Coping and Post-traumatic Growth Among COVID-19 Patients: A Qualitative Study

Pandemic diseases have caused dramatic changes in people's lives throughout history. Today, the COVID-19 virus spreads rapidly and affects human beings around the globe. This study aimed to discover the coping strategies and post-traumatic growth (PTG) experiences of persons who were infected by the COVID-19 virus using the qualitative research method. The research involved 17 individuals, nine of whom were female. All had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Face-to-face and online interviews were conducted with participants. In the analysis of the data, the thematic analysis method was performed by developing themes and sub-themes. The created themes include coping strategies, existential growth, lessons learned from disease, new opportunities, and social growth. These themes indicated positive changes in the lives of persons who were infected by the COVID-19 virus after the COVID-19 disease. Findings and implications for the practice were discussed.

Death anxiety among older adults with chronic illnesses during Covid-19: A qualitative approach

In the current study, we have investigated death anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic among older people with chronic illnesses with qualitative approach. Eighteen older people (10 female, 8 male) participated in the study. Phenomenological research design was used. A semi-structured interview technique was used with interviews conducted online to collect the data. To analyse the data, both thematic and content analysis were used. The following seven themes were examined: meaning of death before and during Covid-19; meaning of death during Covid-19; awareness of life; anxiety toward family members during Covid-19; effects of Covid-19 on daily life; future anxiety after Covid-19; and coping strategies for death anxiety. The participants were mostly afraid of losing their significant others rather than dying. During the pandemic, they have had fears about the manner of death associated with Covid-19. They were mostly hopeful for the future and spirituality was generally recommended.

Posttraumatic Growth Experiences of Syrian Refugees After War

War is a type of trauma that humans have experienced for centuries. Today, the civil war in Syria affects millions of people’s lives deeply and is forcing civilians to migrate to other countries. The aim of the current study is to reveal how Syrian refugees cope with war trauma, what kinds of social support they get, and what posttraumatic growth experiences they have shown. Fifteen Syrian refugees who migrated from Syria to Turkey due to the war and witnessed the war participated in this study. Data were collected through interviews. In analyzing the data, a content analysis was used by creating themes and categories. Themes created include coping strategies, social support, learned pain experiences, relating to others, new possibilities, spiritual change, and changed priorities. These results show that after a traumatic experience, great changes can occur in people’s life. Findings are discussed and recommendations are given in line with the literature.

Gender Differences in and the Relationships Between Social Anxiety and Problematic Internet Use: Canonical Analysis

Background

The cognitive-behavioral model of problematic Internet use (PIU) proposes that psychological well-being is associated with specific thoughts and behaviors on the Internet. Hence, there is growing concern that PIU is associated with psychological impairments.

Objective

Given the proposal of gender schema theory and social role theory, men and women are predisposed to experience social anxiety and engage in Internet use differently. Thus, an investigation of gender differences in these areas is warranted. According to the cognitive-behavioral model of PIU, social anxiety is associated with specific cognitions and behaviors on the Internet. Thus, an investigation of the association between social anxiety and PIU is essential. In addition, research that takes into account the multidimensional nature of social anxiety and PIU is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to explore multivariate gender differences in and the relationships between social anxiety and PIU.

Methods

Participants included 505 college students, of whom 241 (47.7%) were women and 264 (52.3%) were men. Participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 22 years, with a mean age of 20.34 (SD=1.16). The Social Anxiety Scale and Problematic Internet Use Scale were used in data collection. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and canonical correlation analysis were used.

Results

Mean differences between men and women were not statistically significant in social anxiety (λ=.02, F3,501=2.47, P=.06). In all three PIU dimensions, men scored higher than women, and MANOVA shows that multivariate difference was statistically significant (λ=.94, F3,501=10.69, P<.001). Of the canonical correlation functions computed for men, only the first was significant (Rc=.43, λ=.78, χ29=64.7, P<.001) and accounted for 19% of the overlapping variance. Similarly, only the first canonical function was significant for women (Rc=.36, λ=.87, χ29=33.9, P<.001), which accounted for 13% of the overlapping variance.

Conclusions

On the basis of the findings, we conclude that enhanced educational opportunities for women and their increasing role in the society have led women to become more active and thus closed the gap in social anxiety levels between men and women. We found that men showed more difficulties than women in terms of running away from personal problems (ie, social benefit), used the Internet more excessively, and experienced more interpersonal problems with significant others due to Internet use. We conclude that men are under a greater risk of social impairments due to PIU. Our overall conclusion is that there is a substantial amount of association between social anxiety and PIU and the association is stronger for men than it is for women. We advise that future research continue to investigate PIU and social anxiety as multidimensional constructs.

Individual Differences in the Relationship Between Attachment and Nomophobia Among College Students: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness

Background

There is a growing interest in nomophobia, which is defined as the fear of being out of cellular phone contact, or "feelings of discomfort or anxiety experienced by individuals when they are unable to use their mobile phones or utilize the affordances these devices provide”. However, only limited research can be found in terms of its determinants at present. Contemporary literature suggests that the relationships among attachment styles, mindfulness, and nomophobia have not been investigated.

Objective

This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between attachment and nomophobia. In addition, the study also focuses on gender differences in attachment, mindfulness, and nomophobia. A theory-based structural model was tested to understand the essentials of the associations between the constructs.

Methods

The Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, Nomophobia Questionnaire, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were used to collect data from undergraduate students (N=450; 70.9% women [319/450]; mean age=21.94 years [SD 3.61]). Two measurement models (ie, attachment and mindfulness) and a structural model were specified, estimated, and evaluated.

Results

The structural equation model shows that the positive direct effects of avoidant (.13, P=.03) and anxious attachment (.48, P<.001) on nomophobia were significant. The negative direct effects of avoidant (−.18, P=.01) and anxious attachment (−.33, P<.001) on mindfulness were also significant. Moreover, mindfulness has a significant negative effect on nomophobia for women only (−.13, P=.03). Finally, the Sobel test showed that the indirect effects of avoidant and anxious attachment on nomophobia via mindfulness were significant (P<.001). The direct and indirect effects of anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, and mindfulness altogether accounted for 33% of the total variance in nomophobia. Gender comparison results show that there is a significant difference in attachment based on gender (F_2,447=6.97, P=.01, Wilk λ=.97, partial η²=.03). Women (mean 68.46 [SD 16.96]) scored significantly higher than men (mean 63.59 [SD 15.97]) in anxious attachment (F₁=7.93, P=.01, partial η²=.02). Gender differences in mindfulness were not significant (F_4,448=3.45, P=.69). On the other hand, results do show significant gender differences in nomophobia (F_4,445=2.71, P=.03, Wilk λ=.98, partial η²=.02) where women scored significantly higher than men.

Conclusions

In general, individuals who are emotionally more dependent and crave more closeness and attention in the relationship tend to display higher levels of fear or discomfort when they have no access to their mobile phones. However, gender has a differential impact on the relationship between avoidant attachment and nomophobia. This study establishes the impact of mindfulness on nomophobia for women; therefore, future studies should test the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy approaches and confirm whether they are effective and efficient. On the basis of significant gender difference in nomophobia and attachment, we conclude that gender should be taken into account in mindfulness-based treatments dealing with nomophobia.