Attitudes and Psychological Factors Associated With News Monitoring, Social Distancing, Disinfecting, and Hoarding Behaviors Among US Adolescents During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Abstract Background Previous studies found that about 24% of the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients reverse to cognitively normal (CN) status. However, it is unclear which modifiable factors are associated with this reversion. Method We conducted a prospective community-based cohort study based on 2002-2018 Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Of 35,474 older adults from 22 provinces in China in the 5 waves of CLHLS, 7,422 eligible participants with MCI were included. Multivariable Cox regression with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) penalty for variable selection was adopted to investigate the associations between reversion to CN and potential modifiable dietary/lifestyle, cardiometabolic, and psychological factors. Results Our analysis included 7,422 MCI participants [average age: 90.0 (SD 9.5) years]. Among these participants, 1,604 (21.6%) reversed from MCI to CN with a mean (SD) follow-up of 2.9 (1.8) years. Several dietary/lifestyle factors, including daily consumption of fresh fruits (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.42; P༜.001), engagement in reading (HR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.54; P =.047), housework (HR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.35; P =.001), and mah-jong or other card games (HR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.39; P =.001), were positively associated with possibility of reversion. Cigarette smoking (HR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.84 to 1.00; P= .041) and duration of alcohol drinking (HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.94 to 0.99; P = .012) were negatively associated with possibility of reversion. None of the modifiable cardiometabolic and psychological factors was found to be significantly associated with reversion to CN. Difference was identified among different age and gender group. Conclusion This study identified several dietary/lifestyle factors associated with MCI reversion that may transfer into large-scale dementia prevention practices.

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Social Distancing and COVID-19: Factors Associated With Compliance With Social Distancing Norms in Spain

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727225 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Estrella Gualda ◽

Andre Krouwel ◽

Marisol Palacios-Gálvez ◽

Elena Morales-Marente ◽

Iván Rodríguez-Pascual ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Distance ◽

Political Ideology ◽

Regression Models ◽

Distance Measures ◽

Spanish Population ◽

Personal Hygiene ◽

Bivariate Analysis ◽

Conspiracy Theories ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Factors Associated

This article describes patterns of compliance with social distancing measures among the Spanish population during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It identifies several factors associated with higher or lower compliance with recommended measures of social distancing. This research is part of a 67-country study, titled the International COVID-19 study on Social & Moral Psychology, in which we use a Spanish dataset. Participants were residents in Spain aged 18 or above. The sample comprises 1,090 respondents, weighted to be representative of the Spanish population. Frequencies, correlations, bivariate analysis, and six models based on hierarchical multiple regressions were applied. The main finding is that most Spaniards are compliant with established guidelines of social distance during the pandemic (State of Alarm, before May 2020). Variables associated more with lower levels of compliance with these standards were explored. Six hierarchical multiple regression models found that compliance with social distance measures has a multifactorial explanation (R2 between 20.4 and 49.1%). Sociodemographic factors, personal hygiene patterns, and the interaction between personal hygiene patterns and the support for political measures related to the coronavirus brought significant effects on the regression models. Less compliance was also associated with beliefs in some specific conspiracy theories with regard to COVID-19 or general conspiracy mentality (Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire, CMQ), consumption patterns of traditional mass media (television, paper newspapers, magazines, and radio) and modern means to get informed (online digital newspapers, blogs, and social networks), political ideology, vote, trust in institutions, and political identification. Among the future lines of action in preventing the possible outbreak of the virus, we suggest measures to reinforce trust in official information, mainly linked to reducing the influence of disinformation and conspiracy theories parallel to the pandemic.

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Illuminating Differences in The Psychological Predictors of Academic Performance for First- And Continuing-Generation Students

Journal of Educational & Psychological Research ◽

10.33140/jepr.03.02.01 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Goal Orientation ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Psychological Factors ◽

First Generation ◽

Academic Stress ◽

First Generation Students ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Academic Self Efficacy

First-generation college students experience a disproportionate rate of challenges on college campuses, reflected by lower academic performance. Research has identified academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress all as psychological factors associated with academic performance. However, this research rarely distinguishes between first- and continuing-generation students, and there may be unique effects for each group. We investigated whether the previously identified psychological factors associated with academic performance hold the same relationships for firstand continuing-generation college students. A sample of 143 undergraduate students self-reported levels of academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress. Academic performance was measured using their midterm exam grade. There were differences found in the mean levels of psychological factors and their associations with academic performance for first- and continuing-generation students. Overall, the psychological factors explained a very small portion of the variance in academic performance among first-generation students (13.4%) with none of the psychological factors holding an independent association with academic performance. Conversely, psychological factors explained considerably more of the variance in academic performance for continuing-generation students (60.5%), with domains of goal orientation and academic stress being independently associated with academic performance. Our findings suggest that new pathways to improving first-generation students’ academic performance should be identified, and that

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