Frontiers in psychology
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2020
The Effect of COVID-19 on Loneliness in the Elderly. An Empirical Comparison of Pre-and Peri-Pandemic Loneliness in Community-Dwelling Elderly.
Old-age loneliness is a global problem with many members of the scientific community suspecting increased loneliness in the elderly population during COVID-19 and the associated safety measures. Although hypothesized, a direct comparison of loneliness before and during the pandemic is hard to achieve without a survey of loneliness prior to the pandemic. This study provides a direct comparison of reported loneliness before and during the pandemic using 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) on a pre- and a peri-pandemic sample of elderly (60+ years) individuals from Lower Austria, a county of Austria (Europe). ⋯ Although the reported loneliness remained rather low, this result illustrated the effect of the "new normal" under COVID-19. As loneliness is a risk factor for physical and mental illness, this result is important in planning the future handling of the pandemic, as safety measures seem to have a negative impact on loneliness. This work confirms the anticipated increase in loneliness in the elderly population during COVID-19.
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2020
Effects of Repetition Suppression on Sound Induced Flash Illusion With Aging.
The sound-induced flash illusion (SiFI) is a classical auditory-dominated multisensory integration phenomenon in which the observer misperceives the number of visual flashes due to the simultaneous presentation of a different number of auditory beeps. Although the SiFI has been documented to correlate with perceptual sensitivity, to date there is no consensus as to how it corresponds to sensitivity with aging. The present study was based on the SiFI paradigm (Shams et al., 2000), adding repeated auditory stimuli prior to the appearance of audiovisual stimuli to investigate the effects of repetition suppression (RS) on the SiFI with aging. ⋯ The illusion effect in old adults was weaker than in young adults. Specifically, RS only affected fission illusions in the old adults but both fission and fusion illusions in young adults. Thus, the present study indicated that the decreased perceptual sensitivity based on auditory RS could weaken the SiFI effect in multisensory integration and that old adults are more susceptible to RS, showing that old adults perceived the SiFI effect weakly under auditory RS.
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The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, the ensuing pandemic, and the related containment measures pose considerable challenges to psychological resilience and well-being. Researchers are now forced to look for resources to cope with negative experiences linked to this health emergency. According to the salutogenic approach proposed by Antonovsky, the sense of coherence (SOC) is a major source of resilience. ⋯ Specifically, participants who knew at least one person diagnosed with COVID-19 showed lower levels of psychological well-being at low levels of SOC. The negative relation between participants' fear of contracting COVID-19 and psychological well-being was stronger for those who showed higher levels of SOC. This study discusses the implications of these results for interventions aimed at reducing the pandemic's detrimental effects and promoting resilience.
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2020
Caring for Coronavirus Healthcare Workers: Lessons Learned From Long-Term Monitoring of Military Peacekeepers.
The current outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is of unprecedented proportions in several regards. Recent reports suggest that many frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) suffer from mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Previous studies have identified several key factors associated with short-term PTSS in pandemic HCWs, yet limited data is available on factors associated with long-term PTSS. Understanding the psychological impact of the pandemic on HCWs is important in planning for future outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. In the current study, we look to findings from a highly relevant subsection of the trauma field, the military domain. ⋯ Several factors linked to short-term PTSS in pandemic HCWs were associated with long-term PTSS in peacekeepers. We discuss how these findings may be used to prevent long-term PTSS in HCWs involved in the current COVID-19 outbreak.
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2020
Impostors Dare to Compare: Associations Between the Impostor Phenomenon, Gender Typing, and Social Comparison Orientation in University Students.
Entering university is often associated with new surroundings and challenges, which can cause distress and might result in poor mental health. A phenomenon that was shown to be linked to low self-esteem, higher stress levels, anxiety, and depression in university students is the impostor phenomenon. Impostorism is defined as a conviction to be unintelligent despite one's academic success and was found to be closely associated with psychological femininity in previous studies. ⋯ Social comparison orientation, however, was not found to mediate the association between positive masculinity and impostorism. This result indicates that individuals who identify with negative aspects of femininity tend to compare themselves to others more often, which is associated with stronger impostor feelings. Based on the results, we discuss possible interventions to reduce psychological distress among university students.