Through thick and thin: changes in creativity during the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 took us by surprise. We all had to face a new situation never encountered before and find new solutions to the problems it generated, either related to the disease or the lockdown's consequences. The lockdown and pandemic crisis caused new issues and placed us in an entirely new context, changing our way of life, work time and conditions, and habits. Coping with such an unprecedented situation may have stimulated creativity. However, the situation also restricted our liberties and wellbeing and triggered health or psychological difficulties. Worrying, concerns, challenging conditions of confinement may have hampered creativity or its expression. Hence, wellbeing factors related to affective experience, living conditions, social interactions, as well as workload or available free time, may have impacted creativity during the lockdown. We carried out an online survey based on a self-administered questionnaire to examine whether the first lockdown period related to the COVID-19 pandemic (spring 2020) was associated with creativity changes and explore the role of several factors in these changes. We measured self-reported creativity changes using two approaches: changes in creative self-efficacy and creative activities and achievements. We related them to several variables estimating time availability, conditions of confinement, social interactions, and affective experience of the situation. Despite a global negative subjective experience of the situation, individuals who participated in our survey (n=380) reported that they were on average more creative during the lockdown than before and engaged in more creative activities. The converging results from self-perceived and activity-based measures showed that this positive change could be linked with more time availability, feeling more motivated or inspired, or the need to solve a problem. However, when negative changes in creativity were experienced, they were instead related to negative affective experiences, including stress and anxiety, a low mood, a feeling of pressure, or a lack of resources or opportunities. This study helps to document what happened during the first lockdown period in France regarding aspects of creativity, showing some positive outcomes of the situation despite its negative consequences, and providing cues about the key factors that stimulated or, on the contrary, blocked creativity.

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Mental distress and its associations with behavioral outcomes during the COVID-19: A national survey of Chinese adults (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.25308 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lu Ma ◽

Liwang Gao ◽

Joseph Tak-Fai Lau ◽

Rahman Atif ◽

Blair T. Johnson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Body Weight ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Online Survey ◽

Mental Distress ◽

Structural Equation Models ◽

Behavioral Outcomes ◽

National Sample ◽

Negative Consequences

BACKGROUND This study primarily aimed to evaluate the associations between mental distress and COVID-19-related changes in behavioral outcomes, and potential modifiers (age, gender, and educational attainment) of such associations. OBJECTIVE The COVID -19 pandemic has led to elevated levels of mental distress attributed to prolonged lockdowns, business closures, and social isolation. Its impact on behavioral outcomes is however less known. This study is designed to primarily evaluate the associations between mental distress and COVID-19-related changes in drinking, smoking, physical activity and body weight, and potential modifiers of such associations including age, gender, and educational attainment. METHODS An online survey using anonymous network sampling was conducted in China during April-May, 2020 using a 74-item questionnaire distributed through social media. A national sample of 10,545 adults in 31 provinces provided data on socio-demographic characteristics, COVID-19-related mental distress, and changes in behavioral outcomes. Structural equation models were used for data analyses. RESULTS About 13% of adults reported experiencing at least one symptom of mental distress. After adjusting for age, education, gender, ethnicity, marital status, residence, and number of chronic conditions, greater mental distress was associated with increased smoking and alcohol consumption (among current smokers and drinkers) and with both increased and decreased physical activity. Underweight adults were more likely to lose body weight (≥1 kg) whereas overweight adults were more likely to gain weight by the same amount. The association between mental distress and change in physical activity was stronger in adults aged 40 and above and those with high education. Mental distress was significantly associated with an increase in smoking in males but not females. CONCLUSIONS Mental distress was associated with increased smoking in males but not females. These findings inform the design of tailored public health interventions aimed to mitigate long-term negative consequences of mental distress on outcomes.

