Debates concerning active assailant protocols across American schools have grown in size and contention. While both sides of this debate have the safety and well-being of our nation's youth at heart, ...they are often only able to support their position with anecdotal evidence. This project seeks to bring science to the conversation and add to the limited amount of empirical research on the topic by assessing both the negative and positive psychological impacts of one multi-option based approach, ALICE, among a sample of 4th-12th grade students. Implemented through classroom, discussion-based exercises, the analyses reveal that students are generally no more fearful of ALICE than other crisis/emergency preparedness practices, particularly tornado drills and Stranger Danger discussions. Additionally, over 85% of students indicate learning about ALICE either did not change how they felt or made them feel more prepared, confident, or safe compared to approximately 1 in 10 students experiencing a negative psychological outcome. Consistent throughout the study, students reporting they were fearful of other crisis/emergency preparedness practices experienced more negative and less positive psychological outcomes after learning about ALICE. The study closes with potential policy implications on how to prepare, and not scare, students for the unthinkable.
Purpose
The benefits of regular physical exercise on the tolerability of cancer treatments, quality of life and survival rates post-diagnosis have been demonstrated but all supervised physical ...activities have been interrupted due to the global health crisis and the need for lockdown to halt the spread of SARS-CoV-2. To reintroduce activities post-lockdown, we wanted to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the quality of life and the psychological status of patients who practice an adapted physical activity such as rugby for health.
Methods
The evaluation was conducted in two phases: an initial self-questionnaire comprised of 42 questions sent to all participants to assess the impact of lockdown and a second assessment phase in the presence of the participants. We assessed anthropometric data, functional fitness parameters, quality of life and the psychosocial status of the subjects. The data were compared to pre-lockdown data as part of a standardised follow-up procedure for patients enrolled in the programme.
Results
105/120 (87.5%) individuals responded to the rapid post-lockdown survey analysis. In 20% of the cases, the patients reported anxiety, pain, a decline in fitness and a significant impact on the tolerability of cancer treatments. Twenty-seven patients agreed to participate in the individual analysis. Following lockdown, there was a significant decrease in the intensity of physical activity (
p
= 8.223e–05). No post-lockdown changes were noted in the assessments that focus on the quality of life and the level of psychological distress. Conversely, there was a significant correlation between the total of high energy expended during lockdown and the quality of life (
p
= 0.03; rho = 0.2248) and the level of psychological distress post-lockdown (
p
= 0.05; rho = − 0.3772).
Conclusion
Lockdown and reduced physical activity, particularly leisure activities, did not impact the overall health of the patients. However, there was a significant correlation with the level of physical activity since the higher the level of physical activity, the better the quality of life and the lower the level of psychological distress.
Introduction
. The article analyzes the problem of psychological stability of the individual to socio-cultural threats and negative information impact. As social problems become more acute, the topic ...of personal security and resistance to emerging threats and risks takes an increasing place in the scientific literature. Today we can observe various violations of the processes of socio-cultural identification, which reduce the adaptive potential of the individual. The reverse side of accessibility in the global information environment is an increase in the degree of danger, the emergence of new risk factors and threats of information and psychological impact. Of particular concern are the facts of Russian youth joining terrorist groups, as well as the facts of youth involvement in destructive protest movements and actions.
Materials and methods
. The following methods were used for the preparation of this article; theoretical analysis of Russian and international literature, study of scientific articles and publications on the topic, overview of results from Russian and international studies, content analysis.
Results
. Approaches to determining the content of the category of psychological stability of a person and its various aspects are considered: emotional stability, moral stability, moral stability, stability of behavior forms, resistance to addictive factors, and socio-cultural stability. Identify invariant indicators that determine the psychological stability of the individual in various contexts of countering socio-cultural threats and negative information impact: socio-cultural identity based on views, beliefs, attitudes consistent with moral norms and spiritual values; motivation of the individual to self-actualization, success, openness and commitment to society; subjective well-being and resilience; critical thinking and the ability to predict risks and threats; possession of constructive coping strategies; adaptive personal potential expressed in mastering self-regulation methods that ensure successful adaptation to a changing socio-cultural environment.
Discussion and Conclusions
. The conducted theoretical research allowed us to conclude that the psychological stability of a person is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, which is revealed in the moral, socio-psychological and system-activity perspective. It is concluded that the task of forming psychological stability and personal adaptive potential should be updated in the educational system, including the formation of knowledge about oneself as a person, about their psychological capabilities and mechanisms of self-regulation, and the explanation of moral norms and values.
