Suchergebnisse

Abstract. This cross-national study investigated the extent of social media use (SMU) as a source of information about COVID-19, and its relationship with the experienced burden caused by the pandemic. Representative data from eight countries (France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, the USA) were collected online (end of May to the beginning of June 2020). Of the overall 8,302 participants, 48.1% frequently used social media (SM) as a COVID-19 information source (range: 31.8% in Germany, to 65.4% in Poland). In the overall samples and in all country-specific samples, regression analyses revealed the experienced burden caused by COVID-19 to be positively associated with SMU and stress symptoms. Furthermore, stress symptoms partly mediated the relationship between SMU and the burden. The results emphasize the significant association between the use of SM as a source of information, individual emotional state, and behavior during the pandemic, as well as the significance of conscious and accurate use of SM specifically during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Abstract. Background: Stressful life events and suicide ideation regularly occur together. Yet, little is known about factors that buffer individuals against the development of suicide ideation. Aim: In a long-term follow-up study design, it was investigated whether positive mental health, that is, high levels of subjective and psychological well-being, buffers the association between stressful life events and suicide ideation. Method: A total of 126 German students (80.2% female; age: M = 24.29, SD = 5.21) were assessed at a baseline evaluation and again 24 months later. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Results: Linear hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Positive mental health was considered to moderate the impact of stressful life events on suicide ideation – controlling for age and gender. Limitations: Current results are limited to university students. Conclusions: Positive mental health interacts with stressful life events, such that those with high levels of positive mental health show an attenuated increase in suicide ideation at elevated levels of stress. Positive mental health seems to confer resilience and should be focused on in counseling centers for students.

Zusammenfassung. Der Beitrag stellt ein neu entwickeltes Präventionsprogramm für Angststörungen und depressive Störungen vor. Das Programm basiert auf kognitiv-behavioralen Theorien zur Depression und Angst. Es wird im schulischen Setting in acht neunzigminütigen Sitzungen, d.h. mit einer Nettoprogrammzeit von 12 Stunden angewendet. Im Rahmen einer Interventionsstudie wurden die Effekte des Programms bei einer unselektierten Gruppe von Schülern in gegebenen Schulklassen untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine Reihe von kognitiven Risikofaktoren für Depression und Angst und die Selbstwirksamkeit als protektiver Faktor durch das Programm erreicht werden. Die Treatmentgruppe profitierte zur Nachuntersuchung hinsichtlich dysfunktionaler Einstellungen und der katastrophisierenden Interpretationsneigung bei externen mehrdeutigen Stimuli. Eine Differenzierung nach Geschlecht und Risikostatus zeigte, dass Jungen deutlicher vom Training profitierten als Mädchen und dass Jugendliche ohne erhöhtes Risiko, an einer Depression oder Angststörung zu erkranken, stärker profitierten als Risikopersonen. Für die Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung und die katastrophisierende Interpretation externer Reize waren Effekte für die Subgruppen teilweise bis zum Follow-Up nachweisbar. Hinsichtlich der psychischen Belastungen, gemessen an Symptomfragebögen zu Angst und Depression, zeigten sich keine Effekte in der intendierten Richtung.