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Late-Night Use of Social Media and Cognitive Engagement of Female Entrepreneurs: A Stressor–Strain–Outcome Perspective

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/21582440211037652 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 215824402110376

Author(s):

Fakhar Shahzad ◽

Adnan Abbas ◽

Adnan Fateh ◽

Raja Suzana Raja Kasim ◽

Kashif Akram ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Online Survey ◽

Cognitive Engagement ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Female Entrepreneurs ◽

Late Night ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

Outcome Perspective

The excessive use of social media is an emerging phenomenon with several negative consequences in an entrepreneurial context. Based on the stressor–strain–outcome paradigm, this research aims to unveil the following: that social media late-night usage can affect two psychological strains (life invasion and technostress) among female entrepreneurs and thus influence their behavioral outcome (cognitive engagement). This study empirically tested the proposed mediation model using an online survey of 225 female entrepreneurs from the small- and medium-sized enterprise sector. A partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was implemented to obtain the results. The findings indicate that late-night social media usage significantly raises life invasion and technostress among female entrepreneurs. Moreover, internal strains (life invasion and technostress) reduce female entrepreneurs’ cognitive engagement and significantly mediate the association between late-night use of social media and entrepreneurial cognitive engagement. This study draws associated practical and theoretical contributions based on findings, which were not previously discussed.

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Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions of Challenges with Frequent Users of Emergency Department Care in Switzerland: A Qualitative Study

INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing ◽

10.1177/00469580211028173 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 58 ◽

pp. 004695802110281

Author(s):

Patrick Bodenmann ◽

Miriam Kasztura ◽

Madison Graells ◽

Elodie Schmutz ◽

Oriane Chastonay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Emergency Services ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Emergency Department Care ◽

Frequent Users ◽

Complex Needs ◽

Wide Range ◽

Ed Overcrowding ◽

Ed Visits

Frequent users of emergency departments (FUED; ≥ 5 ED visits/year) commonly cumulate medical, social, and substance use problems requiring complex and sustained care coordination often unavailable in ED. This study aimed to explore ED healthcare providers’ challenges related to FUED care to gain insight into the support and resources required to address FUED complex needs. An online survey was sent to all general adult emergency services within Switzerland (N = 106). Participants were asked to indicate the extent to which they perceived that FUED represented a problem and to describe the main challenges encountered. In total, 208 physicians and nurses from 75 EDs (70.7%) completed the survey. Among the 208 participants, 134 (64%) reported that FUED represented a challenge and 133 described 1 to 5 challenges encountered. A conventional content analysis yielded 4 main categories of perceived challenges. Negative consequences in the ED secondary to FUED’s presence (eg, ED overcrowding, staff helplessness, and fatigue) was the most frequently reported challenge, followed by challenges related to FUEDs’ characteristics (eg, mental health and social problems) leading to healthcare complexity. The third most frequently encountered challenge was related to the ED inappropriateness and inefficiency to address FUEDs’ needs. Finally, challenges related to the lack of FUED healthcare network were the least often mentioned. ED healthcare providers experience a wide range of challenges related to FUED care. These findings suggest that currently EDs nor their staff are equipped to address FUEDs’ complex needs.

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Low COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Is Correlated with Conspiracy Beliefs among University Students in Jordan

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18052407 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 2407

Author(s):

Malik Sallam ◽

Deema Dababseh ◽

Huda Eid ◽

Hanan Hasan ◽

Duaa Taim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Vaccine Hesitancy ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Vaccine Acceptance ◽

Awareness Campaigns ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Conspiracy Beliefs ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

A Chain

Vaccination to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged as a promising measure to overcome the negative consequences of the pandemic. Since university students could be considered a knowledgeable group, this study aimed to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among this group in Jordan. Additionally, we aimed to examine the association between vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccine hesitancy. We used an online survey conducted in January 2021 with a chain-referral sampling approach. Conspiracy beliefs were evaluated using the validated Vaccine Conspiracy Belief Scale (VCBS), with higher scores implying embrace of conspiracies. A total of 1106 respondents completed the survey with female predominance (n = 802, 72.5%). The intention to get COVID-19 vaccines was low: 34.9% (yes) compared to 39.6% (no) and 25.5% (maybe). Higher rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance were seen among males (42.1%) and students at Health Schools (43.5%). A Low rate of influenza vaccine acceptance was seen as well (28.8%), in addition to 18.6% of respondents being anti-vaccination altogether. A significantly higher VCBS score was correlated with reluctance to get the vaccine (p < 0.001). Dependence on social media platforms was significantly associated with lower intention to get COVID-19 vaccines (19.8%) compared to dependence on medical doctors, scientists, and scientific journals (47.2%, p < 0.001). The results of this study showed the high prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its association with conspiracy beliefs among university students in Jordan. The implementation of targeted actions to increase the awareness of such a group is highly recommended. This includes educational programs to dismantle vaccine conspiracy beliefs and awareness campaigns to build recognition of the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

