Resilience matters: Explaining the association between personality and psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background/ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to elucidate the underlying mechanism through which basic personality dimensions predict indicators of psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic, including subjective well-being and perceived stress. As a personality characteristic highly contextualized in stressful circumstances, resilience was expected to have a mediating role in this relationship. Method: A sample of 2,722 Slovene adults, aged from 18 to 82 years filled in the Big Five Inventory, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Mental Health Continuum. A path analysis with the Bootstrap estimation procedure was performed to evaluate the mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between personality and psychological functioning. Results: Resilience fully or partially mediated the relationships between all the Big Five but extraversion with subjective well-being and stress experienced at the beginning of the COVID-19 outburst. Neuroticism was the strongest predictor of less adaptive psychological functioning both directly and through diminished resilience. Conclusions: Resilience may be a major protective factor required for an adaptive response of an individual in stressful situations such as pandemic and the associated lockdown.     

Drivers of technology adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic: The motivational role of psychological needs and emotions for pre-service teachers

Social Psychology of Education - The vital role of motivation becomes even more evident when considering the digital transformation of learning and teaching environments, especially with the effect...     

The role of passion for studies on academic procrastination and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Social Psychology of Education - Procrastination is a maladaptive behaviour that students often experience in academic activities and can result in negative consequences to mental health. The...     

Burnout and occupational participation among dentists with teaching responsibilities in universities

The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of burnout and explore the relationships between burnout and occupational participation among dentists with teaching responsibilities. Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to evaluate occupational participation with questions on demographic information among 155 dentists with teaching responsibilities. Age, gender, years of experience, academic position were the factors affecting level of burnout and occupational participation. Occupational performance score was negatively correlated with emotional exhausment (r = –.731) and depersonalization (r = –.693) while positively correlated with personal accomplishment (r = .611). Occupational satisfaction scores were negatively correlated with emotional exhausment (r = –.631) and depersonalization (r = –.625) while positively correlated with personal accomplishment (r = .614). Occupational participation level can effect burnout among dentists with teaching responsibilities. Further studies with a larger sample are needed to investigate these preliminary results deeply.     

Occupational demands,psychological burnout and anxiety among hospital personnel in norway

The present study reports the results of a questionnaire survey among 212 health care workers at a hospital in Northern Norway. Measures included burnout, trait anxiety, various job demands and supports, and work attitudes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment). Results provided support for Maslach's conceptualization of the burnout syndrome cross-culturally. Correlations among the three burnout subscales, as well as organizational correlates of burnout were generally consistent with earlier findings. The burnout scores of hospital workers were higher than North American norms, and some occupational differencs among subscales were found. A model of individual characteristics, job demands, burnout, and work attitudes was tested through a series of multiple regressions. Trait anxiety as well as job demands contributed to burnout. The influence of trait anxiety on work attitudes was mediated through emotional exhaustion. However, in addition to emotional exhaustion, both job demands and organizational supports had direct effects on work attitudes. Thus, burnout does not fully operate as a mediating variable between demands and attitudes such as commitment. The study also addressed the issue of individual differences in the burnout response and focused on the need to systematically investigate the relaive importance of situational versus personality variables in future burnout research.     

Coping and Mental Health in Early Adolescence during COVID-19

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The current longitudinal study examines changes in overall mental health symptomatology from before to after the COVID-19 outbreak in youth from...     

Functional impairment, marital quality, and patient psychological distress as predictors of psychological distress among cancer patients' spouses.

This study investigated contextual determinants of psychological distress among 197 spouses of cancer patients. It was hypothesized that higher levels of patient functional impairment would lead to greater patient distress. Patient distress, in turn, would lead to lower spouse marital satisfaction and ultimately to higher spouse distress. Spouses completed measures of distress and marital quality at three time points. Cancer patients rated their functional impairment and psychological distress at the same time points. Results indicated that at all time points, greater patient impairment was associated with higher levels of patient distress, which, in turn, was related to lower marital satisfaction. However, marital quality was related to spouse distress at only 1 time point, but spouse distress was directly associated with patient distress at each time point. Implications for cancer patients and spouses are discussed.     

