Base de données

Due to the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Belgian government has set out a range of measures to prevent the spread of the virus. One measure included closing all non-food shops, including vape shops. A retrospective online questionnaire was used to investigate the impact of closing the vape shops on the vaping and/or smoking behavior of current vapers. The sample (n = 202) reached consisted of 70% exclusive vapers, 29% dual users and 1% no-product users. Over half (55%) of participants was in need to buy e-liquid during the lockdown, with a small majority being able to buy e-liquids – mostly with their usual nicotine concentrations, flavor or brand –, but as much as 39% of them running out of e-liquid. Those buying e-liquid mainly did so by making purchases via foreign online webshops. A similar pattern was observed with respect to purchasing hardware, with about half (47%) of participants reporting hardware availability and with a small majority (53%) reporting hardware unavailability. Of those indicating that hardware was not available, 38% ran out of a properly functioning e-cigarette. A non-trivial minority was forced to consume e-liquids with another nicotine concentration, flavor or brand than usual. One seventh of exclusive vapers relapsed partly or completely to smoking during the lockdown. The main reasons for changing vaping and/or smoking behavior included the unavailability of e-liquid with nicotine, the unavailability of hardware, and stress/worries about COVID-19. The majority of vapers succeeded in maintaining their vaping behavior as usual, highly likely due to (illegally) buying consumables online. Nevertheless, for a minority the lockdown period resulted in unintended consequences and these vapers relapsed (completely) to smoking. Even during periods of lockdown, smokers and vapers should be able to purchase low(er)-risk alternatives to smoking, for example e-cigarettes.

We examine various aspects of risk perception concerning COVID-19, including biases in the perception of one’s own and other people’s risk and risk behavior and attributions of responsibility to various instances for spreading infections and curbing the pandemic in 9 countries. The main Flemish sample includes over 8000 adult participants of all ages of the general public (mostly women).

In Belgium, the covid-19 crisis led to the closure of schools from 16th March 2020. In secondary education, from 18thMay 2020, some grades (mainly grades 8 and 12) were allowed to return to school twice a week. On September 1st 2020, all secondary education students went back to school on a full-time basis, but have to wear facial masks. The aims of this study are twofold. First, shedding light on secondary students’ well-being during the covid-19 crisis. Second, detailing how the educational system responded to the crisis and the impact on learners’ motivation. Secondary education students were invited to fill out a short online questionnaire at two moments: in June 2020 (N = 6.015) and at the end of September (N = 2423). Both questionnaires were very similar and focused on students’ motivation and well-being, relying on previously validated scales (Galand & Philippot, 2002; Hospel et al., 2016; Olivier et al., 2020; Holmberg, 2020). Regarding students’ well-being during the covid-19 crisis, we remark that overall students reported to be less happy compared to the HBSC 2018 results as well in June and at the end of September. Although students from the 2nd and 3rddegree appear to be more strongly impacted than students from the first degree in September. Regarding the way the educational system responded to the crises, it is important to know that in the Spring of 2020, Ministry decided that summative assessments (planned in June) were cancelled. Homework – focused on content already taught – was provided for students. Teachers were also expected to keep in touch with their students. The data indicate that a majority of students received homework (70.9 %). About half of students indicate a regular contact with their teachers (54.5 %), although only 27.5% indicated to speak to a teacher at least once a week. Results from regression analysis indicate an interaction effect (B = 0.057, p = .005): the negative effect of the frequency of homework on pupils' sense of self-efficacy would mainly be present among pupils who report low frequency of contact with teachers and would not concern pupils who report having a lot of contact with teachers. Pupils who receive a lot of work to do but have little contact with teachers would therefore feel less able to do the work expected of them.

