Prenatal maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and birth outcomes: Is the newborn spared?

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated numerous stressors among the general population, but more specifically in pregnant women because of disruptions in prenatal care and delivery conditions. Studies suggest that prenatal maternal stress increased during the pandemic (Berthelot et al., 2020; Perzow et al., 2021; Tomfohr-Madsen et al., 2021). Considering what is known about the fetal programming potential of prenatal maternal stress, several researchers, early in the pandemic, raised concerns over the significant negative consequences that the pandemic context could have on birth outcomes. Studies comparing birth outcomes during versus before the pandemic suggest a marginal increase in birthweight and a significant decrease in preterm birth (Yang et al., 2022), but individual variations in prenatal maternal stress during the pandemic have received less attention. The objective of the present study is to examine the association between prenatal maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and birth outcomes. During pregnancy, 195 expecting mothers reported on their general and pandemic-related stress. When their child was 6 months old, mothers completed a questionnaire collecting information on birth outcomes (gestational age, birthweight, head circumference and Apgar scores). Hierarchical linear regressions show that none of the maternal prenatal stress variables significantly predicted variations in birth outcomes. Potential pandemic-related protective factors (e.g., changes in life and hygiene habits, rest imposed by lockdowns) and the need to offer support to pregnant women are discussed.     

Does online social support uniquely buffer effects of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic?: A natural experiment

In-person sources of social support buffer effects of stress on mental health. However, online social support inconsistently demonstrates stress-buffering effects. Highly stressful circumstances, such as the first month of COVID-19 lockdown, may be necessary to benefit from support received from online networks. We investigated whether online support demonstrated an increased stress-buffering effect on depressive symptoms during the first month of COVID-19 lockdown. We collected cross-sectional data on three distinct groups of participants from February to April 2020—preceding lockdown (pre-COVID; n = 53), up to four weeks following university closures (initial lockdown; n = 136), and the final weeks of the semester (later lockdown; n = 127). Initial lockdown participants reported significantly more stress than pre-COVID but not later lockdown participants. The online social support by stress by COVID phase interaction was only significant for the initial versus later lockdown comparison. Online support buffered stress during initial lockdown but not later lockdown. Stress-buffering effects of offline support were observed and did not depend on COVID phase. Online support may only buffer stress when stress is heightened and offline support is less available.     

Can probability neglect bias promote social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The effectiveness of a stay-at-home order depends on the speed of behavioral changes that are triggered by risk perception. Probability neglect bias, one of the cognitive biases, may lead people to engage in social distancing. However, there is no empirical evidence of the relationship between probability neglect bias and social distancing. This study aims to examine the relationship between individual differences in susceptibility to probability neglect bias and the level of social distancing practice during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan. The level of engagement in social distancing was defined as the narrowing of life-space mobility. We conducted a web-based questionnaire survey among 1000 adults living in central Tokyo, Japan, at the beginning of the pandemic outbreak. Our results show that people had a strong fear of infection in the early pandemic stages. Approximately 60% of our subjects were influenced by probability neglect bias. People susceptible to probability neglect bias engaged in social distancing more intensely than those who were not susceptible after the state of emergency was lifted.     

Parental evaluation of teachers’ competences and characteristics during COVID-19 pandemic homeschooling

Social Psychology of Education - With the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, school-related closures and the hasty transition into homeschooling, parents were required to take a more active and...     

Disruptive pandemic effects on telecommuters: A longitudinal study of work–family balance and well-being during COVID-19

We examined the disruptive influence of COVID-19 pandemic rates in the community on telecommuters' satisfaction with balancing their work and family roles and consequently their well-being. Utilizing event system theory and adaptation theory, we proposed that the rate of increase in proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases in telecommuters' residential communities would predict a lower rate of increase in their satisfaction with work–family balance over time, thereby indirectly influencing two key aspects of well-being—emotional exhaustion and life satisfaction. Results from latent growth curve modeling using objective community data, as well as survey responses from a three-wave (N = 349) panel study of telecommuters in the United States, indicated that rate of increase in the proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases in communities was negatively associated with the rate of increase in satisfaction with work–family balance, which translated into decreasing levels of well-being over time. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

