An ecological perspective on early educator well-being at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hanno EC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8841165 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundEarly adolescence is a time of psychological and social change that can coincide with declines in mental health and well-being. This study investigated the psychological and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of students who responded to a survey in Grades 7 and 8 (ages 12-14) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The objectives of this study were (i) to provide an overview on early adolescents' experiences and social-emotional well-being during the pandemic; and (ii) to examine whether changes in social experiences as well as feeling safe from getting COVID-19 at school were associated with changes in well-being outcomes over the course of a year.MethodsA sample of n = 1,755 students from a large public school district self-reported on their life satisfaction, optimism, and symptoms of sadness across two time points: First, in their Grade 7 year (pre-pandemic; January to March, 2020) and then 1 year later in their Grade 8 year (during the pandemic; January to March, 2021). In Grade 8, students also reported on pandemic-specific experiences, including changes in mental health, social relationships, and activities, as well as coping strategies and positive changes since the pandemic. Data were collected online using the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI), a population-based self-report tool that assesses children's social-emotional development and well-being in the context of their home, school, and neighborhood. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between pandemic-related changes in relationships and perceived safety from getting COVID-19 at school with changes in well-being outcomes.ResultsStudents reported a range of experiences, with a large proportion reporting moderate concerns and impacts of the pandemic, including worries about their mental health and missing school activities. Students reported significantly lower optimism, lower life satisfaction, and higher sadness compared to the previous year. Within the sample, improvements in relationships with parents and other adults at home was associated with higher well-being during the pandemic.ImplicationsResults from this study can inform decision making of policy-makers, educators, and practitioners working with youth, by providing information on students' experiences during the pandemic and identifying factors that may be protective for students' mental health during and beyond the pandemic.
| S-EPMC9110968 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 outbreak has become one of the largest public health crises of our time. Governments have responded by implementing self-isolation and physical distancing measures that have profoundly impacted daily life throughout the world. In this study, we aimed to investigate how people experience the activities, interactions, and settings of their lives during the pandemic. The sample (N = 604) was assessed in Ireland on the 25 March 2020, following the closure of schools and non-essential businesses. We examined within-person variance in emotional well-being and how people spend their time. We found that while most time was spent in the home (74%), time spent outdoors (8%) was associated with markedly raised positive affect and reduced negative emotions. Exercising, going for walks, gardening, pursuing hobbies, and taking care of children were the activities associated with the greatest affective benefits. Home-schooling children and obtaining information about COVID-19 were ranked lowest of all activities in terms of emotional experience. These findings highlight activities that may play a protective role in relation to well-being during the pandemic, the importance of setting limits for exposure to COVID-19-related media coverage, and the need for greater educational supports to facilitate home-schooling during this challenging period.
| S-EPMC7361840 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives in numerous ways. How youth have been impacted by the pandemic and which preexisting factors best relate to COVID-19 responses are of high importance for effective identification and treatment of those most vulnerable. Youth with pre-pandemic mental health difficulties such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could be at risk for worse well-being during and after the pandemic.MethodsThe current study tested potential risk factors (i.e., pre-pandemic mental health, age, and parental education) and their relationship to family experiences during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were previously enrolled in an ongoing, yearly longitudinal study examining the relationship between mental health and executive functions in youth. Families with 1-4 annual pre-pandemic lab visits filled out an online COVID-19 survey in May-July 2020 to assess how the pandemic impacted their well-being (n = 135 youth).ResultsYouth pre-pandemic mental health difficulties, especially ADHD symptoms, related to worse well-being during the early pandemic. Trajectories of recent ADHD symptoms over time also predicted cognitive difficulties during the pandemic. We found that youth age was a strong predictor of pandemic response, with younger youth showing fewer negative responses. Parental education level buffered family economic impact during early COVID-19. Families showed synchrony in their pandemic responses.ConclusionsPre-pandemic ADHD severity and slope, youth age, and parental education (a proxy for socioeconomic status) were risk factors that influenced youth or family well-being early in the COVID-19 pandemic; this information can help identify those who may need more community and educational support.
