A complex systems perspective on compliance with behavioral measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands: How psychological networks can inform interventions.

Health care agencies around the world recommended behavioral measures regarding hygiene and physical distancing to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. The current research sheds light on the interplay of psychological factors related to compliance and well-being during the pandemic. We do so by presenting a complex psychological network based on a large-scale survey (N = 6093). In total, participants were invited five times to complete this survey over a period of approximately 10 weeks (April 23th – June 30th 2020). The third and fifth wave included interventions aimed at influencing the psychological networks. We found that 1) compliance and well-being during the pandemic seemed connected through negative emotions and therefore were related factors and 2) trust in authorities influenced support for behavioral measures, which is in turn associated with compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the network structure was used to design multiple interventions, aimed at psychological variables varying in their relative importance for the network. The interventions significantly affected the variables the intervention was aimed at as well as other variables in the networks. The effects of interventions on variables related to the aim of the interventions were partially explained by the network structure. The results suggest that the network structure can be an important source of information for designing effective interventions aimed at influencing the public’s psychological systems in relation to pandemics.

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Network structure of adolescent well-being traits: Results from a Large-Scale Chinese sample

10.31234/osf.io/y6ucr ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Guang Zeng ◽

Kaiping Peng ◽

Chuan-Peng Hu

Keyword(s):

Network Structure ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

Well Being ◽

Middle Part ◽

Chinese Adolescents ◽

Chinese Sample ◽

Rural And Urban Areas ◽

Effective Interventions ◽

Rural And Urban

Background. The mental health and well-being of adolescents are becoming increasingly important globally. Understanding the relationship between different aspects of well-being is crucial for effective interventions of the well-being of adolescents. The present study aims to analyze the network structure of adolescent well-being and identify the central well-being traits. Methods. We used a network model to analyze the network structure of a psychometrically sound measurement of adolescent well-being ---- the engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness, and happiness (EPOCH) scale. The dataset comes from a representative sample of Chinese adolescents (17, 854 participants from rural and urban areas from Southern, Northern, and the middle part of China). Results. The twenty items of EPOCH formed a highly interconnected network. The item H4 (“I am a cheerful person.”), E2 (“I get completely absorbed in what I am doing”), and O4 (“I believe that things will work out, no matter how difficult they seem”) were the most central traits. Conclusions. Cheerfulness, engagement in current activity and optimism for the future are most central to the psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents. Future studies should further test the dynamics between these central traits and other well-being traits to find effective interventions of well-being of adolescents.

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A complex psychological systems perspective on the temporal dynamics of compliance with behavioral measures and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study in the Netherlands.

10.31234/osf.io/m2spb ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Monique Chambon ◽

Jonas Dalege ◽

Denny Borsboom ◽

Lourens Waldorp ◽

Han van der Maas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Systems Approach ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Longitudinal Research ◽

Well Being ◽

Behavioral Measures ◽

Psychological Variables ◽

Systems Perspective ◽

Over Time ◽

Do So

This longitudinal research aims to examine the temporal dynamics of a broad range of variables related to compliance with behavioral measures and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. We do so by adopting a complex psychological systems approach. Dutch participants (N = 2,399) completed a survey with COVID-19-related variables for five times over a period of 10 weeks (April 23th – June 30th 2020). With this data we estimated within-person COVID-19 networks containing the psychological variables and their relations, including predictive effects over time. Results suggest that support for behavioral measures and involvement in the pandemic are most important for compliance. The included variables provided substantive information on the dynamics of compliance with preventive behaviors and well-being during pandemics, justifying our complex psychological systems approach. Although the COVID-19 networks were comparable over time and within measurements, observed differences may inform interventions aimed at improving compliance with behavioral measures during pandemics.

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Italian Teachers' Well-Being Within the High School Context: Evidence From a Large Scale Survey

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01926 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Author(s):

Barbara Barbieri ◽

Isabella Sulis ◽

Mariano Porcu ◽

Michael D. Toland

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Large Scale ◽

School Context ◽

Well Being ◽

Large Scale Survey

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Large-scale survey of frequency of forest walking and related factors in a Japanese population inhabiting a large city, and comparison of an urban area and a rural area

Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1007/s10310-012-0375-9 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 454-461

Author(s):

Emi Morita ◽

Kyoko Aoyama ◽

Takashi Tamura ◽

Rieko Okada ◽

Sayo Kawai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Area ◽

Rural Area ◽

Japanese Population ◽

Large Scale ◽

Large City ◽

Related Factors ◽

Large Scale Survey

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Can Sport Really Help to Meet the Millennium Development Goals? Evidence From Children in Peru

Journal of Sports Economics ◽

10.1177/1527002516661601 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 498-521 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Tim Pawlowski ◽

Ute Schüttoff ◽

Paul Downward ◽

Michael Lechner

Keyword(s):

Millennium Development Goals ◽

Large Scale ◽

Sports Participation ◽

Well Being ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Subjective Health ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Human Capital Formation ◽

Development Goals ◽

Large Scale Survey

In contrast to the popular policy claim that sport might serve as vehicle to meet the Millennium Development Goals, empirical evidence based on large-scale survey data is largely missing. We use panel data based on a cohort of children and employ propensity score matching to identify the effects of sports participation on child development in Peru. Our findings suggest that participation in a sports group has positive impacts on subjective health and a measure of social capital. However, and in contrast to developed countries, we find no statistically significant effects on well-being and human capital formation.

