COVID-19-Related Concerns and Symptoms of Anxiety: Does Concern Play a Role in Predicting Severity and Risk?

Objective Rates of anxiety have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, partially attributable to the experience of COVID-19 related concerns. It remains pivotal to determine the implications of such concerns on the severity of anxiety as they may represent opportune targets for public health preventative or therapeutic efforts. The current study evaluated COVID-19 related concerns as predictors of anxiety symptom severity. It also assessed the relative risk associated with sub-types of COVID-19 concerns, the role of age, sex, and minority status as potential moderators; and the unique contribution of COVID-19 concerns beyond sociodemographics, perceived stress, and self-reported general mental health. Methods The data source was obtained from the publicly available "Crowdsourcing: Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians-Your Mental Health survey" conducted by Statistics Canada. Participants were Canadians aged 15 and older living in ten provinces or three territories. Only participants that completed the self-reported sociodemographics, COVID-19 concerns, and general anxiety symptoms measures were included (n = 44549). Multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate continuous reports of anxiety symptoms, and the relative risk of meeting anxiety cut-off levels was determined using chi-square non-parametric testing. Results Within the sample, 29.1% met cut-off levels of anxiety. Levels of coping and security (R2 = 0.205, p < 0.001), distal (R2 = 0.043, p < 0.001), and proximal concerns (R2 = 0.122, p < 0.001) were found to predict the severity of anxiety experiences, which was determined to be robust to statistical control for sociodemographics, perceived stress and self-reported general mental health (ΔR2 = 0.0625, p < 0.001). Minority status and sex were significant moderating variables, although the interaction accounted for less than 0.1% of the observed variance. Family stress from confinement, support during and after the crisis and personal health concerns significantly predicted more than a 200% increase in the risk of meeting anxiety cut-off levels. Conclusion The current study represents a novel examination of COVID-19-related concerns as risk factors for the experience of anxiety amongst a sizeable Canadian cohort. Coping and security-related concerns represented robust predictors of anxiety symptom experiences. Participants who experienced concerns relating to their proximal social groups were two times more at risk for meeting cut-off anxiety levels than individuals without such concerns. Longitudinal and evidence synthesis remains essential for identifying therapeutic targets and developing pandemic-related public health prevention and care.

Preliminary Investigation of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Social Anxiety Disorder That Integrates Compassion Meditation and Mindful Exposure

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated the feasibility and initial efficacy of a 12-week group mindfulness-based intervention tailored for persons with social anxiety disorder (MBI-SAD). The intervention includes elements of the standard mindfulness-based stress reduction program, explicit training in self-compassion aimed at cultivating a more accepting and kinder stance toward oneself, and use of exposure procedures to help participants practice responding mindfully to internal experiences evoked by feared social situations.

METHODS

Participants were randomly assigned to the MBI-SAD (n = 21) or a waitlist (WL) (n = 18) control group. Feasibility was assessed by the number of participants who completed at least 75% of the 12 weekly group sessions. Primary efficacy outcomes were clinician- and self-rated measures of social anxiety. Other outcomes included clinician ratings of illness severity and self-rated depression, social adjustment, mindfulness, and self-compassion.

RESULTS

The MBI-SAD was acceptable and feasible, with 81% of participants attending at least 75% of sessions. The MBI-SAD fared better than WL in improving social anxiety symptom severity (p ≤ 0.0001), depression (p ≤ 0.05), and social adjustment (p ≤ 0.05). The intervention also enhanced self-compassion (p ≤ 0.05), and facets of mindfulness (observe and aware; p ≤ .05). MBI-SAD treatment gains were maintained at 3-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

These preliminary findings suggest that an MBI that integrates explicit training in self-compassion and mindful exposure is a feasible and promising intervention for social anxiety disorder. The next step is to compare the MBI-SAD to the gold standard of cognitive-behavior therapy to determine equivalence or noninferiority and to explore mediators and moderators of treatment outcome.

Assessing the protective value of protective behavioral strategies

OBJECTIVE

Many students report using strategies believed to reduce risk of harm from consumption of alcohol. The effectiveness of these strategies was tested in this study.

METHOD

A sample of 442 undergraduate students (50.5% female) was asked to report how many alcoholic drinks they consumed on a recent drinking occasion, which protective strategies were used, and which harms were experienced.

RESULTS

Although reported use of more protective strategies was associated with less consumption, it appeared to be unrelated to harmful consequences. More detailed analyses suggested that only a small subset of strategies (primarily those concerning the manner of drinking) was consistently associated with reduced consumption and/or harms.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings cast doubt on the efficacy of protective strategies or at least the validity of the self-report instruments used to assess these strategies.

Emancipatory Sexuality Education and Sexual Assault Resistance

The current study examined whether adding emancipatory sexuality education, which encourages the exploration of women’s own sexual values and desires, to a sexual assault resistance program would improve women’s resistance to sexual assault by known men. The participants were 214 first-year university students. A randomized experimental design evaluated the effectiveness of a basic and sexuality enhanced version of a sexual assault resistance program against a no-program control. Both programs, compared to the control group, increased women’s perception of their own risk, their confidence that they could defend themselves if attacked, and their use of more effective methods of self-defense in hypothetical situations of acquaintance sexual assault. Effects were maintained from 3 to 6 months after program completion. No significant reductions in completed sexual assault were found. The sexuality enhanced program was superior in several areas, particularly risk detection and initiation of sexual activity, which may be important to women’s integration of the program’s content to their lives. Future research will need to strengthen and continue to evaluate the promising programs for women which now exist. Until effective programming for men on campus is developed and implemented widely, our best hope to improve the health and safety of female students lays in comprehensive women-only multi-unit sexual assault resistance education.

Social desirability biases in self-reported alcohol consumption and harms

AIMS

Self-reports remain the most common means of assessing alcohol consumption despite concern for their validity. The objective of this research is to assess the extent to which social desirability biases relate to self-reported consumption, hazardous use, and harms.

METHODS

In each of two studies presented, undergraduate students (N=391 and N=177) who reported that they had consumed alcohol in the past year completed online confidential surveys.

RESULTS

Both studies show consistent associations between impression management bias and self-reported consumption such that high impression managers report 20 to 33% less consumption and are about 50% less likely to report risky drinking. No significant correlations involving consumption were found for self-deception bias. Study 2 also indicated that high impression managers report 30-50% fewer acute harms following a drinking episode, and that these effects are maintained after controlling statistically for trait impulsivity/constraint.

CONCLUSIONS

Impression management bias represents a significant threat to the validity of self-reported alcohol use and harms. Such bias may lead to misspecification of models and under-estimates of harmful or hazardous use.