This study aimed to determine the stress levels and identify various factors responsible for causing high-stress scores during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Saudi population.
This cross-sectional ...study was conducted at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, from June 2020 until December 2020 on 4052 respondents from the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. An online survey was used to collect information about various stress factors. The psychological impact of COVID-19 was measured by using the COVID-19 impact event scale (COVID-19 IES), whereas general stress levels were assessed by K10 Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10).
The psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak revealed that 35.4% of participants suffered from moderate or severe psychological impact (score>33); 19.7% had a mild psychological impact (scores24-32), whereas 44.9% reported minimal psychological impact (score <23). The factors significantly associated with higher stress scores and COVID-19 IES included male gender, low monthly income, having a private business, living in apartments/residential complexes, poor general health status, visit hospital/doctor in the past three months, presence of chronic disease, direct/indirect contact with someone diagnosed with/suspected to have COVID-19, contact with surfaces/tools infected with COVID-19, getting screened or quarantined for COVID-19, follow-up of the latest news about COVID-19 and knowledge of a greater number of people infected and died with COVID-19 (p < 0.05). In contrast, being an elementary school student, having 4-10 children, observing various protective measures, and staying home for 4-12 hours were associated with lower COVID-19 IES (p < 0.05).
During the initial six months of the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia, 35.4% participants suffered from moderate to the severe psychological impact. This study identified various factors responsible for high COVID-19 IES and K10 stress scores. These findings can help formulate psychological interventions for improving the stress scales in vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world is experiencing one of the major viral outbreaks of this millennium, caused by a plus sense single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Coronaviridae family, COVID-19, declared as pandemic ...by WHO. The clinical manifestations vary from asymptomatic to mild symptoms like fever, dry cough, and diarrhea, with further increase in severity leading to the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Though primary manifestations are respiratory and cardiac, various studies have shown the neuroinvasive capability of this virus resulting in neurological complications, which sometimes can precede common typical symptoms like fever and cough. Common neurological symptoms are headache, dizziness, anosmia, dysgeusia, confusion, and muscle weakening, progressing toward severe complications like cerebrovascular disease, seizures, or paralysis. Older adults and critically ill people are in the high risk group and have shown severe neurological symptoms upon infection. COVID-19 also has a profound impact on the mental health of people across the world. In this review, we briefly discuss the neurological pathologies and psychological impact due to COVID-19, which has not only stressed the physical health of people but has also created social and economic problems resulting in mental health issues.
In December 2019, COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China. Most of the studies related to the psychological impact and compliance with staying at home due to COVID-19 focused on ten days or one month ...after the initial "stay-at-home" phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The early psychological impact and behavior change to COVID-19 during the Chinese Spring Festival (the start time for recommendations to stay at home) is uncertain. In this study, people from 23 provinces in China were recruited to participate in an online survey, using Credamo. Psychological impact and compliance with staying at home were evaluated by a self-designed and validated questionnaire. The results indicated that anxiety was the most often reported feeling (mean: 3.69), followed by sadness (mean: 3.63). Participants employed in foreign-owned companies were most likely to express anxiety and sadness. Overall, 61.8% of participants reported hardly going out, whereas 2.4% said they frequently went out during the initial "stay-at-home" phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants with higher levels of anxiety and sadness were most likely to stay at home against the spread of COVID-19, as were female gender. This survey is an important study of the first reaction to staying at home during the initial "stay-at-home" phase coinciding with Chinese Spring Festival. Our findings identified factors associated with higher level of psychological impact and better compliance with staying at home recommendations during Chinese Spring Festival. The findings can be used to formulate precaution interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups and high uptake of policy during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Genetic testing for Parkinson's disease (PD) is growing as interventional clinical trials begin to enroll participants with PD who carry pathogenic variants in the LRRK2 or GBA genes. However, the ...impact of receiving genetic test results and the satisfaction with receiving genetic counseling among PD populations have not yet been studied. The purpose of this study was to evaluate (1) the psychological impact of genetic testing for PD and (2) satisfaction with genetic counseling. Surveyed participants (N = 875) were individuals with PD or at risk of developing PD, initially recruited for the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) study and currently enrolled in the Widespread Recruitment Initiative (WRI) at Indiana University. Individuals were surveyed following genetic test disclosure and genetic counseling regarding results from targeted testing for pathogenic variants in the LRRK2 and GBA genes. Participants were surveyed via two tools: a modified version of the Multidimensional Impact of Cancer Risk Assessment Survey (M‐MICRA), which measured the psychological impact of genetic testing and the Genetic Counseling Satisfaction Survey (GCSS). Participants were divided into affected/unaffected and variant positive/negative groups for subset analyses. The majority of participants had favorable M‐MICRA scores and were satisfied with the disclosure of the genetic test results and genetic counseling for PD. However, participants with PD and those with pathogenic variants had less favorable M‐MICRA scores and lower satisfaction scores compared to those without disease or pathogenic variants. This information is valuable to providers performing genetic testing of and genetic counseling to people and families affected with PD. Individuals with PD and individuals with pathogenic variants may benefit from additional interventions.
