The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Affect, Fear, and Personality of Primary School Children Measured During the Second Wave of Infections in 2020

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, a large body of research has identified a negative impact on individuals' affectivity, frequently documented by increased prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms. For children, this research was less extensive, was mainly based on caregivers' reports and neglected personality assessment. In order to measure the impact of the pandemic, and the fears it caused, on primary school children's affect and personality, 323 (180 boys and 143 girls) Italian third, fourth and fifth graders were assessed between October and November 2020, namely during the second wave of COVID-19 infections in Italy, with validated self-reports of affect (Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children, PANAS-C), fear of COVID-19 (Fear of COVID-19 Scale, FCV-19S) and personality (junior Temperament and Character Inventory, jTCI). In comparison with PANAS-C and jTCI normative scores collected prior to the pandemic, data obtained from children in 2020 showed unchanged affect scores in the overall sample, a decrease of Positive Affect in girls, and a decrease in the Harm Avoidance and an increase in the Self-Transcendence scales of personality. Fear of COVID-19 scores were positively correlated with Negative Affect scores and negatively predicted by children's personality profile of resilience (calculated using scores on the Harm Avoidance and the Self-Directedness scales of personality). These results suggested that Italian primary school children, especially boys, maintained their pre-pandemic levels of affect (or restored them after the first COVID-19 wave) and partially diverged from the typical development of personality in an apparently positive sense, namely toward more courageous/optimistic and spiritual profiles. This sort of children's post-traumatic growth might also be attributed to children's family and education systems, which should continue to be supported to promote and maintain community mental health.

Revisiting the Postulates of Etiological Models of Eating Disorders: Questioning Body Checking as a Longer-Term Maintaining Factor

Body checking (BC) is not only inherent to the maintenance of eating disorders but is also widespread among healthy females. According to etiological models, while BC serves as an affect-regulating behavior in the short term, in the longer term it is assumed to be disorder-maintaining and also produces more negative affect. The present study therefore aimed to empirically examine the proposed longer-term consequences of increased BC. In an online study, N = 167 women tracked their daily amount of BC over a total of 7 days: Following a 1-day baseline assessment of typical BC, participants were asked to check their bodies in an typical manner for 3 days and with a 3-fold increased frequency for 3-days. Before and after each BC episode, the impact of BC on affect, eating disorder symptoms, general pathology and endorsement of different functions of BC was assessed. Participants showed longer-term consequences of increased BC in terms of increased negative affect and general pathology, while eating disorder symptoms remained unaffected. In the case of typical BC, participants showed decreased general pathology and anxiety. Furthermore, the endorsement of a higher number of BC functions led to increased negative affect and an increased amount of typical BC. The findings support the theoretically assumed role of maladaptive BC in maintaining negative emotion in the longer term. However, though requiring replication, our finding of positive effects of typical BC calls into question the overall dysfunctionality of BC among non-clinical women who are not at risk of developing an eating disorder.

Infant Food Responsiveness in the Context of Temperament and Mothers' Use of Food to Soothe

Parents' use of food to soothe an infants' non-hunger related distress may impair an infants' development of appetite self-regulation. Parents tend to use food to soothe if their infant has more ‘difficult' temperamental tendencies. However, the role of infant appetite in this association is unclear. This study investigates the moderating effect of infant food responsiveness on cross-sectional and prospective associations between infant temperament and mothers' use of food to soothe. Mothers (n = 200) from low-income households reported their infants' temperament (i.e., surgency, negative affect and regulation) and food responsiveness at age 4 months, and their use of food to soothe at age 4 and 6 months. Temperament × food responsiveness interactions on mothers' use of food to soothe were examined using general linear models, adjusting for covariates. Cross-sectional associations showed that mothers used more food to soothe at 4 months for infants who were lower in negative affect and higher in food responsiveness (negative affect × food responsiveness interaction: p = 0.03). Prospective associations showed that mothers used more food to soothe at 6 months for infants who were lower in regulation and higher in food responsiveness (infant regulation × food responsiveness interaction: p = 0.009). Other interactions were not significant. Infant food responsiveness was consistently associated with mothers' use of food to soothe, independent of some temperamental dimensions. The findings highlight the salience of infant food responsiveness, both independent of and in association with temperament, on mothers' use of food to soothe.