In general, retributive measures were supported less than assistance measures, because such policies go against core democratic values (e.g., personal freedom). However, respondents who read news reports about norm-deviating groups reported more negative emotions (e.g., anger, condemnation, disgust), which further caused more support for retributive measures and less assistance support. Interestingly, respondents who read about norm-violating foreigners showed the highest support for retributive measures, indicating that people might blame foreigners for spreading the virus rather than fellow nationals that disobey hygiene standards and social distancing. These findings have important consequences for international relations within Europe.
Italy was the first European country where the COVID-19 disease hit hard, and was readily accused of spreading the virus around Europe. People search for positive
distinctiveness in relation to other groups in any given comparative context. Hence, news about other national groups breaking ‘corona-measures’ has the potential to elicit very strong negative emotions towards these norm-violating (sub)groups. Furthermore, such emotions can further translate into a stronger endorsement of punishment-based governmental decisions to contain the virus. The consequences of such shifted [A6] attitudes towards foreigners should not be underestimated. As the Head of the United Nations, António Guterres, stated, the COVID-19 outbreak is unleashing “a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering”. Seven hundred years ago, there was an increase in anti-Jew hatred during the Black Death. Now, we can also notice a rise in prejudice towards Asians in other studies, and towards (disobeying) Italians in our study. When governments blame such foreign groups, they might opt for harsher confinement measures. Their citizens might perceive such decisions as more legitimate, and potentially become more hostile towards foreigners. Such negative spiral readily exacerbates international tensions. It is therefore of utmost importance to avoid thinking in terms of the “us-versus-them” divide. We advocate policy makers to create a sense of inclusive togetherness, and promote collective resilience and international solidarity. As an optimistic endnote, it seems that people endorse such solidarity- based measures to a greater extent than retributive measures, even for deviant foreigners. The future will tell whether or not such methods will be effective to fight future pandemics.

To contain the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate, health authorities have encouraged the population to enhance protective behaviors such as physical distancing and handwashing. Behavioral sciences emphasize the role of socio-cognitive determinants to explain health behaviors, while largely ignoring emotional factors. In a large online study (N > 4000), we investigated the role of sociodemographic, cognitive, emotional, and social factors that can facilitate or hinder handwashing and limitation of social contacts. Data were collected from March 18 until April 19, 2020, which corresponds to the spring lockdown and the first peak of the pandemic in Belgium. Logistic regressions showed that socio-demographic factors (gender, age, level of education) and the dimensions of the Theory of Planned Behavior (intentions, attitudes, perceived control and subjective norms) had a strong impact on health behaviors, but that emotional factors explained an additional part of the variance. Being attentive/determined and frightened/anxious were related to a higher frequency of handwashing, along with a high level of health anxiety. In contrast, being enthusiastic/happy was related to lower adherence to limiting social contacts. Our results suggest that the type of predictors and the direction of associations depend on the type of health behavior considered. The role of specific emotional factors in addition to more classical predictors is discussed. The study offers new perspectives regarding the factors that are associated with the adherence to behaviors recommended to adopt when faced with a pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a recognized impact on the psychological well-being of the population. In particular, psychological distress might have been reinforced by uncertainty about the duration of the measures and the crisis. Accordingly, this study aimed to (1) measure self-reported distress in French-speaking Belgium after six weeks of strict application of lockdown and (2) explore the determinants of this distress by investigating a specific role of intolerance of uncertainty, which has been isolated as a transdiagnostic process involved in anxiety and adaptation disorders. To this aim, 548 participants completed an online survey including questions about demographical features (age, gender, education, etc.), COVID-19 personal impact, a French version of the Covid-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI, Qiu et al., 2020), and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (Freeston et al., 1994). The global CPDI score was of 33.41 and fifty-four percent of the sample reported mild to severe psychological distress. As hypothesized, psychological distress was only predicted by intolerance of uncertainty. Our results highlight the rapidity with which the containment situation caused psychological distress and discuss intolerance to uncertainty as a predisposed personality trait as well as an inherent consequence of the pandemic situation.