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The Negative Impact of the Effects of Coronavirus on the Well-Being of Children and Families Who Are Clients of Child Protection Authorities in Finland

Social Sciences and Childhood - Социальные науки и детство ◽

10.17759/ssc.2021020103 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 37-46

Author(s):

J. Kuokkanen ◽

A Tiili ◽

A. Paasivirta

Keyword(s):

Child Protection ◽

Large Scale ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Children And Families ◽

Negative Effects ◽

State Of Emergency ◽

Large Scale Survey ◽

Restrictive Measures

In the spring 2020, the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic quickly spread across Finland, having significant negative consequences for people’s living conditions. On March 16, 2020, the Finnish government declared a state of emergency and imposed several restrictive measures that were in effect until July 16, 2020 [13; 16]. The coronavirus and its aftermath have weakened the resilience of the Finnish welfare state, thereby challenging the welfare state’s ability to protect those most in need of its support. Recent studies have shown that the most vulnerable populations, such as children, are most affected by the negative effects of the pandemic in Finland and worldwide [5; 9; 11; 14; 18]. In autumn 2020, the Central Union for Child Welfare (CUCW) and the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) conducted a large-scale survey among the heads of child protection authorities (15.08.—13.10.2020), the aim of which was to find out how the consequences of the coronavirus and government restrictions have affected the well-being of children and their families who are clients of child protection authorities during the fall 2020. This article presents the main results and conclusions of the survey.

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Perceptions of an Insufficient Government Response at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic are Associated with Lower Mental Well-Being

10.31234/osf.io/3kfmh ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Thiemo Fetzer ◽

Marc Witte ◽

Lukas Hensel ◽

Jon Jachimowicz ◽

Johannes Haushofer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Variation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Well Being ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Government Response ◽

Country Level ◽

The World ◽

Large Scale Survey ◽

The Uk ◽

Mental Well Being

We conducted a large-scale survey covering 58 countries (N = 108,075) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—between March 20th and April 7th 2020—to explore how beliefs about citizens’ and government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the actions taken by governments, affected mental well-being. Our analyses reveal three findings. First, many respondents indicate that their country’s citizens and government’s response was insufficient. Second, respondents’ perception of an insufficient public and government response was associated with lower mental well-being. Third, we exploit time variation in country-level lockdown announcements, both around the world and through an event-study in the UK, and find that strong government actions—i.e., announcing a nationwide lockdown—were related to an improvement in respondents’ views of their fellow citizens and government, and to better mental well-being. These findings suggest that policy-makers may not only need to consider how their decisions affect the spread of COVID-19, but also how such choices influence the mental well-being of their population.

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Assessing Millets and Sorghum Consumption Behavior in Urban India: A Large-Scale Survey

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.3389/fsufs.2021.680777 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Joanna Kane-Potaka ◽

Seetha Anitha ◽

Takuji W. Tsusaka ◽

Rosemary Botha ◽

Muralidhar Budumuru ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

Public Knowledge ◽

Early Adopters ◽

Consumption Behavior ◽

Urban Markets ◽

Large Scale Survey ◽

Per Capita ◽

Source Of Information ◽

Structured Questionnaire

There is growing attention by governments and industry in regard to the role played by millets (including sorghum) to help build resilience for farmers and cope with climate change, malnutrition, diabetes, and some other major issues. To understand public knowledge and practices of consuming millets in urban areas, a survey was conducted with 15,522 individuals from seven major cities of India using a structured questionnaire, and after data cleaning 15,139 observations were subjected to analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found that the largest group among early adopters of millets were people with health problems (28%), it being the single largest reason for consuming millets, followed by those wanting to lose weight (15%) and those selecting millets for its taste (14%). There was a significant gap between people who were health conscious (91%) and those who were sure millets were healthy (40%). The major reason the respondents did not eat more millets was that it was not eaten at home (40%), followed by reactions such as not liking the taste (22%). Reaching the urban consumers through social media is recommended, given that it is their main source of information. There was no statistically significant relationship between state-wise per capita production and frequency of consumption of millets in the urban areas (p = 0.236). In conclusion, three key actions are recommended to enhance the consumption of millets: developing delicious products to satisfy the taste, providing knowledge on nutritional and health facts on millets, and improving accessibility of millets in urban markets.

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