Research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: A call to action for psychological science

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents the greatest international biopsychosocial emergency the world has faced for a century, and psychological science has an integral role to offer in helping societies recover. The aim of this paper is to set out the shorter- and longer-term priorities for research in psychological science that will (a) frame the breadth and scope of potential contributions from across the discipline; (b) enable researchers to focus their resources on gaps in knowledge; and (c) help funders and policymakers make informed decisions about future research priorities in order to best meet the needs of societies as they emerge from the acute phase of the pandemic. The research priorities were informed by an expert panel convened by the British Psychological Society that reflects the breadth of the discipline; a wider advisory panel with international input; and a survey of 539 psychological scientists conducted early in May 2020. The most pressing need is to research the negative biopsychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate immediate and longer-term recovery, not only in relation to mental health, but also in relation to behaviour change and adherence, work, education, children and families, physical health and the brain, and social cohesion and connectedness. We call on psychological scientists to work collaboratively with other scientists and stakeholders, establish consortia, and develop innovative research methods while maintaining high-quality, open, and rigorous research standards.     

Predicting psychological service providers' empowerment in the light of the COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak: A structural equation modelling analysis

This study aimed to investigate the predictors of psychological service providers' empowerment in the light of the COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak. The researcher prepared a psychological service providers' empowerment scale that consisted of 28 items, and this scale was applied in a random sample consisting of 975 psychological service providers. The results showed that the empowerment scale has acceptable validity and reliability. The results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that the 28 scale items saturate on seven factors, which accounted for 64.42% of the total variance of the scale: the first factor named expect psychological services effectiveness accounted for 27.86%, the second factor named self‐stimulation accounted for 9.71%, the third factor named responsibilities and duties accounted for 7.12%, the fourth factor named psychological services work environment accounted for 6.51%, the fifth factor named psychological service providers’ decision‐making accounted for 5.37%, the sixth factor named creative psychological service provider behaviour accounted for 4.45%, and the seventh factor named psychological services confidence accounted for 3.82% of the total variance of a psychological service providers' empowerment. In order to study the ability to predict the empowerment among psychological service providers, the researcher developed a structural model for psychological service providers' empowerment and then used the structural equation model analysis. The results showed that the proposed structural model of a psychological service providers' empowerment has goodness‐of‐fit, and these results emphasised the ability to predict psychological service providers' empowerment by seven tested factors.     

Overseas Filipino workers and the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring the emotional labor of persistence

Without a doubt, the precarity of an overseas Filipino worker's (OFW) life is augmented by the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily through the economic and political consequences that such public health crises engender. However, while primarily seen in terms of their economic and political dimensions, these consequences also affectively disrupt the life of OFWs. In this paper, I trace the various conflicting ways that OFWs, who were terminated from their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, have dealt with their emotions while still in their respective host countries, and, trying to find a way to return home. Drawing from Arlie Hochschild (1983) concept of emotional labor, I argue that the OFWs perform what I am provisionally calling the emotional labor of persistence. This type of emotion work, though tied to, and enabled by the precarious conditions in which the respondents live, is a resistive and agential kind of emotional labor. It allows the OFWs to endure precarity, and in the process, find ways to elude, confront, or question the modes of thinking and feeling in which they are constantly circumscribed by the demands of their overseas work and overall precarious situation.     

流行性感冒近期会大流行吗?

流行性感冒是为数不多的可能造成世界大流行的急性传染病之一。大流行的基础是人与动物的流感病毒相互接触与不断变异,在复制过程中基因重组而产生新的亚型,并侵袭对新亚型毫无抵抗力的人群,迅速蔓延而成大流行。大流行的结果是人群的高发病率与高致死率,对人类生命财产和社会经济发展带来灾难性打击。目前,H5N1亚型可能巳经具备了从禽鸟直接向人类传播的能力,流感大流行已向我们走来。面对威胁只有加强监测,力争在大流行来到之前,采取有科学依据的综合性措施,随时应对疫情先兆,方有可能遏制流行势头。     

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.     

The psychological benefit of future vividness in goal persistence: An illustrative case of the class of 2020 before & during COVID-19

Graduating during COVID-19, the Class of 2020 had difficulty pursuing their future goals. This research examined the likelihood of academic and career goal change early in the pandemic, disparities in persistence by socioeconomic status (SES), and how psychological resources mitigated goal change during the early stages of the pandemic. This 4-year study surveyed students in the Class of 2020 eight times from their first week in college (Fall 2016) to their last semester before graduation (Spring 2020; N = 115; 20% below middle SES, 80% middle SES or above). Even in the first weeks of COVID-19, a quarter of students changed goals. Lower SES students were less likely to persist in their post-graduation plans. Nevertheless, students who entered college with a vivid image of their future were more likely to have secured a graduate school or job prospect prior to COVID-19, and, in turn, were less likely to change goals.     

Difficulties,uncertainty, and opportunity: The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic by early to late adolescence in the Czech Republic

The pandemic created an unfamiliar situation for adolescents, especially within the school context. Drawing on the theory of cognitive appraisal, according to which people evaluate the benefit, harm, and threat of a certain event, this study explored Czech adolescents' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted six focus groups with early (11–12 years), middle (14–15 years), and late (18–19 years) adolescents. Using thematic analysis, we identified three themes—pandemic as difficulties, uncertainty, and a (un)seized opportunity. While some younger participants initially perceived the pandemic as exciting, others struggled immediately with isolation, online learning, and disrupted daily activities. The feelings of distressing uncertainty, but also the appraisal of the pandemic as an opportunity to utilize free time differently, which in some cases faded over time, prevailed among late adolescents. This study captured the effects of the pandemic and its appraisals on adolescents' subjective well-being and the shift in the thinking of early and late adolescents.     

Keeping connected: Family therapists' experiences of working online during the COVID-19 pandemic

For this qualitative study, eight family therapists were interviewed about their experiences of practising online during the pandemic. Findings are organised using a framework of problems, possibilities, resources and restraints (PPRR, Neden & Burnham, 2007). Despite variation in therapist confidence in online practice, all participants found new possibilities in this way of working, including connecting family members across distance, increased co-construction within therapeutic relationships and engaging clients who would not usually attend appointments. Therapeutic alliance was generally possible to establish online, though felt more challenging with whole families than individuals. Problems and restraints included therapist fatigue, risk and safety management, and attuning to nuanced expression of emotion. Implications for practice and future research are proposed. It is suggested that systemic practice has unique qualities to offer the field of online psychotherapy.