The Effectiveness of a Forgiveness Intervention on Mental Health in Bereaved Parents-A Pilot Study.

The aim of this pilot study was to test the effectiveness of an educational forgiveness intervention on mental health in grieving parents. 21 grieving parents were randomly assigned to the experimental group (in which the educational forgiveness intervention occurred) and to the control group (in which a psycho-education grief intervention with a humanistic approach took place). Participants in both groups completed 12 individual hourly sessions for three months. The results showed that participants in the experimental group achieved statistically greater improvement in forgiveness towards others, self-forgiveness, and a greater decrease in depression in the post-test and follow-up test; a greater decrease in anxiety and anger in the post-test; as well as higher improvement in the post-traumatic growth in the follow-up test, four months after the end of the intervention. We highlight the potential benefits of using a forgiveness intervention with bereaved parents.

Family still matters: Human social motivation across 42 countries during a global pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused drastic social changes for many people, including separation from friends and coworkers, enforced close contact with family, and reductions in mobility. Here we assess the extent to which people's evolutionarily-relevant basic motivations and goals-fundamental social motives such as Affiliation and Kin Care-might have been affected. To address this question, we gathered data on fundamental social motives in 42 countries (N = 15,915) across two waves, including 19 countries (N = 10,907) for which data were gathered both before and during the pandemic (pre-pandemic wave: 32 countries, N = 8998; 3302 male, 5585 female; M age  = 24.43, SD = 7.91; mid-pandemic wave: 29 countries, N = 6917; 2249 male, 4218 female; M age  = 28.59, SD = 11.31). Samples include data collected online (e.g., Prolific, MTurk), at universities, and via community sampling. We found that Disease Avoidance motivation was substantially higher during the pandemic, and that most of the other fundamental social motives showed small, yet significant, differences across waves. Most sensibly, concern with caring for one's children was higher during the pandemic, and concerns with Mate Seeking and Status were lower. Earlier findings showing the prioritization of family motives over mating motives (and even over Disease Avoidance motives) were replicated during the pandemic. Finally, well-being remained positively associated with family-related motives and negatively associated with mating motives during the pandemic, as in the pre-pandemic samples. Our results provide further evidence for the robust primacy of family-related motivations even during this unique disruption of social life.

Big Five predictors of pandemic-related behavior and emotions in the first and second COVID-19 pandemic wave in Slovakia.

This study explores the effect of Big Five personality traits on behavioral and emotional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality traits of 248 Slovak persons were assessed twice before the pandemic using the Big Five Inventory 2. Behavioral and emotional responses to the pandemic were collected during the first and second pandemic wave (April and September 2020). The results showed a statistically significant decrease in all response domains and in COVID-19 fear between the first and the second pandemic wave, suggesting that psychological adaptation to the pandemic occurred during the interim period. The results identified several meaningful links between the traits and pandemic-related behavior and emotions, especially for neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness. However, the effects of personality were higher for the first pandemic wave, suggesting that these effects vary across time probably because of changes in pandemic perception in the society.

The World at 7:00: Comparing the Experience of Situations Across 20 Countries.

The purpose of this research is to quantitatively compare everyday situational experience around the world. Local collaborators recruited 5,447 members of college communities in 20 countries, who provided data via a Web site in 14 languages. Using the 89 items of the Riverside Situational Q-sort (RSQ), participants described the situation they experienced the previous evening at 7:00 p.m. Correlations among the average situational profiles of each country ranged from r = .73 to r = .95; the typical situation was described as largely pleasant. Most similar were the United States/Canada; least similar were South Korea/Denmark. Japan had the most homogenous situational experience; South Korea, the least. The 15 RSQ items varying the most across countries described relatively negative aspects of situational experience; the 15 least varying items were more positive. Further analyses correlated RSQ items with national scores on six value dimensions, the Big Five traits, economic output, and population. Individualism, Neuroticism, Openness, and Gross Domestic Product yielded more significant correlations than expected by chance. Psychological research traditionally has paid more attention to the assessment of persons than of situations, a discrepancy that extends to cross-cultural psychology. The present study demonstrates how cultures vary in situational experience in psychologically meaningful ways.

"I loved before, but now I love even more." Qualitative study of posttraumatic growth as a consequence of severe COVID-19 experience in Slovak adults.

Introduction: The results indicate that post-traumatic growth does indeed occur after overcoming the severe form of COVID-19. It suggests that this posttraumatic growth most often occurred through a reassessment of priorities and an appreciation of life itself and loved ones. COVID-19 disease has been one of the most discussed and researched topics for several years, as it dramatically affects everyone's daily life. Methods: The qualitative study presented here focuses on health psychology, especially post-traumatic growth after overcoming a severe form of the COVID-19 disease. We worked with adult people who had either been treated in the intensive care unit or had been hospitalized with severe pneumonia. Results: Thematic analysis was used to determine categories and subcategories. The study presented here contributes to knowledge about the COVID-19 experience by mapping a Slovakian sample of adult participants. Discussion: The results obtained by Thematic analysis help us better understand how people experience the disease, especially those who have overcome a severe form of the disease and thus had a borderline experience when their lives were directly threatened, as well as their overall health.