During the Covid-19 lockdown (April 2020), we questioned a sample of adolescents in one region in Belgium and concluded that one in three adolescents between the age of 15 and 21 suffered from (sub)clinical mental health problems. We could rely on a large-scale project entitled Generation 2020 – which was initiated in 2014 by our research group – and has been following a community sample (N=1655) in one region since 2014. Participants are now 15 to 21 years old. Based on online self-report questionnaires, we assessed (a) the number of life-stressors and perceived stress, (b) self- reported temperamental vulnerability (c) well-being. We hypothesized that a unique temperamental profile (constituting out of three traits) carries strong potential to predict mental health problems in response to stressors and more specific to Covid-19. Now we are conducting further in depth analyses testing a moderated mediation model using longitudinal structural equation modelling (SEM) with latent variables to analyse more closely the data. In February 2021 a new follow-up is planned.

Background: The spread of COVID-19 has affected people’s daily lives, and the lockdown may have led to a disruption of daily activities and a decrease of people’s mental health.
Aim: To identify correlates of adults’ mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium and to assess the role of meaningful activities in particular.
Methods: A cross-sectional web survey for assessing mental health (General Health Questionnaire), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), meaning in activities (Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey), and demographics was conducted during the first Belgian lockdown between April 24 and May 4, 2020. The lockdown consisted of closing schools, non-essential shops, and recreational settings, employees worked from home or were technically unemployed, and it was forbidden to undertake social activities. Every adult who had access to the internet and lived in Belgium could participate in the survey; respondents were recruited online through social media and e-mails. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify key correlates.
Results: Participants (N = 1781) reported low mental health (M = 14.85/36). In total, 42.4% of the variance in mental health could be explained by variables such as gender, having children, living space, marital status, health condition, and resilience (β = −.33). Loss of meaningful activities was strongly related to mental health (β = −.36) and explained 9% incremental variance (R2 change = .092, p < .001) above control variables.
Conclusions: The extent of performing meaningful activities during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium was positively related to adults’ mental health. Insights from this study can be taken into account during future lockdown measures in case of pandemics.

The outbreak of COVID-19 around the world led to the introduction of several restriction measures, including social distancing and the lock-down of research facilities. Whereas social distancing is effective to slow-down the spread of a pandemic, it strongly affects the social and working life of individuals. This project focused on the impact of COVID-19 on the mental well-being and work-related activities of PhD students population at KU Leuven. Since around 50% of PhD population at KU Leuven is international, we also explored the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on work-related social interactions assessing the likelihood of receiving comment on how the country of origin was handling the coronavirus and jokes about the coronavirus and their nationality by a person of another nationality.
Methods: 992 PhD students at KU Leuven completed an online survey in the period between 25/4/2020 and 3/5/2020.
Results: PhD students experienced a decline in mental health, lower work motivation, productivity, and satisfaction compared to before the outbreak. Students living alone had stronger decline in mental health compared to those living with others. Almost half (45%) of the respondent PhD students declared to have less contact with their supervisors. These students also reported worse motivation, satisfaction, and productivity as compared to the students that had regular contact with their supervisor. 77% indicated that the lockdown affected, at least to some extent, their research planning. The most affected research activities were conference organization/attendance, data collection, setting up experiments, and access to facilities/recourses. International PhD students reported worse motivation and satisfaction, but did not report worse work productivity when compared to Belgians. 40% of PhD students reported receiving a comment, half of them were international students. 10% of PhD students reported receiving a joke, of these, two out of three were international students.

COVID-19 took a heavy toll on older adults. In Belgium, by the end of August, 93% of deaths due to COVID-19 were aged 65 or older. Similar trends were observed in other countries. As a consequence, older adults were identified as a group at risk, and strict governmental restrictions were imposed on them. This has caused concerns about their mental health. Using an online survey, this study established the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adults aged 65 years or older, and which factors moderate this impact. Participants reported a significant decrease in activity level, sleep quality and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Depression was strongly related to reported declines in activity level, sleep quality, wellbeing and cognitive functioning. Our study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the mental health of older adults. This implies that this group at risk requires attention of governments and healthcare.

