Cognitive stimulation and socialization of institutionalized older adults during the Covid-19 pandemic / Estímulo cognitivo e socialização de idosos institucionalizados na pandemia por Covid-19 / Estímulo Cognitivo y Socialización de Ancianos Institucionalizados en la Pandemia por Covid-19

Objetivo: Relatar a experiência de discentes e docentes de enfermagem no desenvolvimento de atividades lúdico-pedagógicas em uma Instituição de Longa Permanência para Idosos (ILPI) durante a pandemia por COVID-19. Síntese dos dados: Trata-se de um relato de experiência, a partir da vivência de acadêmicas e docentes de um projeto de extensão do curso de Enfermagem em uma Instituição de Longa Permanência para Idosos, no interior de Minas Gerais, nos meses de junho e julho de 2020. A equipe do projeto elaborou o planejamento de um bingo, sendo todos os idosos premiados com livros de colorir e gizes de cera. As ações se desdobraram em quatro etapas: planejamento das atividades; elaboração do material; entrega do material impresso; e operacionalização da ação. Com a entrega do material na instituição no dia 23 de julho, realizou-se a dinâmica no dia 20 de agosto de 2020. Conclusão: O planejamento e a elaboração de materiais, como o jogo do bingo e o livro de colorir, permitiram que o projeto de extensão desse seguimento ao trabalho mesmo no período da pandemia, propondo duas atividades que despertaram o interesse e a participação de todos os envolvidos.

Objective: To report the experience of nursing students and professors in the development of recreational and pedagogical activities in a Long-Term Care (LTC) Institution for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data synthesis: This is an experience report based on the experience of students and professors of an extension project of the Nursing program in a Long-Term Care Institution for older adults in the countryside of Minas Gerais in the months of June and July 2020. The project team prepared a bingo plan, with all the older adults being awarded with coloring books and crayons. The actions unfolded in four stages: planning of activities; preparation of the material; delivery of printed material; and operationalization of the action. With the delivery of the material to the institution on July 23, the action took place on August 20, 2020. Conclusion: The planning and construction of materials, such as the bingo game and the coloring book, allowed the project to extend this follow-up to work even during the pandemic period by proposing two activities that aroused the interest and participation of all those involved.

Objetivo: Informar la experiencia de dicentes y docentes de enfermería en el desarrollo de actividades lúdico-pedagógicas en una Institución para Ancianos de Larga Estancia (IALE) en la pandemia por Covid-19. Síntesis de datos: Se trata de un informe de experiencia, a partir de la vivencia de académicas y docentes de un proyecto de extensión del curso de Enfermería en una Institución para Ancianos de Larga Estancia, en el interior de Minas Gerais, en los meses de junio y julio de 2020. El equipo del proyecto elaboró la planificación de un bingo, premiando todos los ancianos con libros de colorear y crayón. Las acciones se desplegaron en cuatro etapas: planificación de las actividades; elaboración del material; entrega del material impreso; y operacionalización de la acción. Con la entrega del material en la institución en el día 23 de julio, se realizó la dinámica en el día 20 de agosto de 2020. Conclusión: La planificación y la elaboración de materiales, como el juego de bingo y el libro de colorear, permitieron que el proyecto de extensión diera continuidad al trabajo aunque en período de la pandemia, proponiendo dos actividades que despertaron el interés y la participación de todas las partes.

Autistic children and adolescents with frequent restricted interest and repetitive behavior showed more difficulty in social cognition during mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multisite survey.

BACKGROUND: The public health measures enacted in order to control the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have caused considerable changes to daily life. For autistic children and adolescents, adapting to the "new normal," including mask-wearing, may be difficult because of their restricted interest and repetitive behavior (RRB) characteristics. We aimed to examine the relationships between RRB characteristics and the impact of mask-wearing on their social communications during the pandemic. METHODS: We recruited participants with a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder based on DSM-5 diagnostic criteria from two outpatient clinics in Tokyo, Japan, between November 2020 and April 2021 using a convenience sampling methodology. As a result, the participants consisted of 102 children and adolescents (mean (SD) age = 11.6 (5.3)). We collected data on RRB characteristics frequency before and during the pandemic using the CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey (CRISIS) - Adapted for Autism and Related Neurodevelopmental conditions (AFAR). We then conducted factor analyses to compute the RRB severity composite scores, which are divided into lower- (e.g., sensory seeking), and higher-order (e.g., restricted interest). We also investigated mask-wearing culture using a bespoke questionnaire, and using Spearman's rank correlation analyses, we examined the relationships between before pandemic RRB characteristics, and the impact of mask-wearing on social communications during the pandemic. RESULTS: We found that children and adolescents who exhibited lower-order RRB before the pandemic had difficulties in going-out with mask-wearing (rho = -0.25, q = .031), more challenges with mask-wearing (rho = - 0.34, q = .0018), and difficulty in referring to others' emotions while wearing masks (rho = - 0.36, q = .0016). We also found an association between higher-order RRB before the pandemic and an uncomfortable sensation (rho = - 0.42, q = .0002) and difficulties in referring to other's emotions while wearing masks (rho = - 0.25, q = .031). CONCLUSIONS: We revealed that various behaviors, such as sensory seeking, repetitive motor mannerisms and movements, and rituals and routines, undertaken before the pandemic could be important predictors of difficulties with mask-wearing and social communication for autistic children and adolescents during the pandemic. Caregivers and teachers wearing masks may need to provide extra support for social communication to autistic children and adolescents showing RRB characteristics frequently.