“‘Ninja’ levels of focus”: Therapeutic holding environments and the affective atmospheres of telepsychology during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis in Australia led to a rapid increase in the use of telehealth services to offer psychological therapy (often referred to as ‘telepsychology’). In this article, we discuss the intersection of the social psychology concepts of therapeutic holding spaces and containment with more-than-human theory as it relates to Australia's mental health sector during the COVID-19 crisis. Drawing on our recent qualitative survey research into Australian psychologists' use of telepsychology during the crisis, we consider the ways that they worked to build and maintain therapeutic holding spaces and alliances over teleconferencing platforms during this extraordinary time of social crisis and isolation. We explore and contextualise three important findings from our study: 1) the limited viewing area of a flat screen makes it difficult for therapists to read and respond to their client's body language and requires different forms of returned bodily gestures in order to show empathy; 2) most respondents implemented different affective and relational strategies online to ensure they were not missing important non-verbal cues from their clients; and 3) the traditionally ‘safe’ therapeutic holding space created in face-to-face therapy can be easily subverted by client-end interruptions, and concerns around safety or personal privacy in the client's home environment. In bringing these issues to the fore, we highlight the online therapeutic holding space as a temporally and socially situated human-technological assemblage in which a series of affective, spatial, relational and sense-making agencies coverage, opening or closing off capacities for therapists and their clients.     

Couple and family therapists’ experiences with Telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic: a phenomenological analysis

In designing this study, we aimed to obtain a rich, phenomenological understanding of the experiences of couple and family therapists who transitioned their practice to telehealth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve experienced therapists from the U.S., Spain and Australia were interviewed in depth about their experiences of this transition, particularly how they developed and maintained therapeutic alliances in a virtual context with couples and families suffering pandemic-related hardships. The qualitative analysis identified 40 themes reflecting participants’ initial impressions of telehealth and their positive and negative reactions and adjustments to practicing remotely. Upon overcoming some initial wariness about providing services virtually, many participants described advantages to this way of working with families. Indeed, participants were creative in adjusting to this novel therapy modality, finding new ways to connect emotionally with their clients, to work meaningfully with children, to assess in-session dynamics, and to ensure their clients’ privacy and safety. Notably, several participants commented on the relatively slower development of alliances with new cases and the challenge of repairing split alliances between family members. Many of these difficulties were described as due to having minimal access to their clients’ raw emotions and the inability to use typical systemic interventions, such as moving family members around physically. Participants also reflected on being a “participant observer” to the upheaval caused by the pandemic, a distressing experience they shared with the families in their care.

     

Who has to act? A qualitative exploration of emerging adults' critical consciousness during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and violence against people of Color during 2020 brought troubling racial inequities to the forefront of American discourse. In line with the Critical Consciousness (CC) and Social Justice Youth Development (SJYD) frameworks, emerging adults may have developed their capacity for critical reflection, motivation, and action against systemic inequities. We drew from interviews with 27 emerging adults (ages 18–23) across the US, and used thematic analysis to explore differences in their reflections, motivations to act, and actions based on their racial/ethnic identification. We found nuanced variability in their critical reflections based on self, social, or global awareness and experiences of marginalization. White and Asian emerging adults used vague language or expressed feeling their reflections were insufficient. Black and Latinx emerging adults emphasized the importance of education and raising awareness. Although all emerging adults took action based on a sense of duty, few engaged in critical action; decisions to take in-person action varied based on whether they viewed racism or COVID-19 as a greater threat. Findings demonstrate that emerging adults' experiences of racialization may have related to their CC development. We share implications for community psychologists conducting antiracist research addressing White fragility and dismantling racial hierarchy.     

Is longing only for Germans? A cross-cultural comparison of Sehnsucht in Germany and the United States

Sehnsucht, the longing or yearning for ideal yet seemingly unreachable states of life, is a salient topic in German culture and has proven useful for understanding self-regulation across adulthood in a German sample (e.g., Scheibe, Freund, & Baltes, 2007). The current study tested whether findings for German samples could be generalized to the more individualistic and agentic U.S. American culture. Four samples of U.S. American and German participants (total N = 1,276) age 18 to 81 years reported and rated their 2 most important life longings and completed measures of subjective well-being and health. Measurement equivalence was established at the level of factor loadings for central life longing characteristics. German and U.S. American participants did not differ in self-reported ease of identifying personal life longings or their intensity. In comparison to Germans, however, U.S. Americans associated life longings less with utopian, unattainable states and reported less salience of the concept in everyday life. Associations with measures of adaptation suggest that life longings can be both functional and dysfunctional for development in both cultures.     

