Associations between COVID-19-related disruptions and psychological adjustment in a sample of young adults

We examined the relations between disruptions experienced by young adults in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic and their psychological adjustment. An online sample (N = 180, M_age = 24.8) reported on the impact of the pandemic on their living arrangements, work status, and finances; their psychological adjustment overall and with specific reference to the pandemic; and whether they lived alone and, if living with others, there were children in the home. Results indicated a moderate association between financial strain and poor overall adjustment and a small association between job-related problems and sleep disruption. Women experienced negative effects of pandemic-related disruptions on their adjustment. Men were particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of financial strain. The results show the negative psychological effects of disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on young adults' mental health.     

A little help from my friends: Lack of social interaction predicts greater boredom during the COVID-19 pandemic

Were people bored during the pandemic, and if so why? One possibility is lack of social interaction due to restrictions on social activity intended to slow the spread of communicable disease. In a 3-week daily diary study (n = 438; international community sample) social interaction predicted boredom and its consequences. People felt more bored on days when they engaged in less social interaction than usual (in-person or virtually), largely driven by a lack of meaning. In turn, boredom predicted lower well-being concurrently, and more virtual interaction the next day; people dispositionally higher in trait boredom also reported more solitary (but not partnered) sexual activity. In conclusion, this study suggests that maintaining social connections, even during a pandemic, may be important to mitigate boredom and improve overall well-being.     

COVID-19-related threat perceptions,political identity,and voting in the 2020 presidential election

Perceptions of the COVID-19 virus varied drastically in the United States, with many people highly concerned by health-related consequences (realistic threats) and many others concerned by sociocultural implications (symbolic threats). Across three studies, we tested whether differing realistic and symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions varied along gender and political identity near the 2020 US Presidential Election. In all three studies, we found that realistic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a liberal political identity; this pattern did not vary by gender. In Studies 1 and 3, symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a conservative political identity and also did not vary by gender. In Study 2, however, the association between symbolic threat and political identity did vary by gender. Symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a conservative identity for men but not women; for women, threat and political identity were unrelated.     

Primary and Secondary Control Over Age-Related Changes in Physical Appearance

Beliefs about appearance-related changes due to aging were used to test the effects of perceived control and secondary control (acceptance) in a sample of 412 young, early-middle-age, and late-middle-age college-educated adults. Mean difference in aging-related appearance control and hypotheses regarding the adaptiveness of primary and secondary control were examined. Primary control over aging-related appearance was lower in older adults and secondary control was higher. In addition, the results indicated support for the Primacy/Back-Up Model that primary perceived control is important at all levels of actual control. Those with stronger beliefs in their primary control were less distressed. Secondary control served a back-up function in that it was related to less distress only for those who had medium or lower beliefs in primary control. The implications of these findings, that primary control may be advantageous even in low-control circumstances, are discussed.     

Caretaker Psychological Factors Predicting Premature Termination of Children's Counseling

This study examines the psychological factors associated with caretakers' premature termination of counseling for their children. Data were collected on the 85 primary caretakers of 85 children in Texas who applied for counseling at community mental health centers or who received private practitioner care. The general hypothesis of the study was that scores on general hostility, intrapunitive hostility, extrapunitive hostility, paranoid ideation, depression, and anxiety would discriminate caretakers who prematurely terminated their children's counseling from both those caretakers whose children, in the judgment of the counselors, met therapeutic goals and those caretakers whose children did not meet therapeutic goals but who attended at least 10 counseling sessions. The effect size results suggest that counselors should primarily consider caretaker intrapunitive hostility when anticipating potential premature termination of counseling for children.     

System influences on posthomicide beliefs and distress

Criminal justice system experiences in 150 family members of homicide victims were investigated. The study had two goals: (a) to document the experiences of homicide survivors in the criminal justice system, including case outcomes, criminal justice system activities, and satisfaction with system personnel; and (b) to determine if experiences with the police impacted posthomicide beliefs (cognitive assumptions about the world and one’s relationship to it) and psychological distress. The sample, which was identified through the Medical Examiner’s Office, was drawn from all criminal homicides from 1.5 to 5 years prior to selection. Results showed that family members of homicide victims were very dissatisfied with their experiences in the criminal justice system. Additionally, whereas objective system outcomes (e.g, arrest) did not directly affect posthomicide beliefs and distress, subjective system outcomes (e.g., police satisfaction) directly affected beliefs and indirectly affected distress. There was some support for both equity theory and a cognitive theory of change, the two theories that guided the model specification. This study was funded by a predoctoral National Research Service Award fellowship to Martie Thompson, from the Violence and Traumatic Stress Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. We thank Paula Vardaman for her help with sample recruitment and data collection, Nancy Deore and Kelly Harlan for their help with data collection, and Ann Price for help with data entry. Additionally, we would like to thank Lieutenant Agan of the Atlanta Homicide Division, the staff at the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the staff at the Victim Witness Assistance Program for making this study possible by providing access to their files. Finally, we thank Morton Bard for his feedback in quastionnaire development and study design.