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Short report: Autistic parents’ views and experiences of talking about autism with their autistic children

Autism ◽

10.1177/1362361320981317 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136236132098131

Author(s):

Laura Crane ◽

Lok Man Lui ◽

Jade Davies ◽

Elizabeth Pellicano

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Online Survey ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Professional Support ◽

Short Report ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Autistic Children ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

Current Sample ◽

Experiential Expertise

Little is known about how parents talk about autism with their autistic children, particularly among families in which both a parent and child are autistic. Using an online survey, we gathered quantitative and qualitative data from 34 autistic parents (most of whom had told their children about their diagnosis) to address this knowledge gap. There was considerable overlap between the views and experiences of the autistic parents in this study and the largely non-autistic parent samples in previous research. Specifically, parents emphasised the importance of being open and honest about the diagnosis, disclosing the diagnosis as early as possible, individualising discussions to children’s needs and framing the diagnosis positively. There were, however, areas in which the views and experiences of the current sample differed from previous research on non-autistic samples. First, our sample of autistic parents outlined the benefits of their own experiential expertise, which they felt resulted in heightened understanding and empathy with their children. Second, our sample tended not to express concerns about disclosure potentially having a negative impact. Finally, our participants did not express a want or need for professional support with disclosure. Instead, they reported feeling well equipped to support their children using their own knowledge and lived experience. Lay abstract Previous research examining how parents talk about autism with their children has tended to focus on parents who are not autistic themselves. We collected information on this topic from 34 autistic parents of autistic children (most of whom had told their children about their diagnosis). We found similarities, but also differences, between the views and experiences of autistic parents in this research and those reported in previous research (in studies of largely non-autistic parents). Similarities include the following: it is important to be open and honest about the diagnosis; the diagnosis should be introduced/discussed as early as possible; discussions should be tailored to each individual child’s needs; and we should not overlook the challenges associated with autism, but it is important to focus on positive aspects too. Differences include the following: autistic parents used personal experiences in conversations about autism, which was felt to result in increased understanding and empathy with their children; autistic parents overwhelmingly focused on more positive aspects of an autism diagnosis; our sample did not express concerns that discussions could have negative consequences too (e.g. making children more anxious); and autistic parents did not want or need professional support to talk about autism with their children (instead, they felt confident in using their own knowledge/experiences to guide discussions).

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A cross-sectional study of the use and effectiveness of the Individual Development Plan among doctoral students

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.15154.2 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 722 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nathan L. Vanderford ◽

Teresa M. Evans ◽

L. Todd Weiss ◽

Lindsay Bira ◽

Jazmin Beltran-Gastelum

Keyword(s):

Career Development ◽

Doctoral Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Career Planning ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Development Plan ◽

Individual Development ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Individual

