Individual and collective protective responses during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 10 different countries: Results from the EUCLID online survey.

BACKGROUND: In times of unprecedented infectious disease threats, it is essential to understand how to increase individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures. The present study therefore examines factors associated with individual and collective pathways. METHODS: Data was collected through an online survey from 4483 participants (70.8% female, M = 41.2 years) across 10 countries from April 15, 2020 to June 2, 2020 as part of the "EUCLID" project (https://euclid.dbvis.de). Structural equation modeling was used to examine individual and collective pathways across and within countries. RESULTS: Overall, the adoption of individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures were high. Risk perception on the individual level and perceived effectiveness at the collective level were positively associated with both individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures. Furthermore, the model explained considerable variance in individual (40.7%) and collective protective behaviors (40.8%) and was largely replicated across countries. CONCLUSIONS: The study extends previous research by demonstrating that individual risk perception and perceived effectiveness of collective measures jointly affect individual protective health behaviors and support for collective measures. These findings highlight the need to jointly consider a variety of behavioral actions against infectious disease threats, acknowledging interactions between individual and collective pathways.

Resource loss, self-efficacy, and family support predict posttraumatic stress symptoms: a 3-year study of earthquake survivors.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Social support and self-efficacy are regarded as coping resources that may facilitate readjustment after traumatic events. The 2009 Cinchona earthquake in Costa Rica serves as an example for such an event to study resources to prevent subsequent severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms. DESIGN: At Time 1 (1-6 months after the earthquake in 2009), N=200 survivors were interviewed, assessing resource loss, received family support, and posttraumatic stress response. At Time 2 in 2012, severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms and general self-efficacy beliefs were assessed. METHODS: Regression analyses estimated the severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms accounted for by all variables. Moderator and mediator models were examined to understand the interplay of received family support and self-efficacy with posttraumatic stress symptoms. RESULTS: Baseline posttraumatic stress symptoms and resource loss (T1) accounted for significant but small amounts of the variance in the severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms (T2). The main effects of self-efficacy (T2) and social support (T1) were negligible, but social support buffered resource loss, indicating that only less supported survivors were affected by resource loss. Self-efficacy at T2 moderated the support-stress relationship, indicating that low levels of self-efficacy could be compensated by higher levels of family support. Receiving family support at T1 enabled survivors to feel self-efficacious, underlining the enabling hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS: Receiving social support from relatives shortly after an earthquake was found to be an important coping resource, as it alleviated the association between resource loss and the severity of posttraumatic stress response, compensated for deficits of self-efficacy, and enabled self-efficacy, which was in turn associated with more adaptive adjustment 3 years after the earthquake.

Health Behavior Education, e-research and a (H1N1) Influenza (Swine Flu): Bridging the Gap between Intentions and Health Behavior Change.

This study examined relations between risk perception/self-efficacy and handwashing intentions/behaviors during the A (H1N1) pandemic influenza. Data were collected from a longitudinal sample of Costa Ricans (NT1/T2 = 449/97). Results revealed that males and females presented a different social cognitive pattern in reaction to A (H1N1) pandemic. In females, the effects of risk perception/self-efficacy on handwashing behaviors were fully mediated by handwashing intentions. In males, self-efficacy influenced both directly and indirectly on handwashing behaviors, and risk perceptions showed no significant effect on handwashing behaviors. These results suggest that gender oriented protocols should be adopted by public health authorities in order to educate males and females in preventing both A (H1N1) and seasonal influenza.

Abordaje integral de pacientes costarricenses afectados con la enfermedad de Huntington y sus familiares / Integral management of Costa Rican patient with huntington's disease and their families

Objetivo: Realizar el diagnóstico molecular a personas afectadas con la enfermedad de Huntington y familiares con el 50 por ciento de riesgos, y brindales asesoramiento genético, seguimiento y evaluación psicológica y clínica, con el fin de mejorar su calidad de vida y prevenir la ocurrencia y recurrencia de la enfermedad de Huntington. Métodos: Diagnóstico molecular a pacientes con diagnóstico clínico, familiares asintomáticos con 50 por ciento de riesgo y pacientes con diagnóstico confuso. Se les brinda asesoramiento genético y evaluación psicológico. Los pacientes positivos que no tenían un control regular fueron referidos al neurólogo. Resultados: El diagnóstico molecular se realizó a 64 personas (35 mujeres y 29 hombres). De estas, seis tenían diagnóstico clínico de Huntington, el cual se confirmó, y 6 tenían diagnóstico confuso; de estas últimas, cino resultaron negativas para la enfermedad de Huntington, y una, positiva. Las restantes 52 personas correspondían a familiares en riesgo, y de estas, 17 resultaron ser portadoras. En total, 20 mujeres y 17 hombres fueron efectivamente evaluados en el nivel psicológico. Los análisis moleculares mostraron un perfil de repeticiones similares al de otras poblaciones. Conclusión: El diagnóstico molecular es de gran ayuda, pues algunas enfemedades pueden confundirse con la de Huntington. El diagnóstico presintomático cubre satisfactoriamente las siguientes expectativas de las personas: aliviar la incertidumbre, planear el cuidado de la salud y conocer si los hijos tiene riesgo. En general, no se ha encontrado grandes diferencias entre las personas evaluadas en el nivel psicológico, ya sea que porten un diagnóstico molecular positivo o negativo.