Resign or carry-on? District and principal leadership as drivers of change in teacher turnover intentions during the COVID-19 crisis: A latent growth model examination

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers in the United States, an already at-risk occupation group, experienced new work-related stressors, safety concerns, and work-life challenges, magnifying on-going retention concerns. Integrating the crisis management literature with the unfolding model of turnover, we theorize that leader actions trigger initial employee responses but also set the stage for on-going crisis response that influence changes in teachers' turnover intentions. We apply latent growth curve modelling to test our hypotheses based on a sample of 617 K-12 teachers using nine waves of data, including a baseline survey at the start of the 2020–2021 school year and eight follow-up surveys (2-week lags) through the Fall 2020 semester. In terms of overall adaptation, teachers on average, experienced an increase in work-life balance and a decrease in turnover intentions over the course of the semester. Results also suggest that district and school leadership provide unique and complementary resources, but leader behaviours that shape initial crisis responses do not similarly affect employee responses during crisis, contrary to theory. Instead, teachers' adaptive crisis response trajectories were triggered by continued resource provision over the semester; increasing provision of valued resources (i.e., continued refinement of safety practices) and improvements in work-life balance prevented turnover intentions from spiralling throughout the crisis. Crisis management theory and research should continue to incorporate temporal dynamics and identify factors that contribute to crisis response trajectories, using designs and analyses that allow for examination as crises unfold in real time.     

Changes in students’ goal pursuits and motivational regulations toward healthy behaviors during the pandemic: A Self-Determination Theory perspective

ObjectivesIn this study, we examined how students’ perceptions of teachers and parents’ need-supportive and need-thwarting behaviors, related to their intrinsic and extrinsic goal pursuits, and in turn their motivational regulations toward physical activity in virtual physical education lessons over a semester during the Sars-COV2 pandemic.DesignShort-term longitudinal study.MethodsStudents (M_age = 14.43, SD = 0.99) completed the targeted questionnaires at the beginning (T1, N = 295) and the end (T2, N = 194) of a virtual semester.ResultsThe results of the autoregressive model indicated that all measures were relatively stable from T1 to T2. Neither teachers nor parents’ need-supportive and need-thwarting behaviors at T1 predicted students’ intrinsic goal pursuits at T2, except for teachers’ need-supportive behaviors at T1 negatively marginally predicted students’ extrinsic goal pursuits at T2. The results also showed that intrinsic goal pursuits at T2 positively and negatively related to autonomous motivation and amotivation at T2, respectively. Extrinsic goal at T2 positively related to controlled motivation and amotivation at T2.ConclusionsFindings suggested that teachers need-supportive behaviors are important for decreasing students’ extrinsic goal pursuits, while parents’ need-thwarting behaviors relate to students’ amotivation over time during the lockdown periods. Also, students’ intrinsic goal pursuits would contribute positively to autonomous motivation and negatively to amotivation over time.     

Contribution of social support to home-quarantined Chinese college students’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating role of online learning self-efficacy and moderating role of anxiety

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of quarantine policy led to an unprecedented home-quarantined living and online learning context for Chinese college students. This study aimed to investigate whether and how social support contributed to home-quarantined Chinese college students’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this study examined the mediating role of online learning self-efficacy in explaining how social support contributed to home-quarantined Chinese college students’ well-being. The study also examined the moderating effect of anxiety, which may buffer the effectiveness of social support and online learning self-efficacy in home-quarantined online learning contexts. Data include 2481 responses to an online questionnaire survey from home-quarantined Chinese college undergraduates. Data were analyzed by performing Partial Least Squares regression. Results showed that social support associated positively with home-quarantined Chinese college students’ online learning self-efficacy and well-being. The results revealed a partial mediating effect of online-learning self-efficacy on the positive effect of social support on well-being. The moderating effect analysis found that the positive association of online learning self-efficacy with social support and well-being was stronger in home-quarantined Chinese college students who perceived no anxiety.

     

Development of the other-race effect during infancy: Evidence toward universality?

