Lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have had profound effects on everyday life worldwide, but their effect on mental health remains unclear because available ...meta-analyses and reviews rely mostly on cross-sectional studies. We conducted a rapid review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies and natural experiments investigating the relationship between COVID-19 lockdowns and mental health. A total of 25 studies involving 72 004 participants and 58 effect sizes were analyzed. Using a random effects model, we found that lockdowns had small effects on mental health symptoms, g = 0.17, s.e. = 0.05, 95% CI (0.06–0.24), p = 0.001, but the effects on positive psychological functioning, g = −0.12, s.e. = 0.11, 95% CI (−0.33 to 0.09), p = 0.27, were not significant. Multivariate analysis of effect sizes revealed significant and relatively small effect sizes for anxiety and depression, while those for social support, loneliness, general distress, negative affect, and suicide risk were not significant. The results indicated substantial heterogeneity among studies, but meta-regression analyses found no significant moderation effects for mean age, gender, continent, COVID-19 death rate, days of lockdown, publication status or study design. The psychological impact of COVID-19 lockdowns is small in magnitude and highly heterogeneous, suggesting that lockdowns do not have uniformly detrimental effects on mental health and that most people are psychologically resilient to their effects.
This meta-analytic review examines the role of optimism, social support, and coping strategies in contributing to posttraumatic growth. Results from 103 studies showed that all three systems of ...variables yielded significant effect sizes. Religious coping and positive reappraisal coping produced the largest effect sizes. Social support, seeking social support coping, spirituality, and optimism were moderately related to posttraumatic growth. Acceptance coping yielded the smallest effect sizes. Moderator analyses showed that effect sizes did not differ according to time elapsed since trauma, gender, and type of posttraumatic growth measure (posttraumatic growth vs. benefit finding). Age and gender were significant moderators of religious coping, whereas study design (longitudinal vs. cross-sectional) significantly moderated the effect of positive reappraisal coping. Implications for research and interventions on posttraumatic growth are also discussed.
Past opinion polls have shown that major nuclear accidents can have a serious impact on public attitudes. Drawing on a values-beliefs-norms (VBN) model of environmental commitment, the authors ...hypothesized that a major nuclear accident may also affect the most durable cognitive and cultural foundations that underpin public perceptions of nuclear power. For 32 Italian participants, the authors assessed perceptions of nuclear power and values 1 month before and after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Participants reported decreases in nuclear trust, environmental organization trust, and pronuclear attitudes; they reported a significant increase in environmental beliefs assessed by the new ecological paradigm and a marginally significant increase in altruism. Major nuclear accidents may have the potential to influence values and proenvironmental beliefs, probably for the reason that they are the basis of public attitudes toward nuclear power.
The aim of this study was to assess the quality of the processes of a Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) citizenship education project by examining a 2-year intervention that involved 43 ...Italian high school students. We collected qualitative data (focus groups with students and interviews with teachers) to capture participants’ perspectives, as well as longitudinal quantitative data to monitor the process over time (assessing school climate, perceived quality of participation, and group participation norms). The results revealed that YPAR was successful in reducing hierarchy, facilitating group activities, and recognizing youth voice, thus changing students’ perception of their school environment and views on participation and active citizenship. The intervention also changed teachers’ perceptions of students. YPAR proved to be a suitable option for citizenship education in school.
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to determine the extent to which Italian people intend to receive a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and to investigate its associations with worry, institutional ...trust and beliefs about the non-natural origin of the virus. A sample of 624 people living in Italy was recruited in April 2020 using an online platform. The survey included questions about intention to receive a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, trust, worry and beliefs about the origin of the virus. Most respondents (75.8%) intended to receive a vaccine, while 32 (5.1%) and 63 (10.1%) participants responded ‘No’ and ‘I do not know’, respectively. The remaining participants (9.0%) chose not to respond to this question. Controlling for socio-demographic factors, a multinomial logistic regression model revealed that no intention to receive a vaccine was associated with lower levels of worry and institutional trust, while increased odds for responding ‘do not know’ were found among participants holding beliefs about the non-natural origin of the virus. Vaccine acceptance may not be sufficient to establish a high level of herd immunity and a successful implementation of new pandemic vaccination programs should take into account trust, conspiracy beliefs and worry.
Background and Objectives: This research aimed at investigating the psychological impact of national quarantine in Italy, and the psychosocial factors that are may influence this impact.
