured interviews were performed with 10 COVID-19 patients from the Optical Valley Branch of Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital of Hubei Province. Interviews were recorded on audiotape and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Results

Four superordinate themes emerged: psychological distress caused by COVID-19 uncertainty, ethical dilemmas that will be faced after returning to the family and society, resources to cope with COVID-19, and event-related growth experience.

Conclusion

Patients with COVID-19 were generally at high risk of having mental and social health challenges. Although the epidemic obviously affected their overall health, which led to their negative emotions or concerns, it also had a positive effect, such as viewing their relationship with families or others more positively and having more thoughts and outlooks on life. The study prompted medical staff to take their time listening to patients and pay more attention to specific psychological and social health problems in future care.