Dynamics of COVID-19’s psychological impact in the Czech Republic: Situation during spring 2020

The study presents the results of a screening focused on the psychological impact associated with the outbreak and further development of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech population during March-May 2020. The aim of the study was to investigate temporal dynamics of psychological impact covering the first wave of the epidemic, i.e., first phases of the epidemic growth, culmination, decrease, and slow return to a normal lifestyle. The sample of 2716 respondents aged between 18 and 89 years participated in an online survey from March 18th to May 25th, 2020; part of them (typically seniors and others, who had not access to the internet) were assisted in entering the data by trained interviewers. The survey comprised questionnaires capturing emotional states, psychological disturbance, anxiety, and depression. The changes in the scores by pandemic phase (time frame) were studied for the whole sample and for gender and age groups. The results show that the threat of COVID-19 caused a significant increase in negative emotional experience and in the symptoms of psychological disturbance, anxiety, and depression in the Czech population in a time of infection culmination, even when the spread of the pandemic was well controlled, and then a gradual decline over time. The data indicated that the pandemic situation had a more pronounced impact on women and younger adults. The study also showed that in situations of pandemic stress associated with isolation, when isolated people are interviewed about their mental state, their reports on negative experiencing might be significantly reduced compared to direct anonymous self-reports data entry.

Traumatization, Not Habituation: The Impact of a Long Lockdown on Mental Health and the Role of Media Use (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Czech population experienced a second lockdown lasting for about half a year, restricting free movement, and imposing social isolation. It is not known whether the impact of the long lockdown resulted in habituation to the adverse situation or in the traumatization of the Czech population, and whether the media and its specific use contributed to these processes. OBJECTIVE This study aimed at elucidating the effect of the long lockdown on the mental health of the Czech population, and the role of exposure to COVID-19 news reports and specific forms of media news use in mental health. METHODS We conducted two consecutive surveys in the early (November 2020) and late (March/April 2021) phases of the nationwide lockdown on the same nationally representative group of Czech adults (N = 1,777) participating in a longitudinal panel study. RESULTS Our findings show that the self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression increased in the second observed period, whereby confirming the negative effect of the pandemic lockdown as it unfolded, suggesting that restrictive measures and continuous exposure to a collective stressor did not result in strengthening of resilience but rather in ongoing traumatization. The results also suggest a negative role of the media’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in mental health during the early, and particularly late phase of the lockdown. Furthermore, we found several risk and protective factors of specific media news use. The media practice in news consumption connected to social media use was the strongest predictor of exacerbated mental health symptoms, particularly in the late phase of the lockdown. Also, news media use characterized by internalization of information learned from the news, as well as negative attitudes towards media news, were associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression. On the other hand, the use of infotainment, together with an in-depth and contextual style of reading news articles, were related to improvement of mental health. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that the long lockdown resulted in traumatization rather than habituation, and in more pronounced effects (both negative and positive) of media use in mental health.

Item Analysis of the Czech Version of the WJ IV COG Battery from a Group of Romani Children

The objective of the article is to present an item analysis of selected subtests of the Czech version of the WJ IV COG battery from a group of Romani children, ages 7–11. The research sample consisted of 400 school-aged Romani children from the Czech Republic who were selected by quota sampling. A partial comparative sample for the analysis was the Czech population collected as norms of the Czech edition of © Propsyco (n = 936). The Woodcock–Johnson IV COG was used as a research tool. Statistical analysis was performed in Winstep software using Differential Item Functioning; differences between groups were expressed in logits and tested via the Rasch–Welch T-test. It was discovered that higher item difficulty was noted in the verbal subtests, although variability in item difficulty was found across all subtests. The analysis of individual items makes it possible to discover which tasks are most culturally influenced.

SPIRITUALITY AND IRRATIONAL BELIEFS OF MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES IN SLOVAKS AND CZECHS

Aim. The present study is focused on exploring of the relationship between spirituality and irrational beliefs particularly in relation to movement activities in Slovakia and Czechia, i.e., helplessness, idealisation, perfectionism, external vulnerability, and negative expectation. Concept. Our research has been focused on the investigation, comparison, and correlation between the level of spirituality and irrational beliefs depending on the frequency of sport activities. Method. The research sample (N = 469) consisted of Slovak and Czech health population aged 18-70 (M = 41.97, SD = 13.14), of which 42.2% were men (N = 198) and 57.8% were women (N = 271). The level of spirituality was identified by means of the Expressions of Spiritual Inventory-Revised – ESI-R (MacDonald, 2000). The irrational beliefs were measured using the Scale of Irrational Beliefs (Kondáš & Kordáčová, 2000). Results. Research results confirmed the differences between the variables of spirituality and irrational beliefs based on the frequency of sports activities. Also, we confirmed the hypothesis of negative correlation between spirituality and irrational beliefs. Conclusion. In our study, we focused on the correlations between irrational beliefs and spirituality in group of Slovak and Czech population. Based on our results we can draw several conclusions. Research results confirmed the differences between the variables of spirituality and irrational beliefs based on frequency of sports activities.

From the Communists and Post-Communists Alike: State-Paid Salaries of the Clergy in the Czech Lands 1949–2012

The article examines the development of state-paid salaries for the clergy introduced by the Communists in Czechoslovakia from their institution in 1949 until they were removed in a major change of church-state relations in 2012. In the initial years of Communist rule, it appears that the salaries were part of a “carrot and stick” strategy aiming to subject churches to the state. Later, the real value of salaries steadily decreased, leaving priests marginalized in the economic structure. Following the collapse of the Communist regime, the salaries of the clergy were significantly increased; although, in subsequent years, they followed a trend similar to the pre-1989 period. The similarity in the development of salaries in the Communist and post-Communist period and the reluctance to restitute the church property after 1989 reflects the attitudes of the Czech population and the political representation toward organized religion and the transition from assertive to passive secularism.