| S-EPMC8446746 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The governmental lockdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced people to change their behavior in many ways including changes in exercise. We used the brief window of global lockdown in the months of March/April/May 2020 as an opportunity to investigate the effects of externally imposed restrictions on exercise-related routines and related changes in subjective well-being. Statistical analyses are based on data from 13,696 respondents in 18 countries using a cross-sectional online survey. A mixed effects modeling approach was used to analyze data. We tested whether exercise frequency before and during the pandemic would influence mood during the pandemic. Additionally, we used the COVID-19 pandemic data to build a prediction model, while controlling for national differences, to estimate changes in exercise frequency during similar future lockdown conditions depending on prelockdown exercise frequency. According to the prediction model, those who rarely exercise before a lockdown tend to increase their exercise frequency during it, and those who are frequent exercisers before a lockdown tend to maintain it. With regards to subjective well-being, the data show that those who exercised almost every day during this pandemic had the best mood, regardless of whether or not they exercised prepandemic. Those who were inactive prepandemic and slightly increased their exercise frequency during the pandemic, reported no change in mood compared to those who remained inactive during the pandemic. Those who reduced their exercise frequency during the pandemic reported worse mood compared to those who maintained or increased their prepandemic exercise frequency. This study suggests that under similar lockdown conditions, about two thirds of those who never or rarely exercise before a lockdown might adopt an exercise behavior or increase their exercise frequency. However, such changes do not always immediately result in improvement in subjective well-being. These results may inform national policies, as well as health behavior and exercise psychology research on the importance of exercise promotion, and prediction of changes in exercise behavior during future pandemics.
| S-EPMC7541696 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The question of pet ownership contributing to human well-being has received mixed empirical evidence. This contrasts with the lay intuition that pet ownership contributes positively to wellness. In a large representative sample, we investigate the differences that may exist between pet vs. non-pet owners in terms of their well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, and examine among different sociodemographic strata, for whom pet ownership can be more vs. less beneficial. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among Canadian adults (1220 pet owners, 1204 non-pet owners). Pet owners reported lower well-being than non-pet owners on a majority of well-being indicators; this general pet ownership effect held when accounting for pet species (dogs, cats, other species) and number of pets owned. Compared to owners of other pets, dog owners reported higher well-being. When examining the effect of pet ownership within different socioeconomic strata, being a pet owner was associated with lower well-being among: women; people who have 2 + children living at home; people who are unemployed. Our results offer a counterpoint to popular beliefs emphasising the benefits of pets to human wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic and confirm the importance of accounting for sociodemographic factors to further understand the experience of pet ownership.
| S-EPMC9002031 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Objective: We examine the impact of financial distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and psychological well-being. Methods: We analyze cross-sectional survey data (n = 2,545) from the Life during Pandemic study in Chile. We estimate linear probability models to analyze the relationship between economic fragility, financial distress, and psychological well-being. Results: Our findings show unemployment and income loss are highly predictive of experiencing a range of financial problems, such as a lack of savings, as well as difficulties paying bills, consumer debt, and mortgage loans. In turn, financial distress leads to a higher prevalence of poor well-being and mental health deterioration, and sleep problems. Conclusion: Expansion of mental health assistance services are needed, as new diagnosis of mental health conditions has increased, but treatment has not, pointing to a barrier in the access to some mental health care services during the pandemic. Policies designed with the objective of improving financial education are necessary to increase precautionary savings and financial resilience, and alleviate the psychological burden of debt in the future.