Background: The Individual Development Plan (IDP) was introduced as a tool to aid in career planning for doctoral trainees. Despite the National Institutes of Health and academic institutions creating policies that mandate the use of IDPs, little information exists regarding the use and effectiveness of the career planning tool. Methods: We conducted a multi-institutional, online survey to measure IDP use and effectiveness. The survey was distributed to potential respondents via social media and direct email. IDP survey questions were formatted using a five-point Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree). For data analysis purposes, responses were grouped into two categories (agree versus does not agree/disagree). The data were summarized as one-way frequencies and the Pearson chi-square test was used to determine the statistical significance of univariate associations between the survey variables and an outcome measure of the effectiveness of the IDP. Results: Among all respondents, fifty-three percent reported that they are required to complete an IDP while thirty-three percent reported that the tool is helpful to their career development. Further, our data suggests that the IDP is most effective when doctoral students complete the tool with faculty mentors with whom they have a positive relationship. Respondents who are confident about their career plans and who take advantage of career development resources at their institution are also more likely to perceive that the IDP is useful for their career development. Conclusion: Given the nuanced use and effectiveness of the IDP, we call for additional research to characterize the overall use and effectiveness of the IDP and to determine whether there are unintended negative consequences created through the use of the tool. Furthermore, we recommend an enhancement of career development infrastructure that would include mentorship training for faculty in order to provide substantially more career planning support to trainees.

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A Revised Model of Trust in Internet-Based Health Information and Advice: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/11125 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (11) ◽

pp. e11125

Author(s):

Elizabeth Sillence ◽

John Matthew Blythe ◽

Pam Briggs ◽

Mark Moss

Keyword(s):

Goodness Of Fit ◽

Online Survey ◽

Patient Experiences ◽

Model Fit ◽

Key Factors ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

And Coping ◽

Fit Index ◽

Significant Direct Effect

Background The internet continues to offer new forms of support for health decision making. Government, charity, and commercial websites increasingly offer a platform for shared personal health experiences, and these are just some of the opportunities that have arisen in a largely unregulated arena. Understanding how people trust and act on this information has always been an important issue and remains so, particularly as the design practices of health websites continue to evolve and raise further concerns regarding their trustworthiness. Objective The aim of this study was to identify the key factors influencing US and UK citizens’ trust and intention to act on advice found on health websites and to understand the role of patient experiences. Methods A total of 1123 users took part in an online survey (625 from the United States and 498 from the United Kingdom). They were asked to recall their previous visit to a health website. The online survey consisted of an updated general Web trust questionnaire to account for personal experiences plus questions assessing key factors associated with trust in health websites (information corroboration and coping perception) and intention to act. We performed principal component analysis (PCA), then explored the relationship between the factor structure and outcomes by testing the fit to the sampled data using structural equation modeling (SEM). We also explored the model fit across US and UK populations. Results PCA of the general Web trust questionnaire revealed 4 trust factors: (1) personal experiences, (2) credibility and impartiality, (3) privacy, and (4) familiarity. In the final SEM model, trust was found to have a significant direct effect on intention to act (beta=.59; P<.001), and of the trust factors, only credibility and impartiality had a significant direct effect on trust (beta=.79; P<.001). The impact of personal experiences on trust was mediated through information corroboration (beta=.06; P=.04). Variables specific to electronic health (eHealth; information corroboration and coping) were found to substantially improve the model fit, and differences in information corroboration were found between US and UK samples. The final model accounting for all factors achieved a good fit (goodness-of-fit index [0.95], adjusted goodness-of-fit index [0.93], root mean square error of approximation [0.50], and comparative fit index [0.98]) and explained 65% of the variance in trust and 41% of the variance in intention to act. Conclusions Credibility and impartiality continue to be key predictors of trust in eHealth websites. Websites with patient experiences can positively influence trust but only if users first corroborate the information through other sources. The need for corroboration was weaker in the United Kingdom, where website familiarity reduced the need to check information elsewhere. These findings are discussed in relation to existing trust models, patient experiences, and health literacy.

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Human agency beliefs influence behaviour during virtual social interactions

10.7287/peerj.preprints.3018v1 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nathan Caruana ◽

