Goals and Self-Efficacy Beliefs During the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown: A Mixed Methods Analysis

The role of planfulness for well-being, stress, and goal disruption during COVID-19

Planfulness refers to an individual's tendency to be future oriented, mentally flexible, and cognitively strategic when engaging with goals, and has been shown to predict goal completion. We investigated the relationships among planfulness, goal disruption, stress, and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, which served as a unique setback context. We measured these constructs using the planfulness scale, an ad-hoc survey item probing goal disruption in the pandemic, the perceived stress scale, and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, respectively. Participants were university students (N = 174; mean age 23.03, SD: 4.37; 77% female). Higher planfulness predicted lower goal-disruption, lower stress, and higher well-being during the pandemic, extending its benefits beyond the goal domain. High levels of planfulness did not protect against goal disruption among those participants in which the self-reported personal impact of the pandemic was highest. Differences in goal disruption across levels of planfulness were constrained to lower reported pandemic impact. However, the differences in psychological well-being and stress by levels of planfulness were retained even when self-reported perceptions of personal pandemic impact were high. More planful students maintained lower stress and higher psychological well-being than their less planful peers across levels of adversity. These findings suggest that even in extremely difficult contexts in which planfulness does not protect against goal disruption, it still confers personal benefits in terms of psychological health.

Connection and recovery in the COVID-19 age: An analysis of changes in goal-setting throughout the pandemic by consumers living with enduring mental illness

Goal-setting is a tool that empowers consumer recovery. Though the pandemic has affected consumer goal-setting, the nature and extent of this impact have not been examined in a recovery setting. The aim of this study is to assess whether the recovery goals of individuals with serious mental illness changed in association with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this mixed-methods design, data were collected from a purposeful sample of consumers (nTOTAL  = 355) aged 19-67 years (MAGE  = 44.56, SD = 13.05) attending Recovery Camp, a 5-day therapeutic-recreation programme for individuals living with severe mental illness (e.g., PTSD, schizophrenia). Consumer-set goals were examined across 5 programmes prior to March 2020 (nPRE  = 126) and 11 following (nPOST  = 229). Goals were set on day one, with attainment self-scored on day five. Chi-squared goodness-of-fit tests compared goal proportions per domain; tests of independence assessed changes in goals pre- and post-pandemic. Six goal domains were identified: Approach-Based Recovery, Avoidance-based Recovery, Novel Physical Activities, Relationships, Health, and Recreation/Relaxation. Irrespective of the pandemic, goal attainment was consistently high across all programmes (86.56%). Approach-based Recovery goals were predominant pre-pandemic, but were significantly reduced post-pandemic (p = 0.040). Goals related to Relationships and Novel Physical Activities took precedence throughout the pandemic. Post-COVID-19, consumer recovery goals reveal increased desire for connection, novelty-seeking, and positive behavioural change.

Did the prevalence of traditional school bullying increase after COVID-19? Evidence from a two-stage cross-sectional study before and during COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 has had a range of adverse effects on the behavior and mental health of adolescents globally, including bullying, anxiety and depression. However, there is a lack of comparative studies on the changes of school bullying before and during COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the changes in traditional bullying before and during COVID-19 pandemic and reveal the related risk factors in Shantou, China.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Two samples of secondary school students were collected in 2018 and 2021 in Shantou, respectively.

METHODS

Bullying history and risk behaviors of students were measured in the past six months. The χ² test was used to analyze differences in baseline information and bullying types. The binary logistic regression with Forward LR method was used to analyze factors that affect the risk of bullying victimization and perpetration before and during COVID-19.

RESULTS

A total of 5782 secondary school students were included, 3071 before COVID-19 pandemic and 2711 during COVID-19. The prevalence of different types of victimization and perpetration all increased during COVID-19 (P < 0.001). Boarding, being a lower secondary school student (as opposed to upper secondary school), being male (as opposed to female), drinking, and playing violent video games were shared risk factors for bullying victimization and perpetration. Living in an urban (as opposed to rural and island) was a risk factor for perpetration. Smoking was a risk factor for perpetration. All differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

We found that the prevalence of bullying victimization as well as perpetration increased during COVID-19. It suggests that we need to pay more attention to traditional school bullying prevention and control in China in the pandemic context.

