Emerging adult romantic relationship narratives during COVID-19: Understanding relational challenges and opportunities

This cross-sectional study sought to understand how emerging adult college students currently in relationships experienced and dealt with COVID-19 stress during a key time for romantic relationship development. Using a relational turbulence theory (RTT) framework, we examined romantic relationship narratives in three different groups of students for indicators of uncertainty (break-up anxiety [BUA]), interference (conflict and negative emotion), facilitation (support), and coping strategies. Of particular interest was whether these indicators would vary as a function of when the stress of the pandemic was assumed to be more compared to less disruptive to relationships (Group 1 Fall 2020 and Group 2 Spring 2021, off campus/unvaccinated; Group 3 Fall 2021, on campus/vaccinated). As expected, students interviewed during periods when pandemic stress was assumed to be higher showed more break-up anxiety, increased conflict, and angry word use to describe conflict events. However, contrary to expectations, sad emotions and support did not vary as a function of when students were interviewed. Regardless of when students were interviewed, there were several strategies they used to cope with the stresses of COVID-19. The most frequent strategies students described were using technology/media to stay connected and taking steps to keep themselves and their families healthy.     

Lower class people suffered more (but perceived fewer risk disadvantages) during the COVID-19 pandemic

Does COVID-19 affect people of all classes equally? In the current research, we focus on the social issue of risk inequality during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a nationwide survey conducted in China (N = 1,137), we predicted and found that compared to higher-class individuals, lower-class participants reported a stronger decline in self-rated health as well as economic well-being due to the COVID-19 outbreak. At the same time, we examined participants' beliefs regarding the distribution of risks. The results demonstrated that although lower-class individuals were facing higher risks, they expressed lesser belief in such a risk inequality than their higher-class counterparts. This tendency was partly mediated by their stronger endorsement of system-justifying beliefs. The findings provide novel evidence of the misperception of risk inequality among the disadvantaged in the context of COVID-19. Implications for science and policy are discussed.     

Understanding physical activity declines during COVID-19: The affective repercussions of disruption to exercise routines

Recent research has examined psychological factors that forestalled declines in physical activity (PA) during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surprisingly, there has been limited evidence of an association between intrinsic motivation (IM) and PA. We reasoned that IM may have not predicted PA because COVID-19 restrictions limited opportunities to engage in exercise in ways that produced positive affective experiences (i.e., inherent rewards). Using data from a cross-sectional survey (N = 373 participants), we tested a moderated mediation model that predicted perceived changes to affective experiences during exercise would mediate the association between disruption to one’s exercise routine and self-reported declines in PA, and that effects would be moderated by IM. Evidence of moderated mediation was found, suggesting that disruptions to exercise routines were associated with fewer positive affective experiences during exercise that predicted declines in PA engagement, especially for people who typically exercised for intrinsic reasons.     

The role of Improv in enhancement of Meaning in Life in youth: An explanatory sequential design

“A global mental health crisis” was sparked by the pandemic, especially for the youth as it exposed them to serious existential crises related to grief, loss, death and dying, deep psychological insecurities, etc. Additionally, this crisis came as a call for greater meaning in the personal and professional lives of youth. To deal with these issues in youth, Improv intervention is being used as an effective contemporary psychological technique to improve holistic perspective-taking. This pilot study investigated the efficacy of Improv intervention in enhancing Meaning in Life in youth using an explanatory sequential design. The sample comprised 80 youth (age range 18–25 years). The study was carried out in two phases—quantitative and qualitative. In the quantitative phase, a randomised control trial design was used to assess the efficacy of the intervention; this was followed by semistructured interviews to identify crucial themes that highlighted participants’ perceptions of Meaning in Life and the benefits of the intervention. Results revealed potential usefulness of Improv in Meaning enhancement.     

Outcomes in clients transitioning from in-person counselling to telehealth counselling with trainees

The onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid transition of mental health services from in-person to telehealth counselling. Despite the far-reaching impact of this transition, we know little about the impact of this transition on outcomes for clients working with counsellor trainees. The present study utilised longitudinal data collected from a counselling training centre at a major U.S. university to compare client ratings of depression, anxiety and working alliance across 1) in-person services delivered (i.e. pre-pandemic) and 2) telehealth services delivered after the pandemic began (i.e. intra-pandemic) among the same group of clients. Results support our hypothesis that changes in clients' self-reports would be generally equivalent across in-person and telehealth services. Depression and anxiety symptoms decreased, and working alliance tended to increase during both in-person and telehealth care; however, these trends were only statistically significant during telehealth services. Limitations related to sample size (N = 15 clients; up to 17 sessions per client) and low statistical power are discussed. Nonetheless, this study supports the growing body of literature supporting the efficacy of telehealth counselling services. We provide suggestions for future telehealth research and discuss implications for counsellor training.     