The other-race effect in face processing develops within the first year of life in Caucasian infants. It is currently unknown whether the developmental trajectory observed in Caucasian infants can be extended to other cultures. This is an important issue to investigate because recent findings from cross-cultural psychology have suggested that individuals from Eastern and Western backgrounds tend to perceive the world in fundamentally different ways. To this end, the current study investigated 3-, 6-, and 9-month-old Chinese infants’ ability to discriminate faces within their own racial group and within two other racial groups (African and Caucasian). The 3-month-olds demonstrated recognition in all conditions, whereas the 6-month-olds recognized Chinese faces and displayed marginal recognition for Caucasian faces but did not recognize African faces. The 9-month-olds’ recognition was limited to Chinese faces. This pattern of development is consistent with the perceptual narrowing hypothesis that our perceptual systems are shaped by experience to be optimally sensitive to stimuli most commonly encountered in one’s unique cultural environment.     

Does authenticity always breed mental health? A cross-cultural comparison between the United States and China

Numerous studies on Western cultures have suggested a strong linkage between authenticity and mental health. However, little is known about whether such an association can be generalized to Eastern cultures. This study aimed to conduct a cross-cultural comparison on the association between three dimensions of authenticity (authentic living, self-alienation, and accepting external influence) and two factors of mental health (negative and positive) across Western and Eastern cultures. Measurement invariance tests were carried out and multigroup structural regression models developed on two college samples from the US (n = 392) and China (n = 281). Results suggested that the associations between authenticity and the negative factor of mental health were consistent across cultures, where both self-alienation and accepting external influence were positively associated with anxiety. However, the associations between authenticity and the positive factor of mental health were different in the US and Chinese samples. Specifically, both authentic living and accepting external influence were significantly associated with life satisfaction in the US sample but not in the Chinese sample. Findings stress that having a nondistorted perception of the true self is critically related to lower levels of anxiety across cultures and highlighted the need to identify culture-specific promotive factors for life satisfaction.     

A comparison of techniques to affect sociometric status: A small step toward primary prevention in the classroom?

Interdependent tasks and role play were implemented as treatment conditions in three elementary classrooms (n=142) to affect the peer nominations of the subjects. Third to fifth grade subjects, 68 female and 74 male, received $\text{1}\text{2}$ hour per day of treatment or a control condition for two weeks. Sociometric measurements were obtained prior to the treatment, one week after, and six weeks after. Analysis of covariance was used to test the effectiveness of the treatments. One week following treatment, intersependent tasks was effective (p<.05) in causing subjects in all grades to pick formerly low status children. On the six weeks followup only fifth grade subjects showed the effects of interdependent tasks (p<.01). Several post hoc analyses were performed to investigate the mechanisms behind the change. The results suggest that interdependent tasks may be an effective strategy in raising the popularity of low status children if the treatment becomes an ongoing part of classroom routine. The implications for primary prevention are discussed.     

Can a pandemic make people more socially conservative? Political ideology,gender roles,and the case of COVID-19

The first months of 2020 rapidly threw people into a period of societal turmoil and pathogen threat with the COVID-19 pandemic. By promoting epistemic and existential motivational processes and activating people's behavioral immune systems, this pandemic may have changed social and political attitudes. The current research specifically asked the following question: As COVID-19 became pronounced in the United States during the pandemic's emergence, did people living there become more socially conservative? We present a repeated-measures study (N = 695) that assessed political ideology, gender role conformity, and gender stereotypes among U.S. adults before (January 25–26, 2020) versus during (March 19–April 2, 2020) the pandemic. During the pandemic, participants reported conforming more strongly to traditional gender roles and believing more strongly in traditional gender stereotypes than they did before the pandemic. Political ideology remained constant over time. These findings suggest that a pandemic may promote the preference for traditional gender roles.     

Household Chaos and Caregivers’ and Young Children’s Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mediation Model

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Based on 764 households with young children in Wuhan, China, where the COVID-19 pandemic started, this study investigated how household chaos during the...     

The initial stage of the international sojourn: excitement or culture shock?

This paper presents findings from an ethnographic study of the adjustment journey of international postgraduate students at a university in the South of England, which involved interviews and participant observation over a 12-month academic year. It was discovered that the initial stage of the sojourn1 was not characterised by feelings of excitement, as suggested by the U-curve model (and its successors): though such feelings were present, they were overwhelmed by negative symptoms more commonly associated with culture shock. The implications of these findings for support structures in higher education are discussed.