Sources of support and psychological distress among academically successful inner-city youth

Study 1 examined the relationships between parental attachment, academic achievement, and psychological distress among a multiethnic sample of academically successful inner-city high school students (19 White, 54 Black, 9 Asian, 18 Hispanic). These students participated in an enrichment program designed to prepare high school students for college success. The results suggest that the affective quality of maternal attachment is positively associated with grade point average, and the affective quality of paternal attachment is negatively associated with depressive symptoms. In Study 2, case examples provide an examination of sources of support, life stress, and patterns of resilience. Implications for prevention and intervention are also discussed.     

Media use and Coping in Tweens during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Public and scholarly debate about the effects of media on youth has been a topic of concern since the twentieth century. These concerns were further amplified...     

The Combined Contribution of Fear and Perceived Danger of COVID-19 and Metacognitions to Anxiety Levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy - Despite a wide base of research suggesting a major role for dysfunctional metacognitions in contributing to anxiety, their role in...     

The Importance of Spiritual Consumption,Religious Expression and Subjective Well-Being among Christians in the US during COVID-19

Journal of Religion and Health - Uncertainty, fear, and distress have become prevalent in the lives of U.S. residents since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unpredictable reality of...     

Psychological Wellbeing,Dyadic Adjustment,and Parental Stress among Spanish Families during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Due to COVID-19, many countries, like Spain, imposed lockdown on the entire population to prevent the virus from spreading. The purpose of this exploratory...     

The Mediating Effect of Religiousness in the Relationship Between Psychological Resilience and Fear of COVID-19 in Turkey

Journal of Religion and Health - The purpose of this study was to examine if religiousness has a mediation influence on the link between psychological resilience and fear of COVID-19. Data were...     

Personal goals and interpersonal support and hindrance as factors in psychological distress and well-being

This study examined psychological distress and well-being as a function of the characteristics of personal projects and project-relevant social support and social hindrance provided by the three most important people in subjects' lives. Three project factors (Project Mastery, Strain, and Self-Involvement) were found to account for significant variation in both psychological distress and well-being. Project support was generally found to be significantly related to well-being, but not to distress. However, project hindrance was found to be significantly related to both distress and well-being. Additional analyses revealed that the behavior of the most important person in a subject's life is of special significance in accounting for variations in psychological distress and well-being. Finally, evidence of the independence of support and hindrance was observed.     

Work-family conflict, and psychological distress in men and women among Canadian police officers

The present study examined the relations among sex, work-family conflict, and psychological distress in 78 Canadian police officers (50 men and 28 women). The average age of the officers was 36.1 yr. (SD=8.0), and nearly one-third of the respondents had been in policing 16 years or more. Ordinary least-squares regression was conducted to examine the association of Psychological Distress scores, as measured by the K6, with four types of work-family conflict: Time-based Work-to-Family Conflict, Time-based Family-to-Work Conflict, Strain-based Work-to-Family Conflict, and Strain-based Family-to-Work Conflict. Being single and having higher perceived Strain-based Work-to-Family Conflict were associated with greater scores on Psychological Distress. No statistically significant sex differences emerged in the self-reported type or direction of work-family conflict or in the factors associated with Psychological Distress.     

Marriages and psychological distress among adult offspring of divorce: a Norwegian study

The study compares the likelihood of getting married and of getting divorced among the adult offspring of divorced parents versus the adult offspring of parents who remain married (total N = 37,230). It also compares levels of psychological distress in the two groups (total N= 22,898). Data derive from The Nord‐Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) and population registries from Norway. Individuals with divorced parents tended to delay marriage or not marry at all. However, among those who married, there were more divorces among the offspring of divorced parents than among offspring of parents who were still married. Offspring of divorce tended to marry other offspring of divorce. These marriages were at especially high risk of dissolution. Parental divorce was particularly influential as a risk factor during the first years of marriage. Both parental divorce and the individuals’ own divorce were risk factors for psychological distress.     