Social anxiety and behavioral assessments of social cognition: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Social anxiety is highly prevalent and has increased in young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since social anxiety negatively impacts interpersonal functioning, identifying aspects of social cognition that may be impaired can increase our understanding of the development and maintenance of social anxiety disorder. However, to date, studies examining associations between social anxiety and social cognition have resulted in mixed findings. METHODS: The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the literature on the association between social anxiety and social cognition, while also considering several potential moderators and covariates that may influence findings. RESULTS: A systematic search identified 52 studies. Results showed mixed evidence for the association between social anxiety and lower-level social cognitive processes (emotion recognition and affect sharing) and a trend for a negative association with higher-level social cognitive processes (theory of mind and empathic accuracy). Most studies examining valence-specific effects found a significant negative association for positive and neutral stimuli. LIMITATIONS: Not all aspects of social cognition were included (e.g., attributional bias) and we focused on adults and not children, limiting the scope of the review. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies would benefit from the inclusion of relevant moderators and covariates, multiple well-validated measures within the same domain of social cognition, and assessments of interpersonal functioning outside of the laboratory. Additional research examining the moderating role of attention or interpretation biases on social cognitive performance, and the potential benefit of social cognitive skills training for social anxiety, could inform and improve existing cognitive behavioral interventions.

Social cognition theories and behavior change in COVID-19: A conceptual review.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented health, economic, and social consequences worldwide. Although contact reductions and wearing face coverings have reduced infection rates, and vaccines have reduced illness severity, emergence of new variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and the shift from pandemic to endemic patterns of infection, highlights the importance of ongoing preventive behavior adherence to manage future outbreaks. Research applying social cognition theories may assist in explaining variance in these behaviors and inform the development of efficacious behavior change interventions to promote adherence. In the present article, we summarize research applying these theories to identify modifiable determinants of COVID-19 preventive behaviors and the mechanisms involved, and their utility in informing interventions. We identify limitations of these applications (e.g., overreliance on correlational data, lack of long-term behavioral follow-up), and suggest how they can be addressed. We demonstrate the virtue of augmenting theories with additional constructs (e.g., moral norms, anticipated regret) and processes (e.g., multiple action phases, automatic processes) to provide comprehensive, parsimonious behavioral explanations. We also outline how the theories contribute to testing mechanisms of action of behavioral interventions. Finally, we recommend future studies applying these theories to inform and test interventions to promote COVID-19 preventive behavior adherence.

Predicting hand washing, mask wearing and social distancing behaviors among older adults during the covid-19 pandemic: an integrated social cognition model.

BACKGROUND: Older adults are at a higher risk from COVID-19. Individual preventive behaviors including frequent hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing play important roles in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in the community. This study aimed to identify the determinants of three preventive behaviors of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic by using an Integrated Social Cognition Model. METHODS: Using a prospective study design, 516 Chinese older adults from Hubei province of China (mean age = 67.55 years, SD = 6.60, 57.9% females) completed two online questionnaire surveys. The demographics, social cognition constructs (motivational self-efficacy, risk perception, attitude, subjective norm, health knowledge, intention, volitional self-efficacy, planning, action control) and three preventive behaviors were measured during the first-wave online survey from 18 May 2020 to 7 June 2020. One month later, three preventive behaviors were measured again during the second-wave online survey. Data were analyzed by structural equation modelling. RESULTS: Models showed attitude, motivational self-efficacy and subjective norm were consistent predictors of intention, motivational self-efficacy was a consistent predictor of volitional self-efficacy, planning and volitional self-efficacy were consistent predictors of action control, and health knowledge was a consistent predictor of behaviors across all three preventive behaviors. In addition, mediating relationships were found in the model of hand washing behavior. In particular, planning (ß = .109, p = .042) and action control (ß = .056, p = .047) mediated between volitional self-efficacy and hand washing respectively. Action control also mediated between planning and hand washing (ß = .087, p = .044). Moreover, the inclusion of past behaviors in three models attenuated most of the structural relations. CONCLUSIONS: The current study's findings basically supported the Integrated Social Cognition Model and identified key modifiable determinants of preventive behaviors. Based on this model, future interventions aiming to promote COVID-19 preventive behaviors among older adults are warranted.