Apart Together aims to uncover the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on refugees and migrants across the world. Quantitative data was collected from more than 30,000 respondents between April 2020 and October 2020, focusing on five categories: sociodemographic characteristics (1), COVID-19-related situations (2), daily stressors (3), mental health (4), and social well-being (5). The majority of the respondents reported a deterioration of daily stressors (i.e. access to work, safety, and financial means) and mental health (i.e. feelings of depression, worries, anxiety, and loneliness). In addition, over 60 % reported to follow preventive measures, such as covering their nose and mouth. Last, those that would not seek medical health care in case of suspected symptoms said this was mostly due to a lack of financial means and fear of deportation. The results clearly underline the need and importance of including refugees and migrants in policy responses to COVID‑19. Measures are needed to increase refugees’ and migrants’ access to multi-language information and to health services, both medical and psychological. Efforts need to be taken to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable groups, and to continue the provision of services - also in times of a pandemic.

"Despite the wealth of information on the current, immediate impact of COVID-19, several knowledge gaps remain on the other dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis impact. To address these knowledge gaps, the HELICON project aims to fulfil three research objectives:

(1) Identify socio-economic and sociodemographic factors of risk and resilience through the assessment of the social patterning of COVID-19 testing, infection, hospitalizations and mortality.
(2) Describe the medium- and long-term direct health impact of COVID-19 infections with regard to healthcare use after COVID hospitalization.
(3) Assess the indirect health impact of the COVID-19 crisis in terms of non-COVID morbidity and mortality and the health economic impact of delayed health care use.
Throughout the project, four guiding principles will be respected – i.e., valorisation of routine administrative health data sources, evaluation of social differentials, evaluation of differentials across the different epidemic waves, and knowledge translation and policy transfer."

(DUTCH) De levensfase van de hoge leeftijd brengt veel uitdagingen, en ook verlieservaringen met zich mee. In dit onderzoek gaan we na hoe bewoners in WZC betekenis ervaren in hun leven, en hoe verlies van betekenis in het leven en existentiële eenzaamheid samenhangt met verminderde psychische gezondheid zichtbaar in bijvoorbeeld een toename in depressieve symptomen.

Results pertaining the effect of multimedia on mental health are mixed, suggesting that it may be important to take other factors into account. Research suggests that contextual factors may affect how and why people use multimedia, and how media use influences mental health. The coronavirus pandemic, which has led to unseen physical distancing measures around the globe, provides an interesting backdrop to study the influence of contextual variables. These measures may affect multimedia use and (dys)functioning in different ways, depending on personal or situational factors such as (a) housing condition, (b) quarantine status, (c) whether or not one (cohabits with someone that) is infected by COVID-19, or (d) at-risk for complications of COVID-19. Contextual influences on the relation between digital media use and indicators of (dys)functioning were examined in 1433 UK residents using network analyses and novel machine learning techniques. Our results showed that the interrelationships between multimedia use and mental health were at least partially contingent on personal contextual factors such as COVID-19 status of oneself or housemates, whether or not one was allowed to leave the house for work and whether or not one or one’s housemates belonged to a high-risk group.

The current study was a 4-waves longitudinal study with the objective to examine the developmental trajectory of couple satisfaction during the lockdown with individual (N = 371 individuals) and dyadic (N = 108 couples) perspectives, including gender, the number (or absence) of children, the number of hours spent together, and the duration of the relationship as time-invariant predictors and the partner’s couple satisfaction development as a time-varying covariate. First, results showed positive intraindividual changes of couple satisfaction during the lockdown: Experiencing the lockdown would increase the partners’ effectiveness for resolving couple conflicts and decrease partners’ aggressiveness. Second, participants had also perceived the influence of the lockdown as more and more positive over time on couple and family functioning. Third, there were no difference in terms of developmental trajectory between men vs. women and parents vs. nonparents. Finally, the couple satisfaction of both partners changed in tandem during the lockdown: The perception of the couple relationship seems to similarly evolve between partners. Consequently, the lockdown would be a dyadic phenomenon more than a phenomenon that exacerbate the partners’ differences and perceptions.