Zusammenfassung. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die Re-Evaluation des schulbasierten Präventionsprogramms GO! Gesundheit und Optimismus gegen Angst und Depression in der Schweiz dar. Im Einklang mit der aktuellen Präventionsforschung werden unmittelbare Effekte bei den proximalen Variablen (z.B. Wissenszuwachs), nicht aber bei den distalen Variablen (Psychopathologie) erwartet. Das kognitiv-behavioral orientierte Programm wurde klassenweise an Schweizer Schulen durchgeführt. Explorativ wurde untersucht, ob das Programm für die Stufen Gymnasium und Weiterbildungsschule gleichermaßen geeignet ist. Es wurde ein Wartekontrollgruppe-Prä-Post-Design verwendet. Die Ergebnisse der mehrfaktoriellen Varianzanalyse zeigten sowohl im Anschluss an die Intervention sowie nach sechs Monaten einen signifikanten Wissenszuwachs bei den Gymnasiasten. Die Weiterbildungs-Schüler (WBS-Schüler, ähnlich deutschen Hauptschülern) wiesen unmittelbar nach der Programmdurchführung ebenfalls einen signifikanten Wissenszuwachs auf. Bei der Sechsmonatskatamnese waren die Wissenswerte der WBS-Schüler im Gegensatz zu denjenigen der Gymnasiasten wieder gleich tief wie vor der Programmdurchführung. Bei den Werten der Psychopathologie-Skalen, die bei der gesamten Stichprobe im Bereich Gesunder lagen, gab es zu keinem Zeitpunkt eine Veränderung. Die Werte des Fragebogens zur seelischen Gesundheit fielen bei der Sechsmonatskatamnese im Vergleich zur Baseline signifikant besser aus. Die Resultate werden in Bezug auf allgemeine Probleme der Messbarkeit von Effekten von Präventionsprogrammen diskutiert (u.a. Bodeneffekt). Da das Programm unterschiedlich ausgeprägte Verlaufseffekte bei den Wissenswerten für die verschiedenen Schulstufen aufweist, sollte die Durchführung an die jeweilige Zielgruppe besser angepasst werden.

The current two-wave longitudinal study aimed to investigate changes in stress, anxiety, depression, and positive mental health (PMH) during the first COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the sample of emerging adults. Data were collected before the COVID-19 and within the first month of the outbreak. The study sample consisted of 775 university students from Lithuania ( n = 450, Mage( SDage) = 19.45 (0.93), 79.3% female) and Germany ( n = 325, Mage( SDage) = 23.08 (2.94), 78.2% female). The results of multivariate Latent Change Analysis revealed that Lithuanian and German emerging adults demonstrated a decrease in stress and anxiety at the COVID-19 outbreak. Lithuanians also showed a decrease in depressive symptoms and an increase in PMH. Three groups with different change patterns were identified: resilient (82%) demonstrating positive changes, high-symptom (8%) with stable high rates of stress and depression and stable low rates of PMH, and vulnerable (10%) with an increase in depressive symptoms as well as a decrease in PMH over time.

The objective of this study was to test a time-efficient screening instrument to assess clinically relevant and everyday-life (e.g., economic, political, personal) anxieties. Furthermore, factors influencing these anxieties, correlations between clinical and everyday anxieties and, for the first time, anxiety during different stages of life were assessed in a representative sample of the general population (\(\it N\) = 2229). Around 30% of the respondents manifested at least one disorder-specific key symptom within 1 year (women > men), 8% reported severe anxiety symptoms. Two thirds of respondents reported minor everyday anxieties and 5% were strongly impaired, whereby persons with severe clinical symptoms were more frequently affected. A variety of potential influencing factors could be identified. These include, in addition to socioeconomic status, gender, general health, risk-taking, and leisure behavior, also some up to now little investigated possible protective factors, such as everyday-life mental activity. The observed effects are rather small, which, however, given the heterogeneity of the general population seems plausible. Although the correlative design of the study does not allow direct causal conclusions, it can, however, serve as a starting point for experimental intervention studies in the future. Together with time series from repeated representative surveys, we expect these data to provide a better understanding of the processes that underlie everyday-life and clinical anxieties.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and national restrictions to slow down its spread have significantly changed people's everyday lives. Many people engage in intensive social media use (SMU) to stay up-to-date about the pandemic. The present study investigated the extent of SMU as source of COVID-19 information, and its relationship with anxiety and the experienced burden caused by the pandemic in Spain. Of the 221 participants, 52.5% reported to frequently use SM as information source. The use of other information sources such as print and online newspaper reports, television reports, and official governmental online sites was not associated with anxiety and burden caused by the current COVID-19 situation. However, SMU was significantly positively linked to both variables. Moreover, anxiety significantly mediated the relationship between SMU and the experienced burden. The findings show the potential negative effect of SMU on individual emotional state and behavior during the pandemic. They emphasize the significance of an accurate and conscious use of SM specifically during extraordinary circumstances such as the COVID-19 outbreak.