The impact of social isolation and changes in work patterns on ongoing thought during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns in countries across the world, changing the lives of billions of people. The United Kingdom's first national lockdown, for example, restricted people's ability to socialize and work. The current study examined how changes to socializing and working during this lockdown impacted ongoing thought patterns in daily life. We compared the prevalence of thought patterns between two independent real-world, experience-sampling cohorts, collected before and during lockdown. In both samples, young (18 to 35 y) and older (55+ y) participants completed experience-sampling measures five times daily for 7 d. Dimension reduction was applied to these data to identify common "patterns of thought." Linear mixed modeling compared the prevalence of each thought pattern 1) before and during lockdown, 2) in different age groups, and 3) across different social and activity contexts. During lockdown, when people were alone, social thinking was reduced, but on the rare occasions when social interactions were possible, we observed a greater increase in social thinking than prelockdown. Furthermore, lockdown was associated with a reduction in future-directed problem solving, but this thought pattern was reinstated when individuals engaged in work. Therefore, our study suggests that the lockdown led to significant changes in ongoing thought patterns in daily life and that these changes were associated with changes to our daily routine that occurred during lockdown.

Predictors of academic performance during the covid-19 outbreak: impact of distance education on mental health, social cognition and memory abilities in an Italian university student sample.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the impact of distance education (DE) on mental health, social cognition, and memory abilities in a sample of university students during the national COVID-19 lockdown in Italy and to identify the predictors of academic performance. METHODS: Two hundred and three students (76.4% women, mean age 24.3, SD ± 4.9) responded to an anonymous online cross-sectional survey between July 15 and September 30, 2020, on DE experience and cognitive and social-cognitive variables. A short version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, ten images from the Eyes Task, and five memory vignette stimuli were included in the survey. Descriptive, one-way ANOVA, correlation, and logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Half of the student sample reported significant impairment in concentration and learning abilities during DE. Regarding psychological health, 19.7%, 27.1%, and 23.6% of the sample reported mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms, respectively. Correlation analyses showed a statistically significant negative association between depression and the overall subjective evaluation of DE (r = - 0.359; p < 0.000). Changes in one's study context and habits, i.e., studying alone at one's parents' home instead of studying with colleagues or alone in a university "social place" (e.g., the university library), seemed to increase the likelihood of poor academic performance by almost 3 times (O.R. 3.918; p = 0.032). This predictor was no longer statistically significant in the subsequent step when the individual impairment predictors were entered. Learning concentration impairment during DE (O.R. 8.350; p = 0.014), anxiety about COVID-19 contagion for oneself or others (O.R. 3.363; p = 0.022), female gender (O.R. 3.141; p = 0.045), and depressive symptomatology (O.R. 1.093; p = 0.047) were ultimately determined to be the strongest predictors of poor academic performance, whereas the appreciation of DE represented a protective variable (O.R. 0.610; p < 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The study showed a negative impact of DE on the mental health of students presenting depressive symptoms and impairment in concentration and learning, the latter identified as the strongest predictors of poor academic performances. The study confirms the emerging need to monitor the impact of DE, which occurred during the 2019/2020 academic year and will continue in the coming months, to refine educational offerings and meet students' psychological needs by implementing psychological interventions based on the modifiable variables that seem to compromise students' psychological well-being and academic outcomes.

Infected by Bias: Behavioral Science and the Legal Response to COVID-19.

This Article presents the first comprehensive analysis of the contribution of behavioral science to the legal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the descriptive level, the Article shows how different psychological phenomena such as loss aversion and cultural cognition influenced the way policymakers and the public perceived the pandemic, and how such phenomena affected the design of laws and regulations responding to COVID-19. At the normative level, the Article compares nudges (i.e., choice-preserving, behaviorally informed tools that encourage people to behave as desired) and mandates (i.e., obligations backed by sanctions that dictate to people how they must behave). The Article argues that mandates rather than nudges should serve in most cases as the primary legal tool used to regulate behavior during a pandemic. Nonetheless, this Article highlights ways in which nudges can complement mandates.

