Well-Being and the Pandemic: Trust in People Matters More Than Trust in Institutions

Trust is an important correlate of well-being, and it plays an important moderating role against adversity. But does this conclusion also hold during pandemics? We address this question by investigating the role of interpersonal and institutional trust for well-being, as measured by five proxies, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia. We also examined age and gender differences in the relationship between trust and well-being, and tested the protective role of trust among individuals whose well-being might be at risk during the pandemic. The sample included a total of 5776 Serbian adults ( Mage = 37.00 years, 75% female). The results showed that interpersonal trust has a small but significant relationship with well-being, whereas institutional trust has negligible effects. We also found some evidence for the protective role of general interpersonal trust on well-being among individuals with poorer self-rated health and in a poorer financial situation. Our findings confirm the role of interpersonal trust for well-being in times of crisis, and support previous evidence indicating that promoting interpersonal trust should be a core goal of public policy.

Main health impairment in the middle-aged former athletes

Objective: to obtain the main reasons for seeking medical assistance in the cohort of former athletes.Materials and methods: health records of 116 former athletes (65 males and 51 females), including 30 high qualification sportsmen were examined during 2006–2020. Mean age (M ± m) was 53.9 ± 1.8 in males and 53.9 ± 1.9 years in females. 52.4 % of males and 54.9 % of females had health records in the Center of clinical diagnostics.Results: cardiovascular pathology and musculoskeletal conditions (neck or back pain or osteoarthritis of the knee or hip) were randomly distributed among males (43.1 and 44.7 % of cases), while there was significant predominance of musculoskeletal conditions in females (62.7 %) than cardiovascular diseases (39.2 %). Gastrointestinal pathology was seen in 18.5 and 23.5 % of cases. Polymorbidity was detected in 50 % of males and in 58.6 % of females.Conclusions: age and gender differences in occurrence of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal conditions give the opportunity to realize the preventive strategy in former athletes.

Age and Gender Differences in Perceived Parenting Styles and Emotional Outcomes in Early Adolescents

Early adolescents’ perception of parenting styles is crucial to their present and future physical and mental well-being. The main aim of the present study was to analyze differences in parenting styles between mothers and fathers and differences on emotional state scales (anxiety, depression, and purpose in life) depending on gender, age, and family structure in 744 girls (54%) and boys (45.7%) aged between 10 and 12 years. The results showed that the early adolescents perceived greater levels of affect than criticism, with mothers being considered more affectionate than fathers. The greater the perceived affect and communication, the greater was the perception of purpose in life and the lower the levels of anxiety and depression in early adolescents. Boys showed higher levels of perceived criticism and rejection. Family affect and communication play a key role in purpose in life and emotional well-being of children, with parenting styles being a determining factor.

Individual and age-specific perceptions of time by adults

The paper presents an experimental research of individual, age and gender specifics of time perception by adults from 18 to 75 years old (750 people). The methodological techniques used are: estimation, measuring and reproduction of time intervals within one minute. It was shown that when perceiving equal in value time intervals the respondents reveal opposite individual tendencies, manifested either in over- or under-estimation of time intervals, or in their under- or over-measuring, or in the absence of any particular tendency. Age and gender differences in the perception of time by adults were revealed. An analysis of the obtained data showed the presence of continuous micro-age shifts within the age range of 18-75 years, which is characterized by a rather complex, contradictory structure in the development of features of time intervals perception. On the border of early and middle adulthood at age 26, there is a slight increase in the accuracy of time interval estimation and measurement. On the border of middle and late adulthood, at age 45, there is already a sharp decline in the accuracy of time perception. Whether these age periods can be called critical or transitional cannot be unequivocally stated. Experimental data show that we cannot regard adulthood as a stationary, fully stabilized state where nothing happens anymore or as a period of gradual unfolding of involutionary processes only.

Evaluation of Government’s Efforts to Mitigate the Adverse Effects of Gas Flaring in Host Communities

Background: This is a 5th in the series on gas flaring in Niger Delta Nigeria and previous reports have highlighted health impact and comparison of communities, amongst others. Government have mitigation programs whose satisfaction in the communities of Niger Delta is unknown. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate government’s efforts at mitigation and adaptation whether there are age and/or gender differences Methods: This was a quantitative survey cross-sectional study that used Likert scale questionnaire to generate views of the community on the behavioural change wheel (BCW) as well as mitigation and adaptation efforts of the government. Respondents were stratified into age groups and dichotomized in female or male and analysis involved multivariate analysis (MANOVA) to evaluate age and gender differences. Chi-Square tests were performed to assess associations between BCW components mitigation versus adaptation. Results: A total of 435 respondents were included and the results show levels of inconsistent age and gender differences. Men tended to agree more on government’s BCW albeit not significance achieved, while women agreed more mitigation and adaptation (p < 0.02). On age, the silent generation (>70 years old) group agreed more on BCW, but contrarily disagreed on mitigation and adaptation while younger generation agreed on the latter (0.001). Chi-Square tests show significance for association. Conclusion: This report highlights divergent views of the community on the discourse of government’s efforts at mitigation and adaptation of gas flaring in Niger Delta Nigeria, thereby providing empirical evidence of generational gap on environmental issue.

Weightlifting during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Transnational Study Regarding Motivation, Barriers, and Coping of Master Athletes

Sport has been heavily impacted by the pandemic for over a year with restrictions and closures of facilities. The main aims of this study are to identify motivation and barriers for an international group of Master weightlifters (ages 35 and up) and analyze age and gender differences in pandemic-related changes to physical activities. A sample of 1051 older athletes, 523 women and 528 men, aged from 35 to 88 years, from Australia, Canada, Europe, and the USA provided responses to an online survey conducted in June 2021. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine age, gender, and regional differences about motivation, barriers, and pandemic impact on sport and physical activities. Participants showed enthusiasm for the opportunity to compete despite health challenges with increasing age but faced barriers due to access to training facilities and qualified coaches even before the pandemic. The oldest athletes had the greatest reduction in physical activities during the pandemic. Weightlifters had the opportunity to compete in virtual competitions and 44% would like to see some of these continued in the future, especially women. These findings highlight the benefits of competitive sports and may provide future directions in strength sports for organizations, sports clubs, and coaches.