Methods: A ...convenience sample of 1569 people living in Italy responded to an online survey using virtual snowball sampling. The questionnaire included measures of mental health symptoms, well-being, worry about the epidemic of COVID-19, likelihood of infection, coping efficacy, trust in the institutional response to the epidemic of COVID-19, financial loss, perceived house size, and media exposure to COVID-19 outbreak.
Results: Gender (women), lower age, occupational status (employed), lower media exposure, higher worry, lower coping efficacy, lower trust in institutions, and negative attitudes toward quarantine measures predicted mental health symptoms. In addition, results showed that gender (men), higher age, socioeconomic status, occupational status (unemployed), higher coping efficacy and trust in institutions, and positive attitudes toward quarantine measures predicted well-being. The estimated prevalence of common mental disorders was 31.7% among men and 52.3% among women. The scores on well-being were significantly lower in the current study than in a previous validation study.
Conclusion: The results of the study provided both theory and practical implications in understanding mental health and its psychosocial predictors during national quarantine.
► Attitude was the most important predictor of intention to consume GM food. ► Attitude toward GM food was predicted by perceived risks and benefits. ► Perceived benefits directly and strongly ...predicted intention to consume GM food. ► Perceived risks and benefits of GM food were influenced by government trust. ► Perceived risks of GM food did not predict intention to consume GM food.
The development of a model of intention to consume genetically modified food is currently an important field of endeavor in consumer research. The starting point was the Theory of Planned Behavior. We hypothesized the role of trust and perceived benefits and risks as additional explanatory factors. A sample of 1009 Italians of at least 18years of age took part in a telephone survey. Causal processes represented by a series of structural equations relations were assessed by means of structural equation modeling using maximum likelihood estimation. Results demonstrated that, among the components of the Theory of Planned Behavior, attitude was the most important predictor of intention. Attitude, in turn, was predicted by perceived risks and benefits. Perceived benefits independently and strongly predicted intention. Perceived risks was not related to intention after controlling for the other predictors but did predict strongly perceived benefits. Perceived risks and benefits were significantly influenced by government institutions trust. Finally, two different aspects of social norms predicted intention.
Youth-led participatory action research (YPAR) is a theoretical–methodological approach that has been designed to promote positive development (e.g., well-being and health, social–emotional and ...cognitive development, academic or career advancement) and civic engagement among young people. Although YPAR holds particular promise, there has been little systematic assessment of its effects. Moreover, no study has investigated the role of YPAR in the promotion of active citizenship. We report on an effectiveness evaluation of a YPAR project designed to promote European active citizenship (i.e., identification and attitudes toward a political entity, institutional trust, participation, and political alienation) and social well-being among adolescents. Our sample included 69 Italian high school students (35 in the intervention group; 34 in the control group). We evaluated the impact of YPAR using a pretest–posttest control group design and fitting the generalized estimating equations procedure. The results showed that participants in the intervention group reported increased scores on social well-being, institutional trust, and participation and decreased scores on political alienation compared with the control group. We found no significant effects for identification as European and attitudes toward a political entity. Findings support the benefits of YPAR in terms of social well-being and active citizenship.
Social drift/selection (i.e., mental health symptoms cause low economic status) and social causation theories (i.e., low economic status causes mental health symptoms) specify reciprocal ...relationships between economic status and mental health. Little is known regarding the disaggregation of within-person and between-person effects in the relationship between economic status and mental health in the long run. The current study sought to examine the reciprocal relationships between economic status and mental health over 20 years of adulthood, disaggregating within-person and between-person effects.
Data were from three waves (7108 participants) of the Midlife Development in the United States study. Participants reported information about objective and subjective measures of economic status as well as a wide range of indicators of mental health on the positive dimension, including subjective, social, and psychological well-being, and on the negative side, depression, anxiety, panic attack, anhedonia, somatic amplification, alcohol abuse, and negative affect. Cross-lagged panel models were estimated.
At between-person levels, both social drift/selection and social causation hypotheses were confirmed when considering subjective measures of economic status. When using objective measures of economic status (i.e., income), the results showed decreased support for social drift/selection and social causation hypotheses. At within-person levels, social drift/selection and social causation hypotheses were generally not supported, with some notable exceptions.
Restriction of the sample to one country limits the generalizability of the findings.
Social causation and social drift/selection processes act simultaneously mainly at a population level, but much less when considering individual changes. Policy and programs should be targeted at addressing inequality in income and mental health within a nation or a community.
•Economic status and mental health in adulthood were examined.•The relative importance of social causation and social drift/selection was tested.•The investigation of between- or within-person effects yielded distinct results.•Economic status and mental health were related at the between-person level
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