Social cognition in individuals born preterm.

Faces hold a substantial value for effective social interactions and sharing. Covering faces with masks, due to COVID-19 regulations, may lead to difficulties in using social signals, in particular, in individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. Daily-life social participation of individuals who were born preterm is of immense importance for their quality of life. Here we examined face tuning in individuals (aged 12.79 ± 1.89 years) who were born preterm and exhibited signs of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), a dominant form of brain injury in preterm birth survivors. For assessing the face sensitivity in this population, we implemented a recently developed experimental tool, a set of Face-n-Food images bordering on the style of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. The key benefit of these images is that single components do not trigger face processing. Although a coarse face schema is thought to be hardwired in the brain, former preterms exhibit substantial shortages in the face tuning not only compared with typically developing controls but also with individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. The lack of correlations between the face sensitivity and other cognitive abilities indicates that these deficits are domain-specific. This underscores impact of preterm birth sequelae for social functioning at large. Comparison of the findings with data in individuals with other neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions provides novel insights into the origins of deficient face processing.

Everyday human cognition and behaviour.

When laboratory studies lose touch with real world context, they may generate fundamental misunderstandings of the principles of human cognition, behaviour, and associated brain processes. This article describes how this can occur, and proposes an alternative research approach-cognitive ethology-that enables researchers to link cognitions and behaviours as they operate in everyday life, with those studied in controlled, lab-based investigations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Spring 2020 COVID-19 Surge: Prospective Relations between Demographic Factors, Personality Traits, Social Cognitions and Guideline Adherence, Mask Wearing, and Symptoms in a U.S. Sample.

BACKGROUND: To date, much of the research on individual difference correlates of coronavirus guideline adherence is cross-sectional, leaving prospective associations between these factors unaddressed. Additionally, investigations of prospective predictors of mask-wearing, COVID-19 symptoms, and viral testing remain wanting. PURPOSE: The present study examined prospective relations between demographic factors, personality traits, social cognitions and guideline adherence, mask-wearing, symptoms, and viral testing in a U.S. sample (N = 500) during the initial surge of COVID-19 deaths in the United State between late March and early May 2020. METHODS: Guided by a disposition-belief-motivation framework, correlational analyses, and path models tested associations among baseline personality traits, guideline adherence social cognitions, health beliefs, guideline adherence and follow-up guideline adherence, mask-wearing, symptom counts, and 30-day viral testing. RESULTS: Modeling results showed greater baseline agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion were associated with more frequent baseline guideline adherence. More liberal political beliefs, greater guideline adherence intentions, and more frequent guideline adherence at baseline predicted more frequent mask-wearing at follow-up. Sex (female), lower perceived health, and greater neuroticism at baseline predicted greater symptom counts at follow-up. Reports of viral testing were quite low (1.80%), yet were consistent with concurrent national reporting and limited availability of testing. CONCLUSIONS: Results show how inconsistencies and politicization of health policy communication were concomitant with the effects of individual-level political beliefs on mask-wearing during the initial surge. The results further clarify how personality traits related to social responsibility (i.e., agreeableness, conscientiousness) are associated with following new norms for prescribed behaviors and how symptom reporting can be as much a marker of perceived health as emotional stability.

Reducing Loneliness: The Impact of Mindfulness, Social Cognitions, and Coping.

While many facets of loneliness have been explored, research examining the efficacy of loneliness interventions has been overlooked among young adults. The study of loneliness among young adults has become increasingly important considering the current state of isolation and stay-at-home orders issued to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Preliminary reports suggest an increase in loneliness as a result of the current health pandemic, especially among young adults, who have reported feeling lonelier than any other age group. Such findings warrant the study of ways to help reduce loneliness among young adults. The current study examined the efficacy of strategies that might be used to help young adults manage feelings of loneliness. Two hundred and seventy-eight young adults completed the study. Participants read one of four messages: mindfulness, social cognitions, coping behaviors, or a control. Participants in the mindfulness condition felt better equipped to manage future instances of loneliness and held better attitudes toward this intervention. The current research helps to advance understanding of effective ways of helping young adults cope with loneliness.

The impact of COVID-19 social isolation on aspects of emotional and social cognition.