To control the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have implemented restrictions. This study evaluates psychological distress related to the crisis and identifies predictive factors of anxiety/depression according to age. 2,871 adults were recruited through an online questionnaire during the lockdown. Three subsamples were identified: 18–30; 30–50; > 50 years. The population suffers from anxiety and depression. Young adults reported lower levels of living space, occupational activity, social contact and alcohol use, but higher anxiety, depression and uncertainty than older participants. This psychological distress can be explained by lockdown conditions (differently according to age) and by intolerance to uncertainty. Also, youth's alcohol intake has decreased. Deconfinement strategies have been discussed.

Inspired by earlier studies on gender and ethnic biases in media coverage of sports and politics, we analyze coverage in the written media (Newspapers) of the experiences and behaviors of different groups during the first and the second outbreak in Flanders (Spring and Autumn/Winter 2020). We will examine if different groups are differently represented in this coverage and if messages about them focus on different aspects of the pandemic (e.g., experiences vs. risk behavior, psychological vs. physical suffering). Such biases are often non-intentional, and those susceptible of them are often unaware that they exist. However, they may be consequential because the agenda of policy makers, public health officers and researchers, and influential interest groups is likely to be affected to some extent by their exposure to media coverage. Biases in it may thus contribute to unbalanced precautionary measures and even to blind spots in policy development. Moreover, biases in media coverage may affect social cohesion and (particularly if the messages are about risk behavior) threaten harmony between groups in society. Our project will raise awareness among media representatives about the possibility and potential consequences of biases in their coverage of COVID-19 just like in other domains.

We examine self-favoring biases in risk perception and in the appraisal of one’s own risk and precautionary behavior. Through a longitudinal study (data collection of the first wave almost being completed, target N = 5000) on a sample from the general population from all regions of Belgium we examine the effect of ‘errors’ in risk perception on the motivation to follow precautionary rules. In addition, we will in an online experiment test the hypothesis that there are situations where appeals meant to motivate people to comply with precautionary rules against COVID-19 ironically inflate precisely those biases that reduce compliance. Our project will thus yield specific and readily applicable solutions to achieve an urgently needed better compliance with precautionary measures.

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, about two thirds of young people (aged 16 to 25 years old) experienced ‘mental distress’, which includes a broad range of non-specific mental health problems. While little difference was found between students and non-students or those with or without a chronic condition, mental distress was higher among women, those experiencing loneliness or low social support, and those with a large change in social media use and some everyday activities. Young people and women report lower mental health compared to men and older age groups even in normal conditions, but the pandemic seems to be contributing to an even growing inequality

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and its associated measures led to high levels of mental distress in the general population. Previous research indicated that young people are especially vulnerable for a wide range of mental health problems during the pandemic, but little is known about the mechanisms. This study examined mental distress and its contributing factors among young Belgian people.
Methods: An online survey was widely distributed in Belgium during the first wave of COVID-19 in March, and 16–25-year-olds were selected as a subsample. Mental distress was assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and a threshold of ≥4 was used to discriminate mental distress cases from non-cases. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate possible predictors of mental distress, including demographics, chronic condition, history of mental health problems, social support, exposure to COVID-19, and several changes in everyday activities.
Results: A total of 2,008 respondents were included, of which the majority was female (78.09%) and student (66.82%). The results indicate that about two thirds (65.49%) experienced mental distress. In the multivariable regression model, significant (p < 0.01) predictors of mental distress were female gender (OR = 1.78), low social support (OR = 2.17), loneliness (OR = 5.17), a small (OR = 1.63), or large (OR = 3.08) increase in social media use, a small (OR = 1.63) or large (OR = 2.17) decrease in going out for drinks or food, and a decrease in doing home activities (OR = 2.72).
Conclusion: Young people experience high levels of mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that mental distress was highest among women, those experiencing loneliness or low social support and those whose usual everyday life is most affected. The psychological needs of young people, such as the need for peer interaction, should be more recognized and supported.