You have to let go sometimes: advances in understanding goal disengagement

While research on tenacious goal pursuit and persistence has evoked a myriad of research efforts, research on goal disengagement has rather been neglected and has been focusing mainly on positive consequences of individual differences in goal disengagement capacities. In recent years, however, research on goal disengagement has seen an upsurge in studies, specifically addressing the conceptualization of goal disengagement, the processes involved, and factors facilitating or undermining it. However, many questions remain unanswered or only partly answered providing numerous opportunities for further investigation. With this special issue of Motivation and Emotion, we aim to stimulate such progress in research on goal disengagement. To this end, this special issue includes empirical studies with cross-sectional, prospective, longitudinal, and experimental designs with a wide range of personal and experimentally induced goals as well as invited commentaries from scholars across different psychological sub disciplines. In this introductory essay, we provide a brief review of the current state of goal disengagement research. We also provide an overview about the contributions to this special issue with reflections related to the current state of research and areas where further advancement in conceptualization and empirical studies is needed.

Organization support as an antecedent of self-efficacy during the COVID-19 lockdown in Sri Lanka

The objectives of this study were to investigate organization support received by employees during the COVID-19 lockdown and its effect on self-efficacy. The study was conducted in Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 lockdown; a sample of employees who performed work in the form of work-from-home responded to the survey questionnaire. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling techniques. The findings led to identify four organization support practices implemented during the COVID-19 lockdown. These were named as work collaboration and coordination, work direction, psychological wellness, and physical wellness. These four practices significantly enhanced the self-efficacy of employees. The findings of the study imply that the traditional theories of social cognitive theory and positive psychology have enduring theoretical resonance to better understand contemporary phenomena with novel applications.

The association between peer relationship and learning engagement among adolescents: The chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and academic resilience

Previous studies have shown that peer relationship affects learning engagement. And learning engagement plays a vital role in promoting knowledge acquisition and production, enhancing adolescents’ academic success. However, few studies have focused on the mechanism between peer relationship and learning engagement. As such, based on Social Cognitive Theory, this study attempts to explore how peer relationship of adolescents is linked to learning engagement through the chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and academic resilience. The participants were 250 students who were selected via random sampling in a public middle school, in Eastern China, in June 2021. All the participants filled in the structured self-report questionnaires on peer relationship, self-efficacy, academic resilience, and learning engagement. The data were analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM) in SPSS 24.0 and AMOS 24.0. Results indicated that peer relationship was directly and positively associated with learning engagement. Results also indicated that peer relationship was indirectly and positively associated with learning engagement via self-efficacy and academic resilience, respectively, and sequentially. More importantly, it was found that the direct effect was much lower than the indirect effects of which self-efficacy was the greatest. It is suggested that appropriate interventions and support should be provided to facilitate adolescents’ peer relationship, self-efficacy, and academic resilience, thus promoting their learning engagement and academic success.

Melting COVID-frozen goals: How goal disengagement supports well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

The current research addresses dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic's disruption to goal pursuit. Specifically, we examined the effects of disengaging from frozen goals (goals for which progress had been disrupted due to COVID-19). In May 2021, we asked participants (N = 226) what percentage of their goals were COVID-frozen goals and asked them to report their engagement in one such goal (vs. an active goal): the degree to which they think about the goal, ruminate about the goal, and are committed to the goal. Participants also reported on two facets of their recent well-being: psychological distress (stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety) and life satisfaction. As expected, percentage of COVID-frozen goals was positively associated with psychological distress (stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety). Moreover, frozen goal rumination (but not thought frequency or commitment) was negatively associated with life satisfaction and positively associated with psychological distress (stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety; even when controlling for active goal rumination). Furthermore, individual differences in the capacity to disengage and reengage in alternatives were negatively associated with frozen goal rumination, positively associated with life satisfaction, and negatively associated with psychological distress (stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety). These results highlight the adaptive function of disengagement in goal pursuit. We discuss implications for the goal disengagement literature and for coping with COVID-19.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11031-022-09959-w.

Getting trapped in a dead end? Trait self-control and boredom are linked to goal adjustment

Disengaging from unattainable goals and reengaging in alternative goals is essential for effective goal pursuit; yet, surprisingly little is known about associated personality factors. Here, we focused on individual differences in self-control (domain-general self-control, if–then planning) and boredom (boredom proneness, boredom avoidance and escape tendencies). Concerning goal adjustment in everyday life (Study 1; N = 323 crowdworkers), if–then planning was associated with worse disengagement and better reengagement. While boredom proneness was associated with poorer reengagement, boredom avoidance and escape tendencies were associated with better reengagement. When goal striving was thwarted during the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2; N = 97 students), similar associations emerged along with links to anxiety and depression. However, disengagement was no longer associated with if–then planning but instead with better self-control and higher boredom proneness. These results show differential relationships of goal disengagement and reengagement with self-control and boredom, paving the way to a better understanding of who struggles or shines when effective goal adjustment is required.