The present study aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19 social isolation upon aspects of emotional and social cognitive function. We predicted that greater impairments in emotional and social cognition would be observed in people who experienced more disruption to their usual social connectivity during COVID-19 social isolation. Healthy volunteers (N = 92) without prior mental health problems completed assessments online in their own homes during the most stringent period of the first COVID-19 "lockdown" in the UK (March - May 2020). Measures included two questionnaires probing levels of social isolation, anxiety levels, as well as five neuropsychological tasks assessing emotional and social cognition. Reduced positive bias in emotion recognition was related to reduced contact with friends, household size and communication method during social isolation. In addition, reduced positive bias for attention to emotional faces was related to frequency of contact with friends during social isolation. Greater cooperative behaviour in an ultimatum game was associated with more frequent contact with both friends and family during social isolation. The present study provides important insights into the detrimental effects of subjective and objective social isolation upon affective cognitive processes.

Demographic, personality, and social cognition correlates of coronavirus guideline adherence in a U.S. sample.

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined patterns and psychosocial correlates of coronavirus guideline adherence in a U.S. sample (N = 500) during the initial 15-day period advocated by the White House Coronavirus Task Force. METHOD: Descriptive and correlational analyses were used to examine the frequency of past 7-day adherence to each of 10 guidelines, as well as overall adherence. Guided by a disposition-belief-motivation model of health behavior, path analyses tested associations of personality traits and demographic factors to overall adherence via perceived norms, perceived control, attitudes, and self-efficacy related to guideline adherence, as well as perceived exposure risk and perceived health consequence if exposed. RESULTS: Adherence ranged from 94.4% reporting always avoiding eating/drinking inside bars/restaurants/food courts to 13.6% reporting always avoiding touching one's face. Modeling showed total associations with overall adherence for greater conscientiousness (ß = .191, p < .001), openness (ß = .098, p < .05), perceptions of social endorsement (ß = .202, p < .001), positive attitudes (ß = .105, p < .05), self-efficacy (ß = .234, p < .001), and the presence versus absence or uncertainty of a shelter-in-place order (ß = .102, p < .01). Age, self-rated health, sex, education, income, children in the household, agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism, perceived exposure risk, and perceived health consequence showed null-to-negligible associations with overall adherence. CONCLUSIONS: The results clarify adherence frequency, highlight characteristics associated with greater adherence, and suggest the need to strengthen the social contract between government and citizenry by clearly communicating adherence benefits, costs, and timelines. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Face Tuning in Depression.

The latest COVID-19 pandemic reveals that unexpected changes elevate depression bringing people apart, but also calling for social sharing. Yet the impact of depression on social cognition and functioning is not well understood. Assessment of social cognition is crucial not only for a better understanding of major depressive disorder (MDD), but also for screening, intervention, and remediation. Here by applying a novel experimental tool, a Face-n-Food task comprising a set of images bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style, we assessed the face tuning in patients with MDD and person-by-person matched controls. The key benefit of these images is that single components do not trigger face processing. Contrary to common beliefs, the outcome indicates that individuals with depression express intact face responsiveness. Yet, while in depression face sensitivity is tied with perceptual organization, in typical development, it is knotted with social cognition capabilities. Face tuning in depression, therefore, may rely upon altered behavioral strategies and underwriting brain mechanisms. To exclude a possible camouflaging effect of female social skills, we examined gender impact. Neither in depression nor in typical individuals had females excelled in face tuning. The outcome sheds light on the origins of the face sensitivity and alterations in social functioning in depression and mental well-being at large. Aberrant social functioning in depression is likely to be the result of deeply-rooted maladaptive strategies rather than of poor sensitivity to social signals. This has implications for mental well-being under the current pandemic conditions.

Application of the Health Action Process Approach to Social Distancing Behavior During COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the social cognition determinants of social distancing behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in samples from Australia and the US guided by the health action process approach (HAPA). METHODS: Participants (Australia: N = 495, 50.1% women; US: N = 701, 48.9% women) completed HAPA social cognition constructs at an initial time-point (T1), and one week later (T2) self-reported their social distancing behavior. RESULTS: Single-indicator structural equation models that excluded and included past behavior exhibited adequate fit with the data. Intention and action control were significant predictors of social distancing behavior in both samples, and intention predicted action and coping planning in the US sample. Self-efficacy and action control were significant predictors of intention in both samples, with attitudes predicting intention in the Australia sample and risk perceptions predicting intention in the US sample. Significant indirect effects of social cognition constructs through intentions were observed. Inclusion of past behavior attenuated model effects. Multigroup analysis revealed no differences in model fit across samples, suggesting that observed variations in the parameter estimates were relatively trivial. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that social distancing is a function of motivational and volitional processes. This knowledge can be used to inform messaging regarding social distancing during COVID-19 and in future pandemics.