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Fang L, Yuen M, Zhang J, Ho EYF, Chan S, Wu F, Xie N. A network analysis of positive developmental assets of Hong Kong school-age children during the Covid-19 pandemic. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023:1-10. [PMID: 36718391 PMCID: PMC9876758 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04287-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The ongoing COVID19 pandemic is having detrimental effects on the mental and emotional well-being of many adults and children. It is relevant therefore to explore the combination of personal strengths and attributes that can help an individual develop resilience to such stress. Little is known about how psychological strength assets such as social connectedness, grit, hope, life meaning, and life satisfaction are inter-related, and if certain factors play a central role. This study involved a sample of 1,405 school-aged children in Hong Kong (50% female) from seven schools that participated in an online survey of psychological strengths. Data were analyzed by constructing a psychological network that found strength factors are inter-connected, and that 'school connectedness' and 'agency thinking' are central to the network. The information gained can be of value in any schools that are planning to provide strength-based interventions to help students maintain their psychological well-being during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lue Fang
- Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Mantak Yuen
- Laboratory and Program for Creativity and Talent Development, Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jiahong Zhang
- Mental Health Education and Counseling Centre, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Esther Yuk-Fan Ho
- Hong Kong Association of Career Masters and Guidance Masters, Hong Kong, China
| | - Serene Chan
- Laboratory and Program for Creativity and Talent Development, Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Florence Wu
- Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Nan Xie
- Department of Psychology, James Cook University, Singapore, Singapore
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The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women's Feelings during a Hospital Stay. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19116379. [PMID: 35681964 PMCID: PMC9180247 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19116379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Chang A, Xian X, Liu MT, Zhao X. Health Communication through Positive and Solidarity Messages Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Automated Content Analysis of Facebook Uses. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:6159. [PMID: 35627696 PMCID: PMC9141526 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19106159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused significant stress in our lives, which potentially increases frustration, fear, and resentful emotions. Managing stress is complex, but helps to alleviate negative psychological effects. In order to understand how the public coped with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, we used Macao as a case study and collected 104,827 COVID-19 related posts from Facebook through data mining, from 1 January to 31 December 2020. Divominer, a big-data analysis tool supported by computational algorithm, was employed to identify themes and facilitate machine coding and analysis. A total of 60,875 positive messages were identified, with 24,790 covering positive psychological themes, such as "anti-epidemic", "solidarity", "hope", "gratitude", "optimism", and "grit". Messages that mentioned "anti-epidemic", "solidarity", and "hope" were the most prevalent, while different crisis stages, key themes and media elements had various impacts on public involvement. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first-ever study in the Chinese context that uses social media to clarify the awareness of solidarity. Positive messages are needed to empower social media users to shoulder their shared responsibility to tackle the crisis. The findings provide insights into users' needs for improving their subjective well-being to mitigate the negative psychological impact of the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Chang
- Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China; (X.X.); (X.Z.)
- Institute of Communication and Health, Lugano University, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Xuechang Xian
- Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China; (X.X.); (X.Z.)
- Department of Communication, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing 526060, China
| | - Matthew Tingchi Liu
- Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Macau, Macao, China;
| | - Xinshu Zhao
- Department of Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China; (X.X.); (X.Z.)
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Laranjeira C, Dixe MA, Valentim O, Charepe Z, Querido A. Mental Health and Psychological Impact during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Survey of Portuguese Higher Education Students. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 19:337. [PMID: 35010604 PMCID: PMC8751187 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant psychological impact on vulnerable groups, particularly students. The present study aims to investigate the mental and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors in a sample of Portuguese higher education students. An online cross-sectional study was conducted among 1522 higher education students selected by convenience sampling. The survey assessed mental health symptoms as well as sociodemographic variables, health-related perceptions, and psychological factors. Results were fitted to binary and multivariable logistic regression models. The overall prevalences of stress, anxiety, and depression were 35.7%, 36.2%, and 28.5%, respectively. Poor mental health outcomes were related with being female, having no children, living with someone with chronic disease, facing hopelessness, and lacking resilient coping. Future studies focusing on better ways to promote mental health and wellbeing among students are warranted. It is necessary to gather more evidence on the post-pandemic mental health using robust study designs and standardized assessment tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Laranjeira
- School of Health Sciences, Campus 2, Polytechnic of Leiria, Morro do Lena, Alto do Vieiro, Apartado 4137, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal; (M.A.D.); (O.V.)
- Centre for Innovative Care and Health Technology (ciTechCare), Rua de Santo André—66–68, Campus 5, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2410-541 Leiria, Portugal
- Research in Education and Community Intervention (RECI I&D), Piaget Institute, 3515-776 Viseu, Portugal
| | - Maria Anjos Dixe
- School of Health Sciences, Campus 2, Polytechnic of Leiria, Morro do Lena, Alto do Vieiro, Apartado 4137, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal; (M.A.D.); (O.V.)
- Centre for Innovative Care and Health Technology (ciTechCare), Rua de Santo André—66–68, Campus 5, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2410-541 Leiria, Portugal
| | - Olga Valentim
- School of Health Sciences, Campus 2, Polytechnic of Leiria, Morro do Lena, Alto do Vieiro, Apartado 4137, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal; (M.A.D.); (O.V.)
- Center for Research in Health and Information Systems (CINTESIS), NursID, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
| | - Zaida Charepe
- Institute of Health Sciences (ICS), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Palma de Cima, 1649-023 Lisboa, Portugal;
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health (CIIS), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 1649-023 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Querido
- School of Health Sciences, Campus 2, Polytechnic of Leiria, Morro do Lena, Alto do Vieiro, Apartado 4137, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal; (M.A.D.); (O.V.)
- Centre for Innovative Care and Health Technology (ciTechCare), Rua de Santo André—66–68, Campus 5, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2410-541 Leiria, Portugal
- Center for Research in Health and Information Systems (CINTESIS), NursID, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
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