Dean Spirou ◽

Jon Brock

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Subjective Experience ◽

Eye Contact ◽

Human Agency ◽

Mental States ◽

Human Condition ◽

Human Interaction ◽

Intentional Stance ◽

Agency Beliefs ◽

The Impact

In recent years, with the emergence of relatively inexpensive and accessible virtual reality technologies, it is now possible to deliver compelling and realistic simulations of human-to-human interaction. Neuroimaging studies have shown that, when participants believe they are interacting via a virtual interface with another human agent, they show different patterns of brain activity compared to when they know that their virtual partner is computer-controlled. The suggestion is that users adopt an “intentional stance” by attributing mental states to their virtual partner. However, it remains unclear how beliefs in the agency of a virtual partner influence participants’ behaviour and subjective experience of the interaction. We investigated this issue in the context of a cooperative “joint attention” game in which participants interacted via an eye tracker with a virtual onscreen partner, directing each other’s eye gaze to different screen locations. Half of the participants were correctly informed that their partner was controlled by a computer algorithm (“Computer” condition). The other half were misled into believing that the virtual character was controlled by a second participant in another room (“Human” condition). Those in the “Human” condition were slower to make eye contact with their partner and more likely to try and guide their partner before they had established mutual eye contact than participants in the “Computer” condition. They also responded more rapidly when their partner was guiding them, although the same effect was also found for a control condition in which they responded to an arrow cue. Results confirm the influence of human agency beliefs on behaviour in this virtual social interaction context. They further suggest that researchers and developers attempting to simulate social interactions should consider the impact of agency beliefs on user experience in other social contexts, and their effect on the achievement of the application’s goals.

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Video Meeting Signals: A randomised controlled trial of a technique to improve the experience of video conferencing

10.31234/osf.io/q3sa6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel C. Richardson ◽

Miles R. A. Tufft ◽

Mackenzie Clavin ◽

Paul Hills

Keyword(s):

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Personal Experience ◽

Subjective Experience ◽

Video Conferencing ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Training Session ◽

Socially Isolated ◽

Randomised Controlled ◽

Video Meeting

We found evidence from a randomised controlled trial that a simple set of techniques can improve the experience of online meetings. Video conferencing technology has practical benefits, but psychological costs. It has allowed industry, education and social interactions to continue in some form during the covid-19 lockdowns. But it has left many users feeling fatigued and socially isolated, perhaps becausethe limitations of video conferencing disrupt users’ability to coordinate interactions and foster social affiliation. Video Meeting Signals (VMS™) is a simple technique that uses gestures to overcome some of these limitations. We carried out a randomisedcontrolled trial with over 100 students, in which half underwent a short training session in VMS. All participants rated their subjective experience of two weekly seminars, and transcripts were objectively coded for the valence of language used. Compared to controls, seminar groups with VMS training rated their personal experience, their feelings toward their group, and their perceived learning outcomes as significantly higher. Also, they were more likely to use positive language and less likely to use negative language. While future, pre-registered experiments will explore which aspects of the technique are responsible for these benefits, the current results establish that VMS has great potential to overcome the psychological problems of group video meetings.

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Is gender just a costume? An exploratory study of crossplay

Transformative Works and Cultures ◽

10.3983/twc.2019.1459 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Ethel Tompkins

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Online Survey ◽

Pop Culture ◽

Theory Approach ◽

Fictional Character ◽

Emancipatory Politics ◽

Positive And Negative Feedback ◽

Play Space ◽

Alternative Gender ◽

Grounded Theory Approach

Cosplay, a portmanteau of costume and play, is a costume inspired by a fictional character originating from a variety of media texts and is typically worn to pop culture conventions. When cosplayers dress up as a fictional character of a different gender than the cosplayer's self-identified gender, this is known as crossplay. It has been argued that this fannish activity challenges status quo notions of gender through bodily performance, but some scholars have been skeptical about the emancipatory politics surrounding crossplay culture. Thus, an online survey probed on the motivations to do crossplay as well as on the lived experiences of crossplayers. Responses to questions about crossplay motivations as well as social interactions that occurred while wearing crossplay were analyzed using the grounded theory approach. Results suggest that respondents are motivated to perform crossplay by an attachment to a favorite fictional character rather than to express alternative gender identities. However, some respondents indicated that crossplay was a socially acceptable way to present oneself as another gender. A close look at participants' responses about positive and negative feedback from other convention attendees while the participants were engaging in crossplay indicates that gender inequality persists for self-identified men and nonbinary individuals who choose to dress as female characters. This suggests that masculine performativity remains hegemonic even within the play space of fan conventions.

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