This longitudinal prospective study evaluated the effects of the slackening of social isolation measures on youth mental health in Belgium and in Italy. The relationship between the variation in loneliness feelings between spring 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown measures, and summer 2020, along with resilience competencies has been explored to determine the potential predictive role on medium-terms effects in mental health. We conducted a two-phase online survey from spring 2020 to summer 2020. The primary outcomes were the Resilience Scale for Adults and the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. The secondary outcomes included mental health status in terms of professional help-seeking, use of psychotropic drugs, admission to a psychiatric department. Participants were divided into three groups according to mental health care needs (MHCN) before and after the lockdown measures. The group who experienced increase in MHCN displayed a significant diminution of loneliness compared to the other groups. The decrease of loneliness is linearly correlated with resilience competencies.

Aims: This study evaluated the risks and protective factors in mental health in 825 emerging adults aged from 18 to 25 years old in Belgium and in Italy. Resilience, loneliness and social and family context were explored to determine their specific role in coping with the emotional distress that spread worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted an online survey on the secured platform Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap©). Data were collected between April 7th and May 4th 2020. The primary outcomes were the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) and the UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale. The secondary outcomes included mental health status in terms of professional help-seeking, use of psychotropic drugs, admission to a psychiatric department before and during lockdown measures. Results: Responders were divided into three groups following the mental health care needs (MHCN) before and after the lockdown measures. The group who experienced increase in MHCN represented almost the 5% of the assessed youth. Statistically significant differences were found in means of RSA total score and RSA Perception of Self. Conclusion: This study enlightens the possibly traumatic impact of COVID-19 pandemic on at-risk youth’s mental health. Early detection and intervention should be structured in large-scale disaster.

The global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the resulting lockdown measures have raised concerns regarding their effect on alcohol consumption. We investigated alcohol use during lockdown in a population of college students, usually characterized by social and heavy drinking. We also tested the predictive role of pre-lockdown drinking motives on alcohol consumption during lockdown. We collected data from 1951 French-speaking Belgian students during the lockdown period (April 1st – May 3rd, 2020) through a cross-sectional online survey. Participants self-reported their daily alcohol consumption (1) during a typical week in normal circumstances (i.e., before lockdown), and (2) since lockdown onset. We also assessed drinking motives and severity of alcohol use before lockdown. Our findings showed that 68.2% of the sample reported a lower alcohol consumption during lockdown compared to before lockdown, 17.2% conversely reporting a higher consumption. Enhancement, social and coping motives were all associated with heavy drinking before lockdown. Enhancement and social motives predicted lower alcohol consumption during lockdown among heavy drinkers. Conversely, coping motives, as well as social motives among low drinkers, predicted higher consumption during lockdown. Conformity motives, as well as enhancement motives among low and moderate drinkers, did not predict alcohol consumption before or during lockdown. Overall, several pre-lockdown drinking motives reliably predicted alcohol consumption during lockdown and could thus be used to identify at-risk populations and to tailor intervention programs on alcohol misuse during sanitary crises.

The COVID-19 pandemic represented an unprecedented challenge for many people and communities around the world. During this pandemic, however, it especially became evident that refugee and immigrant minorities disproportionately bore the brunt of the infection, experiencing cumulative stressors that piled over preexisting disadvantages and social exclusions.

We summarise in this report a community-based project with the three largest refugee communities in Brussels, aimed at a) understanding the main stressors experienced by refugees and migrants during the virus outbreak; b) identifying how to overcome the virus outbreak via social support and community building.