When distress hits home: the role of contextual factors and psychological distress in predicting employees' responses to abusive supervision

We developed a model of the relationships among aggressive norms, abusive supervision, psychological distress, family undermining, and supervisor-directed deviance. We tested the model in 2 studies using multisource data: a 3-wave investigation of 184 full-time employees (Study 1) and a 2-wave investigation of 188 restaurant workers (Study 2). Results revealed that (a) abusive supervision mediated the relationship between aggressive norms and psychological distress, (b) psychological distress mediated the effects of abusive supervision on spouse undermining, (c) abusive supervision had a direct positive relationship with supervisor-directed deviance, (d) the positive relationship between psychological distress and spouse undermining was stronger for men as opposed to women, and (e) employees engaged in relationship-oriented occupations reported greater levels of abusive supervision and psychological distress. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Exploring correlations between positive psychological resources and symptoms of psychological distress among hematological cancer patients: a cross-sectional study

Hematological cancer patients experience high levels of psychological distress during diagnoses and intensive treatments. The aim of the present study is to explore the effects of positive psychological resources on depressive and anxiety symptoms in hematological cancer patients. This survey was conducted in a hospital during the period from July 2013 to April 2014. A total of 300 inpatients were recruited and finally 227 of them completed the questionnaires. Questionnaires included demographic and clinical variables, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, the Life Orientation Scale-Revised, the General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Resilience Scale-14. Results showed that the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 66.1 and 45.8%, respectively. Both optimism (β = ?.479, p < .001) and resilience (β = ?.174, p < .05) were negatively associated with depressive symptoms, and optimism (β = ?.393, p < .001) was negatively associated with anxiety symptoms. However, resilience (β = ?.133, p > .05) was not significantly associated with anxiety symptoms, and self-efficacy was not significantly associated with depressive (β = ?.032, p > .05) or anxiety symptoms (β = ?.055, p > .05). The results suggest that hematological cancer patients who possess high levels of positive psychological resources may have fewer symptoms of psychological distress. The findings indicate that enhancing positive psychological resources can be considered in developing intervention strategies for decreasing depressive and anxiety symptoms.     

The relationship between social support and psychological distress among Hispanic elders in Miami, Florida

This study compared 5 psychological models of the relationship between social support (SS) and behavioral health. These theoretical models, which have garnered some level of prior empirical support, were as follows: (a) main effects, (b) buffering effects, (c) social exchange, (d) equity, and (e) protective health outcomes of providing SS. A population-based sample of 273 community-dwelling Hispanic elders drawn from East Little Havana, Florida (ages 70-100 years old; 86% Cuban) completed self-report measures of SS, financial strain, and psychological distress (PD). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the competing SS models. Results indicated that satisfaction with received SS was, as specified in the main-effects model, associated with lower PD, whereas received SS was unexpectedly associated with heightened PD. Reciprocal exchanges of SS (equity model) or exchanges where Hispanic elders provided more SS than they received (protective health outcomes of providing SS model) were also associated with lower PD. The feasibility of a 6th model in which the effects of SS are contingent upon the elder's preexisting PD level is proposed. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).     

Migration and psychological status of adolescents in Turkey

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of involuntary migration on an adolescent population that had moved with their families to either one of two culturally different locations in Turkey. One of these groups had moved from a village in Eastern Turkey to a nearby town, while the other had moved a considerable distance to a large city in Western Turkey. Comparison groups included adolescents from both regions who had never migrated. Measures of self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and social support networks were used with 305 adolescents who were between the ages of 12 and 15. Adolescents who had migrated scored lower on self-esteem and life satisfaction, and had fewer people in their social support networks than those who had not. It was also found that those who had migrated tended to be more dependent on peers than family for social support. This was probably the case because school attendance was lower for migrants, particularly for males, and the probability of full time work on the street away from their families was considerably higher.