The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women's Feelings during a Hospital Stay

Introduction: The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) affected individuals and society and caused disruption, anxiety, stress, and loneliness. Being hospitalized during the pandemic increase a patient’s negative feelings. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients’ feelings (loneliness, depression, hope, self-efficacy) during a hospital stay. Materials and methods: This study included 207 women, aged from 15 to 83 years (55 ± 21.2) that were hospitalized during the pandemic in Białystok, Łomża, and Biała Podlaska, Poland at internal medicine departments. The main reasons for hospitalization were cardiovascular diseases, abdominal pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, diabetes, and unknown fever. Respondents were asked to complete the following questionnaires: Sense of Loneliness (the DJGLS), Depression Beck Inventory (BDI), Basic Hope (BHI-12), and Self-Efficacy (GSES). Results: Most of the studied group of women had an average sense of loneliness. A greater sense of loneliness was found among hospitalized women living in the countryside—the lowest sense of loneliness and depression was among women with higher education and the highest sense of effectiveness. One-third of respondents had a moderate degree of depression. Of the respondents, 39% had a relatively high level of basic hope. The assessment of self-efficacy demonstrated that 52% of the respondents showed a high sense of self-efficacy, an average sense of self-efficacy was shown by 35.5% of the respondents, and a low sense of self-efficacy was shown by 12.6% of the respondents. Conclusions: Numerous hospitalized women during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite experiencing moderate depression, had an average sense of loneliness and a high level of hope and self-efficacy.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Depressive Symptoms and Loneliness for Middle-Aged and Older Adults

This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depressive symptoms and loneliness in older adults, using the Protection Motivation Theory Framework. Using data collected between March 2020 and May 2021 as part of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 2145 adults over age 50), the roles of threat and coping appraisals as predictors of protective health behaviors and, ultimately, mental health outcomes, were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Being at high risk for COVID-19 complications and death was associated with more depressive symptoms and loneliness. Higher levels of concern about COVID-19 were associated with more depressive symptoms while knowing someone who had died of the coronavirus was associated with less loneliness. Lower scores for perceived control over one’s health and social life were associated with more depressive symptoms and higher loneliness. These results suggest that moving forward, mental health assessments should consider the impact of the pandemic and include measures specifically asking about COVID-19 concerns and experiences (e.g., death of close friends or family due to COVID-19, protective health measures). Additionally, future responses to this pandemic and other public health emergencies should consider the influence that self-efficacy has on health behaviors and mental health. The pandemic has raised public awareness of the negative consequences of social isolation and acted to destigmatize mental illness, and this greater awareness could encourage middle-aged and older adults to seek various treatments for depression and loneliness.

Pandemic paranoia, general paranoia, and their relationships with worry and beliefs about self/others - A multi-site latent class analysis

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in paranoid thinking has been reported internationally. The development of the Pandemic Paranoia Scale (PPS) has provided a reliable assessment of various facets of pandemic paranoia. This study aimed to (i) identify classes of individuals with varying levels of general paranoia and pandemic paranoia, and (ii) examine associations between classification and worry, core beliefs, and pro-health behaviours.

METHODS

An international sample of adults (N = 2510) across five sites completed the Revised-Green Paranoid Thoughts Scale and the PPS. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted using these two paranoia variables. Classes were compared on trait worry (Penn State Worry Questionnaire), beliefs about self/others (Brief Core Schema Scales), and pro-health behaviour.

RESULTS

Three latent classes emerged: Class 1 with low R-GPTS and PPS scores, Class 2 with a high R-GPTS score and a moderate PPS score, and Class 3 with high R-GPTS and PPS scores. Compared to Class 1, Classes 2-3 were associated with more worry and negative self- and other-beliefs. Class 3 was further characterised by greater positive-self beliefs and less engagement in pro-health behaviours. Engagement in pro-health behaviours was positively correlated with interpersonal mistrust and negatively correlated with paranoid conspiracy and persecutory threat.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals with a general paranoia tendency were more likely to respond to the global health threats in a suspicious and distrusting way. Our findings suggested that worry and negative self/other beliefs may contribute to not just general paranoia but also pandemic paranoia. The preliminary finding of a link between pro-health behaviours and interpersonal mistrust warrants further examination.

Adapting to change: How has COVID-19 affected people's work and personal goals?