The COVID-19 constitutes an unprecedented threat for individuals, communities, and entire societies, revealing intergroup inequalities in preparedness, exposure, and consequences. The present review completes extant knowledge on natural disasters and pandemic diseases with original cross-cultural and programmatic empirical research, to propose an integrated COVID-19 threat framework. Building up on a broad definition of threat that comprises individual, collective and socio-structural components, we merge micro-level analyses to group dynamics and intergroup relations. First, we conduct a literature review using streamlined methods of knowledge synthesis to distinguish between threats appraised by the general public and specific threats appraised by immigrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities. Second, we outline the social-psychological processes that from threat appraisals fuel either conflict or prosociality within and across groups. To conclude, we identify moderating factors to prevent or reduce social conflicts as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, promoting instead collective forms of resilience, social support and helping behaviours.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, sustainable forms of collective resilience help societies coping cohesively with unprecedented challenges. In our empirical contribution, we framed collective resilience and cohesion in terms of prosociality. A study carried out in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK (N = 399) articulated basic individual values, ideological orientations (i.e., authoritarianism and social dominance orientation), and core political values in a comprehensive framework to predict bonding and bridging forms of prosocial intentions, and prosocial behaviors directed towards vulnerable groups. According to our findings, people whose worldview incorporates collective and collaborative principles cared more about others’ welfare. Jointly, self- transcendence, equality, and accepting immigrants predicted more prosociality, whereas social dominance orientation predicted less prosociality. Over and beyond all other predictors, self-transcendence uniquely pre- dicted prosocial intentions and behaviors alike. To conclude, we suggest interventions to promote and sustain prosociality among people motivated by a larger array of life goals and worldviews.

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and its associated measures led to high levels of mental distress in the general population. Previous research indicated that young people are especially vulnerable for a wide range of mental health problems during the pandemic, but little is known about the mechanisms. This study examined mental distress and its contributing factors among young Belgian people.

Methods: An online survey was widely distributed in Belgium during the first wave of COVID-19 in March, and 16–25-year-olds were selected as a subsample. Mental distress was assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and a threshold of ≥4 was used to discriminate mental distress cases from non-cases. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate possible predictors of mental distress, including demographics, chronic condition, history of mental health problems, social support, exposure to COVID-19, and several changes in everyday activities.

Results: A total of 2,008 respondents were included, of which the majority was female (78.09%) and student (66.82%). The results indicate that about two thirds (65.49%) experienced mental distress. In the multivariable regression model, significant (p < 0.01) predictors of mental distress were female gender (OR = 1.78), low social support (OR = 2.17), loneliness (OR = 5.17), a small (OR = 1.63), or large (OR = 3.08) increase in social media use, a small (OR = 1.63) or large (OR = 2.17) decrease in going out for drinks or food, and a decrease in doing home activities (OR = 2.72).

Conclusion: Young people experience high levels of mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that mental distress was highest among women, those experiencing loneliness or low social support and those whose usual everyday life is most affected. The psychological needs of young people, such as the need for peer interaction, should be more recognized and supported.

Identification of the situational and psychological moderators of the impact of the lockdown on parental distress

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the psychological well-being of students. Several stressors (such as socioeconomic and education-related contexts) could influence mental health, as well as individual and relational dimensions. This study proposes to evaluate the predictive effect of these factors on anxiety and depressive symptoms among students in higher education one year after the beginning of the pandemic. A sample of 23,307 students (Mage = 20.89; SD = 1.96; 69.08% of women) was assessed through an online self-report questionnaire including adapted and validated measures. The main rates were as follows: 50.6% of students presented anxiety symptoms; 55.1% reported depressive symptoms; 20.8% manifested suicidal ideations; 42.4% saw their financial situation deteriorate; 39.1% felt they were dropping out of school. One year after the beginning of the pandemic, students in higher education are anxious and depressed, especially those who identify as women (for both anxiety and depression) and as a non-binary gender (only for anxiety), experience a deterioration in their financial situation, are dropping out of school, or manifest hostility (for both anxiety and depression). The degree of study affects the symptoms’ severity (Bachelor 2 and 3 for anxiety and Master for depression). Contact with family and friends (for both anxiety and depression) as well as regular physical activity (only for depression) should provide some protection against psychological distress. Policy-makers must make a long-term investment in the well-being and positive mental health of the student community