Social determinants of health,prenatal maternal stress,and earlier birth during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant women, especially those from socioeconomically disadvantaged and marginalized groups, experienced unprecedented stress. Prenatal stress and social determinants of health (SDoH) such as lower education and lack of a relationship partner are known to contribute to earlier birth. However, whether SDoH and stress independently contribute or whether the harmful impact of SDoH is mediated by stress is unknown. Moreover, the contributions of these factors has not been investigated in the context of a communal health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine these processes, we used a longitudinal cohort of 2473 women pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic who reported a live birth. We compared structural equation models predicting gestational age at birth from SDoH (race/ethnicity, education, financial security, health insurance, relationship status, and lifetime abuse) and from prenatal maternal stress related and unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that the association of SDoH with earlier birth was partially mediated by prenatal stress. These findings help uncover mechanisms explaining health disparities in the U.S. and highlight the need to address both SDoH and the stress that these factors produce in under-resourced and marginalized communities.     

Both overwhelmed or in it together? Similarity in COVID-19-related stress and romantic relationship quality

Stress tends to be negatively associated with romantic relationship quality, but shared stress can bond romantic partners and may actually have a positive effect on relationships. Thus, are similar levels of pandemic-related stress during the COVID-19 pandemic—a time of high stress for many couples—associated with better or worse relationship quality? In this study, we investigated whether similarity in COVID-19-related stress was associated with romantic relationship outcomes in two dyadic samples (N = 300 couples). Generally, we found little evidence that similarity in COVID-19-related stress was associated with relationship outcomes. We did find that similarity in general worry about the pandemic was associated with lower overall relationship quality; however, it was also associated with lower levels of viewing the pandemic as a source of conflict. Therefore, more research is needed to understand the nuances of when and how stress similarity is associated with romantic relationship quality.     

The effects of social belonging and kindness on stress and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal experiment

Because the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has introduced significant stressors to people's lives, more research on self-directed strategies to cope with pandemic-related stress is needed. In the current longitudinal experiment (N = 614), we investigated the emotional benefits of two self-directed strategies—belonging affirmation and recalling kindness—during the Delta (October 2021) and Omicron (February 2022) waves of the pandemic. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three activity conditions (belonging affirmation, recalling kindness, or control), which they performed weekly for 4 weeks. Contrary to our pre-registered hypothesis, belonging affirmation and recalling kindness did not promote greater well-being overall; however, belonging affirmation led to well-being improvements indirectly via increases in positive emotions. Furthermore, the benefits of belonging affirmation were moderated by pandemic wave. That is, during the Omicron wave, but not the Delta wave, belonging affirmation led to improved life satisfaction, positive emotions, and connectedness, decreased loneliness and negative emotions, and marginally reduced perceived stress and anxiety. These results provide preliminary evidence for the well-being benefits of belonging affirmation and suggest the importance of evaluating coping strategies throughout different stages of a long-term stressor.     

Well-being during the coronavirus pandemic: The effect of big five personality and COVID-19 beliefs and behaviors

This study examined the relationship between personality traits, COVID-specific beliefs and behaviors, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, at the onset of a second major lockdown, Australian adults (n = 1453) completed measures of Big Five personality, COVID beliefs and behaviors (i.e., belief in a rapid recovery, perceived risk, compliance, change in exercise, and change in interpersonal conflict), subjective well-being and COVID-specific well-being. Personality correlates of COVID-specific well-being differed from those with general life satisfaction. The benefits of conscientiousness were elevated whereas the benefits of extraversion and agreeableness were reduced. Neuroticism was related to greater perceived risk from the pandemic, elevated interpersonal conflict during the pandemic, and more pessimistic views about the rate at which society would recover from the pandemic. In contrast, conscientiousness was notably related to greater compliance with directions from public health authorities. While regression models showed that general well-being was largely explained by personality, COVID factors provided incremental prediction, and this was greatest when predicting COVID-specific well-being and lowest for global evaluations of life satisfaction. The observed prediction by beliefs and behaviors on well-being beyond personality, provides potential opportunities for targeted interventions to support the management of future novel stressors.     

Goal disruption during COVID-19: Reimagining goals during a global pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major source of professional and personal disruption and has had both direct and downstream consequences on almost every aspect of peoples' lives, including their personal goal pursuits. In the face of unexpected hardships and obstacles, people have had to find new paths to goal achievement. In the present work, we examined whether difficulty adjusting goal pursuit during the global disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic is related to negative affective, cognitive, and behavioral goal-related outcomes. Across two studies, we found that people who had more difficulty adjusting their goal pursuit during the pandemic experienced more negative feelings toward their goals, were less satisfied with the status of their goals, and were less likely to actually achieve their goals. Moreover, individual differences in planning tendencies, need for predictability, general adaptability, and perceived pandemic disruption were related to more difficulty adjusting goal pursuit. This work demonstrates the importance of flexibility in the face of setbacks and obstacles, especially during times of disruption and uncertainty.