Long-Term Post-COVID-19 Health and Psychosocial Effects and Coping Resources Among Survivors of Severe and Critical COVID-19 in Central and Eastern Europe: Protocol for an International Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: There is a strong need to determine pandemic and postpandemic challenges and effects at the individual, family, community, and societal levels. Post-COVID-19 health and psychosocial effects have long-lasting impacts on the physical and mental health and quality of life of a large proportion of survivors, especially survivors of severe and critical COVID-19, extending beyond the end of the pandemic. While research has mostly focused on the negative short- and long-term effects of COVID-19, few studies have examined the positive effects of the pandemic, such as posttraumatic growth. It is essential to study both negative and positive long-term post-COVID-19 effects and to acknowledge the role of the resources available to the individual to cope with stress and trauma. This knowledge is especially needed in understudied regions hit hard by the pandemic, such as the region of Central and Eastern Europe. A qualitative approach could provide unique insights into the subjective perspectives of survivors on their experiences with severe COVID-19 disease and its lingering impact on their lives. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to qualitatively explore the experiences of adult survivors of severe or critical COVID-19 throughout the acute and postacute period in 5 Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, and Poland); gain insight into negative (post-COVID-19 condition and quality of life) and positive (posttraumatic growth) long-term post-COVID effects; and understand the role of survivors' personal, social, and other coping resources and local sociocultural context and epidemic-related situations. METHODS: This is a qualitative thematic analysis study with an experiential reflexive perspective and inductive orientation. The analytical approach involves 2-stage data analysis: national analyses in stage 1 and international analysis in stage 2. Data are collected from adult survivors of severe and critical COVID-19 through in-depth semistructured interviews conducted in the period after hospital discharge. RESULTS: As of the publication of this paper, data collection is complete. The total international sample includes 151 survivors of severe and critical COVID-19: Bulgaria (n=33, 21.8%), Slovakia (n=30, 19.9%), Croatia (n=30, 19.9%), Romania (n=30, 19.9%), and Poland (n=28, 18.5%). National-level qualitative thematic analysis is currently underway, and several papers based on national results have been published. Cross-national analysis has started in 2024. The results will be submitted for publication in the third and fourth quarters of 2024. CONCLUSIONS: This research emphasizes the importance of a deeper understanding of the ongoing health and psychosocial challenges survivors face and what helps them cope with these challenges and, in some cases, thrive. It has implications for informing holistic care and improving the health and psychosocial outcomes of survivors of COVID-19 and will be crucial for evaluating the overall impact and multifaceted implications of the pandemic and for informing future pandemic preparedness. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/57596.

Anger and disgust shape judgments of social sanctions across cultures, especially in high individual autonomy societies.

When someone violates a social norm, others may think that some sanction would be appropriate. We examine how the experience of emotions like anger and disgust relate to the judged appropriateness of sanctions, in a pre-registered analysis of data from a large-scale study in 56 societies. Across the world, we find that individuals who experience anger and disgust over a norm violation are more likely to endorse confrontation, ostracism and, to a smaller extent, gossip. Moreover, we find that the experience of anger is consistently the strongest predictor of judgments of confrontation, compared to other emotions. Although the link between state-based emotions and judgments may seem universal, its strength varies across countries. Aligned with theoretical predictions, this link is stronger in societies, and among individuals, that place higher value on individual autonomy. Thus, autonomy values may increase the role that emotions play in guiding judgments of social sanctions.

High economic inequality is linked to greater moralization.

Throughout the 21st century, economic inequality is predicted to increase as we face new challenges, from changes in the technological landscape to the growing climate crisis. It is crucial we understand how these changes in inequality may affect how people think and behave. We propose that economic inequality threatens the social fabric of society, in turn increasing moralization-that is, the greater tendency to employ or emphasize morality in everyday life-as an attempt to restore order and control. Using longitudinal data from X, formerly known as Twitter, our first study demonstrates that high economic inequality is associated with greater use of moral language online (e.g. the use of words such as "disgust", "hurt", and "respect'). Study 2 then examined data from 41 regions around the world, generally showing that higher inequality has a small association with harsher moral judgments of people's everyday actions. Together these findings demonstrate that economic inequality is linked to the tendency to see the world through a moral lens.

Irrational beliefs indirectly predict retirement satisfaction through the conceptualization of retirement: a cross-sectional study in a sample of recent retirees.

