Initial risk factors, self-compassion trajectories, and well-being outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A person-centered approach

Transdiagnostic factors in the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining the role of childhood abuse and neglect in establishing latent profiles of risk and resilience

BACKGROUND

Ample studies have focused on the negative consequences of COVID-19 on mental well-being, but fewer have explored the specific role of childhood abuse and neglect in the context of risk and resilience during this unprecedented crisis.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to identify distinct profiles of individuals based on their experiences of childhood abuse and neglect, coping strategies, and psycho-social transdiagnostic risk and protective factors, using a person-centered approach.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A convenience sample of 914 Israelis completed self-report questionnaires during the second wave of COVID-19.

METHODS

Latent Profile Analysis was employed based on levels of childhood abuse and neglect, coping strategies, and established factors underpinning risk and resilience in mental health: dissociation, self-criticism, self-efficacy, self-compassion, attachment insecurity, psychological resilience, mentalizing, distress disclosure, psychopathology, and relationship satisfaction. Profiles were compared in COVID-19-related distress and well-being using ANOVAs.

RESULTS

A four-profile solution was found to be optimal for describing individuals with different profiles of risk and resilience: "risk" (5.1 %)-individuals with meaningfully high levels of childhood abuse and neglect and dissociation; "vulnerable" (14.2 %)-individuals high in risk factors and low in protective factors; "moderately resilient" (47.6 %)-those with moderate levels of protective and risk factors; "highly resilient" (33.1 %)-individuals high in protective factors and low in risk factors; groups differed in mental well-being and COVID-19-related distress.

CONCLUSIONS

Results highlight the importance of childhood abuse and neglect in differentiating between the two distinct profiles of at-risk individuals. Implications for risk assessment and treatment in the context of potential traumatic stress are discussed.

Trajectories of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness during the COVID-19 pandemic: A person-oriented multi-trajectory approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced unprecedented changes in the lives of many people. Although research has documented associations between concerns related to COVID-19 and poor mental health indicators, fewer studies have focused on positive factors that could help people better cope with this stressful social context. To fill this gap, the present research investigated the trajectories of self-compassion facets in times of dramatic social change. Using a longitudinal research design, we described the trajectories of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a representative sample of Canadian adults (N = 3617). Relying on a multi-trajectory group-based approach, we identified clusters of individuals following persistently low (4.0%), moderate-low (39.3%), moderate-high (46.7%), and high (10.0%) levels of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Interestingly, we found that compassionate self-responding trajectories were mainly stable over time with minor fluctuations for some groups of individuals, in line with the epidemiological situation. In terms of covariates, we observed that older women were more likely to follow trajectories of high compassionate self-responding, as compared to the other age and gender groups. In terms of mental health indicators, we demonstrated that trajectory groups with high levels of compassionate self-responding were associated with greater life satisfaction, more happiness, better sleep quality, higher sleep quantity, and fewer negative emotions, as compared to lower trajectory groups. The results supported the idea that self-compassion during the COVID-19 pandemic could have favored better mental health indicators and could possibly be promoted as a psychological intervention in the general population.