Just as Essential: The Mental Health of Educators During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic deleteriously impacted physical and mental health. In the summer of 2020, return-to-learn plans were enacted, including virtual, hybrid, and in-person plans, impacting educators and students. We examined (1) how return-to-learn plan was related to depressive and social anxiety symptoms among educators and (2) how psychological flexibility related to symptoms. METHODS: Educators (N = 853) completed a survey via Qualtrics that assessed internalizing symptoms, psychological flexibility, and occupational characteristics. Two one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) examined between-group differences in return-to-learn plans across depression and social anxiety. Two hierarchical linear regressions examined the relation between psychological flexibility components and depressive and social anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: Median T-scores were well above the national normative means for General Depression (median T-score: 81) and Social Anxiety (median T-score: 67). There were no significant differences between reopening plans in general depression nor social anxiety T-scores. Psychological flexibility accounted for 33% of the variance in depressive symptoms and 24% of the variance in social anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated high levels of psychiatric symptoms among educators during COVID-19, and psychological flexibility was associated with lower symptoms. Addressing educator mental health is of utmost importance in future research.

College Student Resilience During COVID-19: Examining the Roles of Mindfulness, Compassion, and Prosocial Behavior.

The present study examined factors associated with resilience in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were undergraduates at a large Midwestern university in the USA (N = 848). Hierarchical linear regression analyses examined self-reported pandemic-related adversity, community COVID-19 case rates, mindfulness, compassion, and prosocialness to determine the strongest associates of resilience. Findings demonstrated that mindfulness was the only psychological process of interest significantly associated with resilience, so specific facets were further explored in a regression analysis. Specifically, higher levels of the following mindfulness skills were associated with greater resilience: ability to describe internal experiences, to remain aware while engaging in action, and to take a nonreactive stance toward internal experiences. Mindfulness-based interventions may be appropriate for promoting resilience in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Multidisciplinary Pelvic Pain Clinic: Integrated Health Psychology in a Specialty Care Setting.

Purpose: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a relatively common health problem, impacting around 25 million women globally. This study details the development of a multidisciplinary women's CPP clinic at a major U.S. academic medical center, and examines associations between mood, pain symptoms, and trauma history. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from 96 subjects, including self-report measures (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Brief Trauma Questionnaire), pain intensity ratings, psychiatric diagnoses, and relevant medical history. Results: Most subjects reported at least one traumatic experience. Nearly half of subjects met criteria for an anxiety disorder and/or a depressive disorder. Most subjects were diagnosed with pelvic floor dysfunction, and more than half were referred to physical therapy. Women with abdominal/pelvic surgery history reported more traumatic experiences than women without surgical history. Women with a history of sexual abuse reported trying more medications and seeking care from a greater number of providers. Many reported pain duration of >2 years. Conclusions: Study findings related to mental health and trauma support a multidisciplinary CPP approach that includes a clinical health psychology component. Future research may investigate the therapeutic processes that apply to this population to identify targeted efficacious interventions.

Psychological flexibility in the context of COVID-19 adversity: Associations with distress.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to hardship for individuals across the globe, and research to-date has indicated a significant impact of the pandemic on mental health functioning. In order to promote psychological resilience during this time, it is important to understand modifiable targets for clinical intervention. The current study examined demographic characteristics, pandemic-related adversity, and psychological flexibility in relation to general and peritraumatic distress in a sample of United States survey respondents during May of 2020. Participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), N = 485. Participants completed measures of pandemic-related adversity, psychological flexibility components (openness to experience, behavioral awareness, and valued action), peritraumatic distress, and general distress. Hierarchical regression analyses examined whether demographic characteristics, pandemic-related adversity, and components of psychological flexibility were associated with general and peritraumatic distress. Results indicated that higher pandemic-related adversity, lower openness to experience, and lower behavioral awareness were significantly associated with higher general distress. Greater pandemic-related adversity, lower openness to experience, lower behavioral awareness, and higher valued action were significantly associated with higher peritraumatic distress. Adding the components of psychological flexibility to the model increased the amount of variance accounted for in both measures of distress. The results indicated that psychological flexibility components may be particularly important targets for prevention and intervention efforts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Transdiagnostic interventions, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, that target psychological flexibility may be useful as the impact of the pandemic continues to unfold.