| S-EPMC9453756 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nostalgia is a mixed emotion. Recent empirical research, however, has highlighted positive effects of nostalgia, suggesting it is a predominantly positive emotion. When measured as an individual difference, nostalgia-prone individuals report greater meaning in life and approach temperament. When manipulated in an experimental paradigm, nostalgia increases meaning in life, self-esteem, optimism, and positive affect. These positive effects may result from the specific experimental procedures used and little is known about daily experiences that covary with nostalgia. To address this gap, we aimed to measure nostalgia in ecologically valid contexts. We created and validated the Personal Inventory of Nostalgic Experiences (PINE) scale (Studies 1a-1d) to assess both trait and state-based nostalgic experiences. When measured as an individual difference, the nomological net was generally negative (Study 2). When measured in daily life (Studies 3 and 4), nostalgia as a state variable was negatively related to well-being. Lagged analyses showed that state nostalgia had mixed effects on well-being at a later moment that day and negative effects on well-being on the following day. To reconcile the discrepancies between these studies and the positive effects of nostalgia from previous research, we showed that experimentally induced nostalgic recollections were rated more positively and less negatively than daily experiences of nostalgia (Study 5). These studies show that nostalgia is a mixed emotion; although it may be predominantly positive when nostalgic memories are generated on request, it seems predominantly negative when nostalgia is experienced in the course of everyday life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
| S-EPMC7513922 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic led to mental health fallout in the US; yet research about mental health and COVID-19 primarily rely on samples that may overlook variance in regional mental health. Indeed, between-city comparisons of mental health decline in the US may provide further insight into how the pandemic is disproportionately affecting at-risk groups.PurposeThis study leverages social media and COVID-19-city infection data to measure the longitudinal (January 22- July 31, 2020) mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 20 metropolitan areas.MethodsWe used longitudinal VADER sentiment analysis of Twitter timelines (January-July 2020) for cohorts in 20 metropolitan areas to examine mood changes over time. We then conducted simple and multivariate Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions to examine the relationship between COVID-19 infection city data, population, population density, and city demographics on sentiment across those 20 cities.ResultsLongitudinal sentiment tracking showed mood declines over time. The univariate OLS regression highlighted a negative linear relationship between COVID-19 city data and online sentiment (β = -.017). Residing in predominantly white cities had a protective effect against COVID-19 driven negative mood (β = .0629, p < .001).DiscussionOur results reveal that metropolitan areas with larger communities of color experienced a greater subjective well-being decline than predominantly white cities, which we attribute to clinical and socioeconomic correlates that place communities of color at greater risk of COVID-19.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic is a driver of declining US mood in 20 metropolitan cities. Other factors, including social unrest and local demographics, may compound and exacerbate mental health outlook in racially diverse cities.
| S-EPMC8266050 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSafety precautions and activity restrictions were common in the early, pre-vaccine phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that higher levels of participation in potentially risky social and other activities would be associated with greater life satisfaction and perceived meaning in life. At the same time, prosocial COVID-preventive activities such as mask wearing should enhance life satisfaction.MethodWe assessed the impact of COVID-preventive behaviors on psychological well-being in October 2020. A nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (n = 831) completed a demographic questionnaire, a COVID-related behaviors questionnaire, a Cantril's Ladder item, and the Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale. Two hierarchical linear models were used to examine the potential impact of COVID-preventive behaviors on life satisfaction and meaning in life while accounting for the influence of demographic factors.ResultsThe study revealed significant positive relationships between COVID-preventive behaviors and subjective well-being. Wearing a mask was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, while maintaining social distancing of six feet and avoiding large groups were significantly associated with higher perceived meaning in life. Social activities including dining at restaurants and visiting friends and family were also significantly associated with higher life satisfaction and meaning in life, respectively.ConclusionThe study's findings support the conclusion that disease prevention measures such as social distancing and mask wearing do not reduce, and may enhance, subjective well-being during a pandemic. Utilizing the unique context of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine relationships between behavior and subjective well-being, the study also indicates that shallow or medium-depth social activities are likely to be more central to life satisfaction, whereas narrower, deeper social interactions with friends and family are more important to perceived meaning in life.
| S-EPMC10521491 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionAs smartphones have become increasingly integrated into people's lives, researchers have attempted to answer whether they are beneficial or detrimental to well-being. Of particular interest to the current study is the role that smartphones played during the first year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.MethodsIn an intensive longitudinal study, we explore how varying uses of smartphones relate to well-being using the Displacement-Interference-Complementarity framework.ResultsConsistent with pre-pandemic research, we show that people felt better, calmer, and more energetic when they used their phones more for complementary purposes (i.e., to access information, entertainment, and connection not otherwise available). In contrast to most pre-pandemic research, however, we find no evidence that any type of phone use predicted lower well-being during the pandemic.DiscussionOverall, this study lends support to the idea that smartphones can be beneficial for individuals, particularly during times when face-to-face interaction is limited.
| S-EPMC10040682 | biostudies-literature