Effects of Plant Communities on Human Physiological Recovery and Emotional Reactions: A Comparative Onsite Survey and Photo Elicitation Study

We investigated the effects on humans, in terms of skin conductance levels (SCLs) and positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) scores, of plant communities that differed in their vegetation structure (single-layer woodland, tree-shrub-grass composite woodland, tree-grass composite woodland, and single-layer grassland) through two perceptual methods: onsite surveying and photo elicitation. The results showed that (1) the choice of perception method significantly impacted the PANAS scores of the participants but had no influence on the SCL and (2) viewing a single-layer grassland reduced the SCL (representing the physiological stress level) and improved the positive affect score. The recovery effects for the four vegetation communities were ranked in the order of single-layer grassland > tree-shrub-grass composite woodland > single-layer woodland > tree-grass composite woodland. (3) Gender and professional background significantly impacted the plant community perception methods and landscape experience, and negative affect scores were lower for male participants than for female participants. Participants without backgrounds in landscape design exhibited higher positive affect scores under photo elicitation. Based on the conclusions drawn above, the onsite survey is preferable between the two perception methods. It is recommended that in future landscape designs, combinations of plant community types should be reasonably matched through onsite perception. These research results can provide a scientific basis for the future design of landscapes based on perception experience.

Feel to Heal: Negative Emotion Differentiation Promotes Medication Adherence in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that results in lower quality of life. Medication adherence is important for reducing relapse, disease progression, and MS-related symptoms, particularly during the early stages of MS. However, adherence may be impacted by negative emotional states. Therefore, it is important to identify protective factors. Past research suggests that the ability to discriminate between negative emotional states, also known as negative emotion differentiation (NED), may be protective against enactment of maladaptive risk-related behaviors. However, less is known as to how NED may promote adaptive health behaviors such as medication adherence. Utilizing weekly diaries, we investigated whether NED moderates the association between negative affect and medication adherence rates across 58 weeks among patients (n = 27) newly diagnosed with MS (following McDonald criteria). Results revealed that NED significantly moderated the relationship between negative affect and medication adherence. Specifically, greater negative affect was associated with lower adherence only for individuals reporting low NED. However, this link disappeared for those reporting moderate to high NED. Building upon past research, our findings suggest that NED may promote adaptive health behaviors and have important clinical implications for the treatment and management of chronic illness.

Affect and psychological well-being in spouses of cancer patients: the mediating role of meaning in life and self-efficacy

The examination of the psychological functioning of cancer patients’ spouses implies that affect and personal resources play an important role in their psychological well-being. This is a consequence of the severe stress caused by the medical conditions of a spouse and of responsibilities related to caregiving. This study aimed to examine the role of affect and purpose-oriented personal resources (meaning in life and self-efficacy) in shaping psychological well-being in the spouses of cancer patients. The participants were 214 spouses of gastrointestinal patients who were either undergoing medical treatment in hospital units or attending scheduled clinic appointments at outpatient medical clinics. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-X), Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), and General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) were used. The results indicated that positive affect was positively correlated with meaning in life, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being. In contrast, negative affect was negatively correlated with positive affect, meaning in life, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being. The mediation analyses demonstrated that meaning in life and self-efficacy were mediators between positive and negative affect and psychological well-being. The mediating function of meaning in life and self-efficacy revealed the significant role of personal resources based on purpose and self-motivation in the relationship between affect and psychological well-being. Positive and negative affect can influence motivational processes that enable patients and their families to constructively deal with challenging and illness-related situations. Caregivers and medical staff could take into account the important role of purpose-oriented resources as they affect the functioning of both patients and their families.