1
|
Liu S, Xu J, Cao H, An Y, Li Y, Li Z, Gao MM, Han ZR. Changes in emotion regulation strategies during the pandemic: prospective pathways to adolescent depressive symptoms. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024. [PMID: 38837359 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.14027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emotion regulation (ER) is considered central in adolescent psychopathology, and ER strategies may change during challenging times, such as a global pandemic. Despite this, there remains a limited understanding of individual differences in ER mechanisms and their associations with psychopathology. This study examined whether and how cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and self-compassion changed over COVID-19 and how these changes uniquely predicted adolescents' depressive symptoms. METHODS A total of 2,411 adolescents (58.6% females; Mage = 18.51, SD = 0.80) completed the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, the Self-compassion Scale, and the Symptom Checklist-90 before COVID-19 (in 2019) and during COVID-19 (in 2020). The predictive associations between each ER strategy and depressive symptoms were tested with latent change score models. RESULTS Adolescents' use of expressive suppression and self-compassion strategies both increased during COVID-19. More increases in expressive suppression predicted more depressive symptoms, whereas more increases in self-compassion predicted fewer depressive symptoms. Although, on average, cognitive reappraisal did not change, it did show significant variations within the sample - increases (vs. decreases) in cognitive appraisal predicted fewer depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The study indicates how adolescents' ER strategies changed during the unprecedented global pandemic. It underscores protective roles of increased cognitive reappraisal and self-compassion, as well as the adverse consequence of heightened expressive suppression on adolescents' depressive symptoms. Findings offer insights for targeted interventions aimed at addressing specific ER strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sihan Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jianjie Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Huiting Cao
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ye An
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yijia Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuangyang Li
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Mengyu Miranda Gao
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuo Rachel Han
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wollast R, Preece DA, Schmitz M, Bigot A, Gross JJ, Luminet O. The role of self-compassion in loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: a group-based trajectory modelling approach. Cogn Emot 2024; 38:103-119. [PMID: 37882199 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2023.2270201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Research has suggested an increase in loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, but much of this work has been cross-sectional, making causal inferences difficult. In the present research, we employed a longitudinal design to identify loneliness trajectories within a period of twelve months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium (N = 2106). We were particularly interested in the potential protective role of self-compassion in these temporal dynamics. Using a group-based trajectory modelling approach, we identified trajectory groups of individuals following low (11.0%), moderate-low (22.4%), moderate (25.7%), moderate-high (31.3%), and high (9.6%) levels of loneliness. Findings indicated that younger people, women, and individuals with poor quality relationships, high levels of health anxiety, and stress related to COVID-19, all had a higher probability of belonging to the highest loneliness trajectory groups. Importantly, we also found that people high in two of the three facets of self-compassion (self-kindness and common humanity) had a lower probability of belonging to the highest loneliness trajectory groups. Ultimately, we demonstrated that trajectory groups reflecting higher levels of loneliness were associated with lower life satisfaction and greater depressive symptoms. We discuss the possibility that increasing self-compassion may be used to promote better mental health in similarly challenging situations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robin Wollast
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Research Institute for Psychological Sciences, UCLouvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - David A Preece
- School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
| | - Mathias Schmitz
- Research Institute for Psychological Sciences, UCLouvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Alix Bigot
- Research Institute for Psychological Sciences, UCLouvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - James J Gross
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Olivier Luminet
- Research Institute for Psychological Sciences, UCLouvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS), Brussels, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wollast R, Lacourse É, Mageau GA, Pelletier-Dumas M, Dorfman A, Dupéré V, Lina JM, Stolle D, de la Sablonnière R. Trajectories of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness during the COVID-19 pandemic: A person-oriented multi-trajectory approach. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292522. [PMID: 38109431 PMCID: PMC10727429 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has produced unprecedented changes in the lives of many people. Although research has documented associations between concerns related to COVID-19 and poor mental health indicators, fewer studies have focused on positive factors that could help people better cope with this stressful social context. To fill this gap, the present research investigated the trajectories of self-compassion facets in times of dramatic social change. Using a longitudinal research design, we described the trajectories of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a representative sample of Canadian adults (N = 3617). Relying on a multi-trajectory group-based approach, we identified clusters of individuals following persistently low (4.0%), moderate-low (39.3%), moderate-high (46.7%), and high (10.0%) levels of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Interestingly, we found that compassionate self-responding trajectories were mainly stable over time with minor fluctuations for some groups of individuals, in line with the epidemiological situation. In terms of covariates, we observed that older women were more likely to follow trajectories of high compassionate self-responding, as compared to the other age and gender groups. In terms of mental health indicators, we demonstrated that trajectory groups with high levels of compassionate self-responding were associated with greater life satisfaction, more happiness, better sleep quality, higher sleep quantity, and fewer negative emotions, as compared to lower trajectory groups. The results supported the idea that self-compassion during the COVID-19 pandemic could have favored better mental health indicators and could possibly be promoted as a psychological intervention in the general population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robin Wollast
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Éric Lacourse
- Department of Sociology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | | | - Anna Dorfman
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Véronique Dupéré
- School of Psychoeducation, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jean-Marc Lina
- École de Technologie Supérieure, Université du Québec, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Dietlind Stolle
- Department of Political Science and Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kotera Y, Adam H, Kirkman A, Aledeh M, Brooks-Ucheaga M, Todowede O, Rennick-Egglestone S, Jackson JE. Positive Mental Health of Migrants in the UK during COVID-19: A Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:7046. [PMID: 37998277 PMCID: PMC10671421 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20227046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 impacted the mental health of many people in the UK. The negative impact was especially substantial among vulnerable population groups, including migrants. While research has focused on the negative aspects of mental health during the pandemic, the positive mental health of migrants in the UK during COVID-19 remained to be evaluated. This review aimed to identify literature that focused on positive mental health, and thematically synthesise the findings to understand what positive mental health approaches were employed to support specific outcomes during the pandemic for them to survive in this difficult time. Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO were searched using terms including "mental health", "migrants", and "COVID-19". The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist was used to assess the quality of the included studies. There were only two studies examining the positive mental health of UK migrants during this period. They describe approaches such as religious beliefs, passion for and acknowledgement of their job, learning new things, being physically active, social media, and social activities, producing outcomes such as inner peace, confidence, well-being, and a sense of belonging. The quality of the included studies was high. More research about positive mental health in migrants in the UK during the pandemic is needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiro Kotera
- School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2TU, UK; (Y.K.); (O.T.); (S.R.-E.)
- Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Habib Adam
- Institut für Religionswissenschaft, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria;
| | - Ann Kirkman
- College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UK; (A.K.); (M.B.-U.); (J.E.J.)
| | - Muhammad Aledeh
- Department of Psychiatry, Wiener Gesundheitsverbund, Klinik Donaustadt, Langobardenstraße 122, 1220 Vienna, Austria
| | - Michelle Brooks-Ucheaga
- College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UK; (A.K.); (M.B.-U.); (J.E.J.)
| | - Olamide Todowede
- School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2TU, UK; (Y.K.); (O.T.); (S.R.-E.)
| | - Stefan Rennick-Egglestone
- School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2TU, UK; (Y.K.); (O.T.); (S.R.-E.)
| | - Jessica Eve Jackson
- College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UK; (A.K.); (M.B.-U.); (J.E.J.)
| |
Collapse
|