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the global economy and affected millions of people's work and personal lives across the world. The purpose of the present study was to better understand how individuals' work and personal goals have been affected by the pandemic and how they have adapted to these changes. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 48) and surveyed participants (n = 200) weekly for 5 weeks. Both methods revealed similar themes regarding the adaptation and pursuit of goals (social support, handling unpredictable situations, logistics, solving problems creatively, goal postponement, and no changes). Survey responses also showed that most individuals experienced their goals as more difficult (79%; 13% easier; 9% no change) and found that many had had to adapt or postpone their work and personal goals, often due to logistical difficulties. Businesses and governments should do more to help individuals adapt their goals to the new circumstances.

Mental Health Status of People with Multiple Sclerosis during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective. This study assesses and compares the mental health status of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) in Poland during the second wave of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (November 2020) to a similar group whose mental health status was examined in November 2017. It also analyzed the psychological resources such as self-efficacy and health locus of control (HLC) and their relationship to mental health in both groups. Methods. Cross-sectional study included two groups of PwMS with 113 respondents each. The respondents completed the General Health Questionnaire-12 and questionnaires for assessing self-efficacy and HLC. The clinical and demographic data of participants were also collected. Results. No differences in mental health status were observed between the studied groups. A hierarchical regression model of the group studied in 2020 revealed that general self-efficacy (β = −0.21, p = 0.032), HLC—internal (β = −0.21, p = 0.035), and education (β = −0.18, p = 0.048) explained 18% of the variance in the mental health of PwMS, whereas according to the model of the group assessed in 2017 self-efficacy (β = –0.31, p < 0.001), HLC—chance (β = 0.45, p < 0.001), and HLC—internal (β = −0.37, p < 0.001) explained 48% of the variance. Conclusions. Study results suggest that the pandemic and the related lockdown had no effect on the mental health status of PwMS. At the same time, it was noted that well known determinants of mental health such as self-efficacy and HLC seemed to retain their prominent role for mental functioning in the pandemic.

University Teacher Students’ Learning in Times of COVID-19

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, school and university learning were abruptly switched to distance learning, coming along with psychological strains and various learning lags on the part of the students. These problems come to a head when focusing on university teacher students, since an expectable competence lag on their part, similarly arising from pandemic-caused distance learning in university teacher training, could affect their future teaching in schools, possibly then disadvantaging school students a second time. To determine changes of teacher students’ self-concept of professional knowledge, we used data of a repeated cross-sectional survey carried out in a period from 2018 to 2021, including several comparable cohorts of overall N = 395 teacher students. This design allowed for splitting the participants in two groups relating to times before and after switching to distance learning. Our results show that the switch to distance learning goes hand in hand with lower scores on almost every dimension of teacher students’ self-concept of professional knowledge, although, in parallel, their scores on variables such as openness to experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness increased significantly, indicating a certain degree of compliance with the new situation. Beyond that, we report on an evaluative survey among N = 84 teacher students carried out in July 2020, offering further insights into their situation during the first semester of distance learning. Its results primarily show which specific aspects of distance learning the students consider in need of improvement. On the other hand, it becomes clear that they experienced handicaps in various areas, accompanied by a significant decrease of their core self-evaluations when comparing them to a reference sample. Practical implications and recommendations that can be derived from these results are discussed.

Development and validation of a scale to evaluate students' future impact perception related to the coronavirus pandemic (C-19FIPS)

During the outbreak of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, economies around the world underwent unprecedented changes, which negatively limited young people’s perceptions of their future. The study aims to describe the development and validation of the 10-item COVID-19 Future Impact Perception Scale (C-19FIPS), a measurement tool to assess future impact perception related to COVID-19, among university students. Inductive and deductive approaches were used at the phase of the scale development process. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) applying two different SEM based analytical methods, covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM) and variance based SEM (PLS-SEM) were used to explore and predict the data. The EFA output generated two dimensions with 10 items. The dimensions are Personal Perception (C-19 PF) and Country Perception (C-19 CF) that reflects the notion of Future Impact Perception related to COVID-19. The result of the CFA confirmed the EFA result. Based on the reliability and validity check results, it is apparent that the scale demonstrates good psychometric properties. Evidence was also provided for convergent and discriminant validity. The study provided a short, valid and reliable measure to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students’ future perceptions. Knowing how external situations influence the world of young people is useful for the development of targeted interventions that favor their well-being and that can support them in situations perceived as uncertain and risky. Limitations and future lines are discussed.

Attitude, preparedness, and perceived self-efficacy in controlling COVID-19 pandemics and associated factors among university students during school reopening

Introduction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a significant public health problem globally. In Ethiopia, the number of infected peoples and deaths due to COVID-19 has increased dramatically in the past. Currently, students are resuming to face to face education with strict prevention measures. University students are more dynamic and more susceptible to acquiring and spreading the virus.

