A Bibliometric Analysis on Global Psychological and Behavioral Research Landscape on COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in December 2019 has spread globally. The ongoing psychological and behavioral effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which poses a major challenge to humanity, are of concern to researchers. To understand the academic community’s attention, focus and research collaboration on psychological and behavioral research during the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a macro analysis using a bibliometric approach. Using the topic selection strategy of TS = (“COVID-19” OR “coronavirus disease 2019” OR “SARS-CoV-2” OR “2019-nCoV”) AND TS = (“behavio*”) AND TS = (“psycholog*”), 2096 high-quality research articles and reviews were downloaded as data from the Web of Science core collection on 16 November 2021. Through analysis and visualization, the following conclusions are drawn in this study: (1) The popularity and importance of psychological and behavioral research under COVID-19 has increased significantly and needs further attention; (2). Related research focuses on eight hotspots, with quarantine, health care workers, the elderly, students, pregnant women, family, consumers, social media and emergency preparedness knowledge as the focus of the research object; and (3) Research collaboration is relatively high at the author, organizational and national levels. However, low-income countries need to get more attention. Furthermore, this article would help researchers make decisions for the research of psychological and behavioral issues under COVID-19 and planning for future prospects to contribute to academic development and applied methodology.

Behavioral Approaches with Firefighters: Introduction to the Special Issue

The past decade has witnessed burgeoning interest and concern regarding the mental health of firefighters. This increased attention is due, in part, to research documenting higher rates of psychiatric problems, including depression, substance abuse, sleep disturbances, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidality in fire rescue personnel compared to civilians. Similarly, the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (2014) has identified disturbingly elevated rates of physical health difficulties in firefighters, most notably high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, death due heart attacks, as well as different forms of cancer. Despite the heightened awareness of the mental and physical health challenges in this population, behavioral research specifically targeting firefighters is limited. With this is mind, we asked prominent researchers and clinicians working in this area to present results of their early investigative efforts in our Special Issue on “Behavioral Approaches with Firefighters”. In this Introduction, we provide brief summaries of the studies comprising the Issue. Articles in this issue address topics of sleep, PTSD, substance use, physical health concerns, and provide assessment and treatment considerations. A primary goal of the Issue is to stimulate further behavioral research with this group of deserving yet underserved first responders. Moreover, the Issue serves as a tribute to the men and women of the fire service who dedicate and risk their lives to serve their community.

Perceived benefits of digital interventions for behavioral health: A qualitative interview study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Digital interventions have been gaining momentum in behavioral health. There are no standard approaches or tools for creating digital behavioral interventions, so many clinical researchers find their own way to realize them. There is likely variability in how researchers conceive of digital interventions. Even when grounding these interventions in similar behavioral theory and existing clinical approaches, there will not be a direct or obvious translation into a digital form of delivery. Moreover, the challenges of developing technology remain a significant barrier to use of digital interventions. Effective implementation of digital interventions in behavioral research, and improving the availability of tools and guidance for researchers, will require a thorough understanding of the motivations and needs of researchers seeking to create digital interventions. OBJECTIVE This investigation sought to understand the perceptions of behavioral researchers toward digital interventions, and inform use of these interventions, by documenting (a) reasons why researchers are increasingly focusing their efforts on digital interventions, and (b) their perspectives on the perceived benefits that digital approaches can provide for researchers and intervention recipients. METHODS We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 18 researchers who had experience designing digital behavioral interventions or running studies with them. A convenience sample of interviewees was recruited from among users of the Computerized Intervention Authoring System (CIAS) platform, a web-based tool that facilitates the process of creating and deploying digital interventions in behavioral research. Interviews were conducted over teleconference between February and April 2020. Recordings from interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed by multiple coders. RESULTS Interviews were completed with 18 individuals and lasted between 24-65 minutes (mean = 46.9 minutes; SD = 11.3 minutes). Interviewees were predominantly female (94.4%; 17/18) and represented different job roles ranging from researcher to project/study staff. Four major themes came out of the interviews concerning benefits of digital interventions for behavioral health: convenience and flexibility for interventionists and recipients; support for implementing evidence-based interventions with fidelity; scaling and improving access to interventions; “getting a foot in the door” despite stigma and disenfranchisement. CONCLUSIONS Interviewees described a number of important potential benefits of digital interventions, particularly with respect to scientific rigor, scalability, and overcoming barriers to reaching more people. There are complex considerations with regard to translating behavior change strategies into digital forms of delivery, and interventionists make individual, sometimes unexpected, choices with minimal evidence of their relative effectiveness. Future research should investigate how behavioral researchers can be supported in making these choices toward usability, ease of access, and approachability with digital interventions. Our study underscores the need for authoring platforms that can facilitate the process of creating and deploying digital interventions to reach their full potential for interventionists and recipients alike.

A Causal Framework for Cross-Cultural Generalizability

Behavioral researchers increasingly recognize the need for more diverse samples that capture the breadth of human experience. Current attempts to establish generalizability across populations focus on threats to validity, constraints on generalization and the accumulation of large cross-cultural datasets. But for continued progress, we also require a framework that lets us determine which inferences can be drawn and how to make informative cross-cultural comparisons. We describe a generative causal modeling framework and outline simple graphical criteria to derive analytic strategies and implied generalizations. Using both simulated and real data, we demonstrate how to project and compare estimates across populations. We conclude with a discussion of how a formal framework for generalizability can assist researchers in designing more informative cross-cultural studies and thus provides a more solid foundation for cumulative and generalizable behavioral research.