BACKGROUND: Although most retirees are satisfied, some do not feel well in retirement. The resource-based dynamic perspective explains retirement dissatisfaction as the lack of resources. This study focused on psychological resources, specifically on the role of rational/irrational beliefs and retirement concepts in retirement satisfaction. While irrational beliefs have many consequences, we know little about their role in retirement experiences, nor do we know about the benefits/harm of retirement concepts for retirement satisfaction. We assumed that not succumbing to irrational beliefs and conceptualizing retirement actively and positively add to psychological resources helping to adjust to retirement and retirement satisfaction. Our objective was to examine whether irrational beliefs and retirement concepts contributed to satisfaction or dissatisfaction in recent retirees. METHODS: 200 recent retirees (average retirement time 2.8 years) completed questionnaires containing the Irrational Belief Scale, the Satisfaction with Retirement Scale, and the Retirement Lifestyles Questionnaire, which determines the inclination toward four retirement concepts: Transition to Old Age, New Start, Continuation, and Imposed Disruption. The Pearson correlation coefficients were used to estimate the relationship between irrational beliefs, retirement concepts, and retirement satisfaction. We used a parallel mediation model with multiple mediators in the mediation analysis where irrational beliefs were the independent variable, retirement satisfaction was the dependent variable, and the four retirement concepts were mediators. RESULTS: We confirmed higher retirement satisfaction in recent retirees who conceptualize retirement as a New Start and Continuation and higher retirement dissatisfaction in those who see retirement as an Imposed Disruption or Transition to Old Age. The general irrational beliefs had a weaker direct impact on retirement satisfaction than the more specific retirement concepts. Inclination to general irrational beliefs appeared only weakly reflected in retirement dissatisfaction. However, a negative view of retirement as an imposed disruption might increase this inclination by intensifying retirement dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a negative retirement concept as an imposed disruptive event that amplifies the impact of general irrational beliefs and leads to retirement dissatisfaction in recent retirees. It suggests that using rational-emotive behavior therapy and interventions to change the negative perception of retirement could be effective in increasing retirement satisfaction.

On the relationship between valence and arousal in samples across the globe.

Affect is involved in many psychological phenomena, but a descriptive structure, long sought, has been elusive. Valence and arousal are fundamental, and a key question-the focus of the present study-is the relationship between them. Valence is sometimes thought to be independent of arousal, but, in some studies (representing too few societies in the world) arousal was found to vary with valence. One common finding is that arousal is lowest at neutral valence and increases with both positive and negative valence: a symmetric V-shaped relationship. In the study reported here of self-reported affect during a remembered moment (N = 8,590), we tested the valence-arousal relationship in 33 societies with 25 different languages. The two most common hypotheses in the literature-independence and a symmetric V-shaped relationship-were not supported. With data of all samples pooled, arousal increased with positive but not negative valence. Valence accounted for between 5% (Finland) and 43% (China Beijing) of the variance in arousal. Although there is evidence for a structural relationship between the two, there is also a large amount of variability in this relation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

How vegans, vegetarians and carnists differ in personality traits and attitudes towards animals.

BACKGROUND: Food decisions and dietary preferences are affected by a complex set of different cultural or regional factors, but personality traits seem to play an important role too. Previous research suggested that the food preferences related to veganism, vegetarianism, or carnism can be predicted by the Big Five model of personality and reflected in the attitudes towards animals. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The present study examined personality traits and attitudes towards animals of 190 (M = 24.90, SD = 7.18) Slovak participants, of whom 57 were vegans, 56 vegetarians, and 77 carnists. To measure Big Five personality traits, the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) was used. Attitudes towards animals were measured by the short 10-item version of the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS-10). RESULTS: Vegans and vegetarians scored significantly higher than carnists in open-mindedness and attitude towards animals; there was no difference between scores of vegans and vegetarians. No relationship between the diet groups and demographic variables (gender, education, and age) was identified. From personality traits and sociodemo-graphic variables, only open-mindedness was a significant predictor of attitudes towards animals. CONCLUSIONS: Vegans and vegetarians differ from carnists primarily in one trait: open-mindedness. Vegans and vegetarians also differ from carnists by holding more positive attitudes towards animals.

Fundamental social motives measured across forty-two cultures in two waves.