Objective

To assess the attitude, preparedness, and self-efficacy to prevent and control COVID-19 and associated factors among university students during school reopening, Northeast Ethiopia.

Method

A cross-sectional study was conducted among Debre Berhan University (DBU) students from December 1 to 15/2020, when students return to campus. A multistage sampling technique was applied to recruit 682 participants. The ReadyScore criteria were used to classify the level of preparedness. Epi-Data version 4.6 was used for data entry, while SPSS version 25 for analysis. Descriptive and Binary logistic regression analysis was computed, and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Result

The overall level of favourable attitude, good preparedness, and high self-efficacy among students were 67.2%, 17.9%, and 50.4%, respectively. Only mothers’ education was associated with attitude. Female gender, open relationships, health science faculty, heart disease, and favourable attitude were significant preparedness factors. Whereas being undergraduate, parents’ education, residing in dorm being four and above, having kidney disease, having friend/family history of COVID-19 infection and death, favourable attitude, and good preparedness were predictors of self-efficacy.

Conclusion

The level of attitude, preparedness, and self-efficacy towards COVID-19 among students during campus re-entry were low. Managing chronic illnesses and raising the attitude and preparedness of students is essential to reduce the burden of COVID-19 pandemics. Besides, emphasis should be placed on male, unmarried, postgraduate, and non-health science students to increase the level of preparedness and self-efficacy.

Predictability of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality based on model estimations to establish proactive protocols of countermeasures

The COVID-19 pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) has revealed the need for proactive protocols to react and act, imposing preventive and restrictive countermeasures on time in any society. The extent to which confirmed cases can predict the morbidity and mortality in a society remains an unresolved issue. The research objective is therefore to test a generic model’s predictability through time, based on percentage of confirmed cases on hospitalized patients, ICU patients and deceased. This study reports the explanatory and predictive ability of COVID-19-related healthcare data, such as whether there is a spread of a contagious and virulent virus in a society, and if so, whether the morbidity and mortality can be estimated in advance in the population. The model estimations stress the implementation of a pandemic strategy containing a proactive protocol entailing what, when, where, who and how countermeasures should be in place when a virulent virus (e.g. SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS) or pandemic strikes next time. Several lessons for the future can be learnt from the reported model estimations. One lesson is that COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality in a population is indeed predictable. Another lesson is to have a proactive protocol of countermeasures in place.

Perceived Changes in Sexuality during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults in the United States

In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased partnered sexual behavior and increased the use of enhancement (e.g., toys). This has been partly attributed to reduced social interactions and stress. However, individuals’ perceptions of changes are missing in research. This study aims to examine how adults perceive changes in their sexuality during the pandemic. We conducted a nationwide survey of US adults from April–June 2020 (N = 326). This qualitative study examines the open-ended responses using thematic analyses. The following themes emerged from the data: (1) changes in the purpose of sex; (2) changes in sexual identity; (3) decreases in sex drive and desire; (4) increases in sex drive and desire; (5) fluctuations in sex drive and desire; (6) increased sexual experimentation and reflection. The stress, changes in home responsibilities and living situations, and time spent with partners (more or less) has affected individuals by increasing or decreasing their sex drive and desire. Participants responded to changes with self-reflection and awareness, and incorporating new practices (e.g., technology, kink). The purpose of sex has shifted in order to gain intimacy or connect, or to pass time. These changes were perceived as both positive and negative, and more research is needed to determine the durability of these changes.

Music Student's Approach to the Forced Use of Remote Performance Assessments

Music students at the University of Chichester Conservatoire completed questionnaires about their experience of the forced use of remote teaching and learning due to Lockdown, as imposed in the United Kingdom from March to June 2020, and how this impacted their self-beliefs, decision making processes, and methods of preparation for their performance assessments. Students had the choice to either have musical performance assessed in line with originally published deadlines (still in Lockdown) via self-recorded video or defer the assessment until the following academic year. Student’s choice to defer or submit the assessment during Lockdown was influenced by a range of forced factors, such as adaptions required by online teaching, limitations of rehearsal in their home environment, and the challenges in facilitating and recording their own assessments. Students completed online questionnaires about their self-efficacy, resilience, wellbeing, and provided free text responses explaining the reasoning for their decision to record their performance or to defer the assessment were coded to reveal patterns impacting their decision and preparation processes. Those choosing to submit their assessments demonstrated more strategies in their preparation and reported higher perceived self-efficacy scores. The specific conditions for this assessment, as a result of Lockdown, revealed correlations between resilience and both self-efficacy and wellbeing. The impact on teaching and the student experience is discussed and suggestions to support students in future settings of blended delivery are presented. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.