scholarly journals Before and after the Quarantine: An Approximate Study on the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on the Italian Population during the Lockdown Period

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Lorena Marotta ◽  
Andrea Pesce ◽  
Andrea Guazzini

COVID-19 (Corona-Virus Disease 2019) in Italy and the measures that were adopted to contain its diffusion had a strong impact on people’s quality of life and mental health. The objective of the study was to quantify the psychological impact of the lockdown period on the general Italian population during the two weeks when the COVID-19 emergency in Italy was at its peak. The study (1556 adults) was conducted from April 6th to April 12th, 2020. A survey was developed through Google Forms in order to assess different psychological measures (Self Efficacy, Locus of Control, Social Connectedness, Sense of Virtual Community, Flourishing, Positive and Negative Affect, Life Satisfaction, and Risk Propensity). The results were then compared to reference data. Thelockdown period increased arousal mainly for negative emotions, but also for positive emotions, and quality of life seemed to be reduced. From a psychosocial point of view, while social connectedness has decreased during lockdown, probably because of isolation and social distancing, the virtual social community seemed to increase in the same period. Interestingly, we revealed how self efficacy increased during the lockdown period, and, at the same time, the Locus of control appeared as externalized, and the risk propensity as reduced. The results are discussed considering previous literature, and a coherent theoretical framework is proposed in order to refine the forecasting model for the psychological impact of the lockdown.

Author(s):  
Isabel Cantón ◽  
Consuelo Morán

The aim of this study was to examine the differences among harassed teachers and un-harassed ones, regarding coping strategies, self-efficacy, and locus of control. Participants were 255 teachers (163 women and 92 men) who completed a set of three questionnaires, the Mobbing Perceived Questionnaire, a battery of control expectancies, and the Brief COPE to assess, respectively, mobbing perceived at work, self-efficacy, locus of control, and cooping strategies. The results showed differences in self-efficacy, locus of control, and use of coping strategies depending on the teachers’ degree of mobbing perceived. The authors believe that the efforts for preventing mobbing made by educational organizations must be intensified, as they not only affect teachers’ quality of life but also the quality of the educational system, furthermore new technologies can have a relevant role on this side by making available all information on those phenomena.


2015 ◽  
Vol 148 (4) ◽  
pp. S-841
Author(s):  
Guruprasad D. Jambaulikar ◽  
Joy Lee ◽  
Mahoussi Aholoukpe ◽  
Miguel Regueiro ◽  
David A. Schwartz ◽  
...  

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10611
Author(s):  
Anna Lardone ◽  
Pierpaolo Sorrentino ◽  
Francesco Giancamilli ◽  
Tommaso Palombi ◽  
Trevor Simper ◽  
...  

Background In 2020, to limit the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), many countries, including Italy, have issued a lengthy quarantine period for the entire population. For this reason lifestyle has changed, bringing inevitable repercussions to the Quality of Life (QoL). The present study aims to identify which psychosocial variables predict behaviors capable of affecting the QoL during the lockdown period, potentially highlighting factors that might promote well-being and health in the Italian population during the epidemic. Methods Between 27 April 2020 and 11 May 2020, we administered a web-survey to a sample of young Italian people (age M = 21.2; SD = 3.5; female = 57.7% of the sample). Employing variance-based structural equation modeling, we attempted to identify whether social connectedness, social support, and loneliness were variables predictive of the QoL of young Italians. We also sought to identify specific psychological factors, such as symbolic threat, realistic threat, and the threat from potentially contaminated objects, was correlated to COVID-19 fear and whether engaging in particular behaviors was likely to improve the QoL. Results Our results suggest that social connectedness and loneliness are significant predictors of QoL, while social support did not have a significant effect on QoL. Furthermore, we observed that symbolic and realistic threats and the threat from potentially contaminated objects are significant and positive predictors of COVID-19 fear. Moreover, COVID-19 fear had significant and positive relationships with the carrying out of specific behaviors, such as creative activities during the isolation period and that this related to affirming individuals’ country-specific identity. Finally, COVID-19 fear is a significant predictor of behavioral factors related to the adherence to public health advice in line with national guidance regarding the containment of COVID-19; this factor, however, did not correlate with QoL. Conclusion Our results suggest the importance of social context and psychological factors to help devise intervention strategies to improve the QoL during lockdown from epidemic events and, in particular, support the importance of promoting social communication and accurate information about the transmission of the virus.


Author(s):  
Isabel Cantón ◽  
Consuelo Morán

The aim of this study was to examine the differences among harassed teachers and un-harassed ones, regarding coping strategies, self-efficacy, and locus of control. Participants were 255 teachers (163 women and 92 men) who completed a set of three questionnaires, the Mobbing Perceived Questionnaire, a battery of control expectancies, and the Brief COPE to assess, respectively, mobbing perceived at work, self-efficacy, locus of control, and cooping strategies. The results showed differences in self-efficacy, locus of control, and use of coping strategies depending on the teachers’ degree of mobbing perceived. The authors believe that the efforts for preventing mobbing made by educational organizations must be intensified, as they not only affect teachers’ quality of life but also the quality of the educational system, furthermore new technologies can have a relevant role on this side by making available all information on those phenomena.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.


2010 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Carol A. Mancuso ◽  
Wendy Sayles ◽  
John P. Allegrante

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