How does psychology vary across human societies? The fundamental social motives framework adopts an evolutionary approach to capture the broad range of human social goals within a taxonomy of ancestrally recurring threats and opportunities. These motives-self-protection, disease avoidance, affiliation, status, mate acquisition, mate retention, and kin care-are high in fitness relevance and everyday salience, yet understudied cross-culturally. Here, we gathered data on these motives in 42 countries (N = 15,915) in two cross-sectional waves, including 19 countries (N = 10,907) for which data were gathered in both waves. Wave 1 was collected from mid-2016 through late 2019 (32 countries, N = 8,998; 3,302 male, 5,585 female; Mage = 24.43, SD = 7.91). Wave 2 was collected from April through November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic (29 countries, N = 6,917; 2,249 male, 4,218 female; Mage = 28.59, SD = 11.31). These data can be used to assess differences and similarities in people's fundamental social motives both across and within cultures, at different time points, and in relation to other commonly studied cultural indicators and outcomes.

Social mindfulness predicts concern for nature and immigrants across 36 nations.

People cooperate every day in ways that range from largescale contributions that mitigate climate change to simple actions such as leaving another individual with choice - known as social mindfulness. It is not yet clear whether and how these complex and more simple forms of cooperation relate. Prior work has found that countries with individuals who made more socially mindful choices were linked to a higher country environmental performance - a proxy for complex cooperation. Here we replicated this initial finding in 41 samples around the world, demonstrating the robustness of the association between social mindfulness and environmental performance, and substantially built on it to show this relationship extended to a wide range of complex cooperative indices, tied closely to many current societal issues. We found that greater social mindfulness expressed by an individual was related to living in countries with more social capital, more community participation and reduced prejudice towards immigrants. Our findings speak to the symbiotic relationship between simple and more complex forms of cooperation in societies.

Perceiving societal pressure to be happy is linked to poor well-being, especially in happy nations.

Happiness is a valuable experience, and societies want their citizens to be happy. Although this societal commitment seems laudable, overly emphasizing positivity (versus negativity) may create an unattainable emotion norm that ironically compromises individual well-being. In this multi-national study (40 countries; 7443 participants), we investigate how societal pressure to be happy and not sad predicts emotional, cognitive and clinical indicators of well-being around the world, and examine how these relations differ as a function of countries' national happiness levels (collected from the World Happiness Report). Although detrimental well-being associations manifest for an average country, the strength of these relations varies across countries. People's felt societal pressure to be happy and not sad is particularly linked to poor well-being in countries with a higher World Happiness Index. Although the cross-sectional nature of our work prohibits causal conclusions, our findings highlight the correlational link between social emotion valuation and individual well-being, and suggest that high national happiness levels may have downsides for some.

Meaning making in retirement transition: a qualitative inquiry into Slovak retirees.

Purpose: This study is a qualitative inquiry into meaning making during retirement transition. The study focuses on how Slovak retirees reconstruct meanings during the transition and the factors which both help and hinder this process.Methods: Forty individuals (M = 63.36; SD = 2.47) who had recently transitioned into retirement were interviewed and data were analysed using the Consensual Qualitative Research-Modified approach.Results: The analysis generated five basic domains with categories and subcategories of the participants' responses. The analysis showed that once retired, the participants generally continued to rely on previous meaning sources such as work and family; however, there were changes such as switching from job-related work to work related to hobbies and housekeeping, or from financially providing for the family to maintaining family relationships and grandparenting. The main factors facilitating the meaning making process were positive attitudes and social support for meaning. The risk factors included lack of finances, poor health of retiree or a close person, and the loss of a spouse.Conclusions: In general, the research showed that the main features of the retirees' meaning making processes were maintaining accessible sources, compensating for sources lost during the transition, and managing beneficial and risk factors.

Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies.

Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate.

Subjective status and perceived legitimacy across countries.

The relationships between subjective status and perceived legitimacy are important for understanding the extent to which people with low status are complicit in their oppression. We use novel data from 66 samples and 30 countries (N = 12,788) and find that people with higher status see the social system as more legitimate than those with lower status, but there is variation across people and countries. The association between subjective status and perceived legitimacy was never negative at any levels of eight moderator variables, although the positive association was sometimes reduced. Although not always consistent with hypotheses, group identification, self-esteem, and beliefs in social mobility were all associated with perceived legitimacy among people who have low subjective status. These findings enrich our understanding of the relationship between social status and legitimacy.

Examination of the latent structure of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in Slovakia.

The latent structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been widely discussed, with the majority of studies in this area being conducted in the US. The current study aimed to extend this area of research by comparing seven existing PTSD factor models in a sample of 754 trauma-exposed university students from Slovakia, where similar research has not been conducted yet. The sample was predominantly female (83.69%), with a mean age of 22.68 years. The comparison of competing models revealed that the Anhedonia model, consisting of six inter-correlated factors of reexperiencing, avoidance, negative affect, anhedonia, dysphoric arousal and anxious arousal, provided the best fit. Several factors of the Anhedonia model also showed differential relationships with the external variables of anxiety and depression. The study contributes to the limited literature on the latent structure of PTSD in Eastern Europe.