Objective
Changes perceived as both positive (eg, posttraumatic growth PTG) and negative (eg, posttraumatic stress symptoms PTSS) have been associated with intensive Internet use among breast cancer ...survivors. In this multicenter study, we analyzed the role of PTG and PTSS on the amount of time spent looking for online cancer information, its content, and its psychological impact.
Methods
Posttraumatic stress symptoms and PTG were assessed in 182 breast cancer survivors by using the Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist and Post‐traumatic Growth Inventory questionnaires. Subjects also completed a questionnaire about their behavior when looking for online illness‐related information (ie, time spent, type of contents, and psychological impact).
Results
Posttraumatic stress symptoms positively correlated with the amount of time spent looking for cancer‐related information, including both medical and psychosocial content. By contrast, PTG showed no relationships with the amount of time, but with a predominant search for cancer‐related psychosocial information. The psychological impact of online information was associated with participants' levels of PTG and/or PTSS. Whereas PTG was related to a decrease of women's hope, PTSS was linked to the perception of being less conscious or inadequately informed about the illness, thereby increasing feelings of distress.
Conclusions
Posttraumatic stress symptoms and PTG show relationships with the amount of time spent online, the type of information accessed online, and the psychological impact of Internet use. Health professionals should prescribe online information according to the psychological response to cancer. There is a need for professional‐led online resources to provide patients with timely information as well as support sites to facilitate psychological adjustment.
Increasing global Internet penetration and technological advancement have stimulated the adoption of online mode of data collection by scholars across different disciplines. Web-based surveys are ...popular in the Western world, however, their usage among Ghanaian hospitality and tourism scholars is rare despite the several advantages of web-based surveys. This research note compares the demographics of a web-based sample with previous hotel employee studies conducted in Ghana, and in so doing, highlights the advantages and limitations of using a web-based survey in a developing country context. Relative to paper-and-pencil questionnaires, it was less costly using the web-survey to investigate the psychological impact of COVID-19 on hotel employees in Ghana. Furthermore, the web-survey relatively produced quick results as well as reaching respondents in different locations in the country. The demographics of the web-survey appeared comparable to those reported in previous studies conducted in the country. However, employees with college degrees working in star-rated facilities were overly represented in the web-survey sample. Duplicate responses were also observed in the web-survey sample. Web-based surveys provide a viable option for hospitality and tourism research work in Ghana, particularly in the period of COVID-19 and its associated social distancing, lockdowns, and high risk of infection. However, there are potential challenges regarding representativeness, sampling bias and multiple submissions.
We have progressed to a phase where there is very little difference between men and women, but the reality in many countries is that women are looked down as the inferior gender and not given career ...opportunities to explore. They are not let into the decision-making roles at the organization even when they have an equal qualification, experience and skill. They are placed low in the hierarchy which allows them to witness the functions at the higher level of the organization but restricts them from participating in them. There are a lot of factors like cultural, socio-demographic factors and society itself that influence this disparity in the organization. These contributory factors create the glass ceiling phenomenon at the workplace, thereby generating emotional and psychological imbalances in women employees. This is a conceptual paper aiming to explore the concept and impact of mindfulness, and various concepts of mindfulness could be used as an emotional aid to treat the psychological effects of the glass ceiling. It further explains some of the mindful concepts like mindful walking, mindful life and mindfulness-based stress reduction technique in treating some of the psychological and emotional issues like depression, anxiety, frustration, traumatic experiences, adjustment issues, addiction, stress, low self-esteem, low self-confidence and aggression. It also elucidates adopting mindfulness techniques in real organizational scenarios where women are constantly discriminated because of their gender and opportunities are taken away.
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