ABSTRACT
Resumen Aunque las emociones básicas son consideradas universales, su significado varía según las culturas y los grupos sociales. En el marco de la construcción social de los significados, aquí se analizan y comparan las representaciones semánticas de seis emociones básicas (alegría, tristeza, enojo, miedo, sorpresa, asco) activadas por 78 niños (9 a 11 años) y 78 adultos (20 a 40 años). En base a una tarea de producción de atributos semánticos, se construyó la representación semántica asociada a cada emoción para cada rango etario. Luego, utilizando la metodología provista por el análisis de redes sociales (ARS), se analizó la calidad intrínseca y las diferencias en cantidad y tipos de atributos, estructura de las redes, densidad y nivel de entropía, y el uso de la definición por negación. Los resultados indicaron que los mapas semánticos de niños y mayores demuestran que los adultos producen mayor cantidad y diversidad de atributos que los niños, pero que ambas poblaciones comparten el núcleo del significado de los conceptos evaluados. Asimismo, muestra que la escolarización conduce a la generación de más atributos taxonómicos, que en los niños prevalecen los atributos introspectivos, que la densidad y la entropía revelan cómo los conceptos se vinculan entre sí diferencialmente en ambas poblaciones y finalmente que, frente a la dificultad para encontrar definidoras de pertenencia a una clase, los niños recurren a operaciones de contraste categorial. Entre las redes semánticas de adultos y de niños se encuentran continuidades y divergencias. En ambos grupos se encuentran separadas las emociones positivas de las negativas, lo cual es consistente con las teorías que sostienen la importancia de la valencia hedónica en la comprensión de las emociones.
Abstract Although basic emotions are considered universal, their representation, associations and meaning vary among cultures and social groups. Within the framework of the socio-constructivist theory, where the meanings develop in the social context, this paper analyzes and compares the semantic representations of six basic emotions (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Surprise and Disgust), evoked by 78 children between 9 and 11 years old and 78 adults between 20 and 40 years old. Participants had to list a series of properties/features for each concept in a Property Listing Task (PLT). With the lists produced by the participants, their frequencies and other statistical properties were calculated, and the matrix of distances between concepts was obtained from the vectors defined by each of them. Thus, using the six aforementioned emotions as stimuli, the semantic representation associated with each emotion was elaborated for each age range. Once these were obtained, an analysis was carried out to evaluate the intrinsic quality and the differences in: (1) quantity and types of features produced; (2) structure of each of the semantic networks obtained, both by means of quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) and hierarchical clustering algorithms; (3) network density (that describes the portion of the potential connections in a network that are actual connections) and entropy level (that describe the level of randomness and the amount of information encoded in a network); (4) comparative use of definition by negation; (5) qualitative analysis of the features associated with each emotional concept. To carry out the bulk of these activities and analysis, we used the tools and procedures provided by Social Network Analysis (SNA). As a result: (1) regarding the number of features, adults produced significantly more associations. A chi-square analysis found significant differences between groups in the type of features evoked, with a primacy of taxonomic for adults and introspective for children; (2) the quadratic assignment procedure found a significant level of association of .59 between the two age groups. The groupings performed at the lowest level of demand for linkage between cluster members distinguish positive emotions from negative ones; higher levels of demand begin to disaggregate the groupings: first fear and sadness are separated, then anger, then the dyad constituted by both versions of disgust. The emotion of greater commonality between children and adults is joy; (3) the density of the total network is higher in children than in adults, and the concepts of joy, disgust and sadness present a lower entropy in children than in adults; (4) Children produce considerably more definitions by the negative than adults; (5) the most similar emotion between both groups is joy and the most dissimilar is disgust. In children, disgust responds to gustatory stimuli, in adults it is used with social metaphorical value. The results obtained show the semantic representation of basic emotions in children and adults, finding both continuities (e. g. joy) and divergences (e. g. disgust) associated with the context and life experience. In both age groups, positive and negative emotions are found to be separated, which is consistent with theories on the importance of hedonic valence in the understanding of emotions. There are also differences in categorization, either more thematically or taxonomically oriented.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed daily life and the way we interact with others. It has also brought negative psychological consequences: several studies have reported increased levels of distress symptomatology at the onset of the pandemic. However, few longitudinal studies have been carried out, and even fewer in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse longitudinally the anxiety and depressive symptomatology of the Argentine general population during the first 13 months of the pandemic. The total sample included 988 adults (ages 18-77) from different regions of Argentina. Open-access surveys were distributed via social media at five time points (March, April, May, August 2020 and April 2021). Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed through the Beck Depression Inventory-II and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Mixed repeated-measures ANOVA were applied, with time as a within-subjects factor, and socioeconomic status, gender, and age group as between-subjects factors. Results showed a progressive increases in anxiety (F (27.78, 3417.60) = 62.88, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.060) and depression (F (3.42, 3373.75) = 84.78, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.079) symptoms in the general population throughout the pandemic (except for a slight decrease in anxiety in Wave 2). All of the between-subjects factors showed significant effects on both types of symptoms: female gender, younger age and lower income were associated with greater depression and anxiety in all waves. A time-age interaction effect was found (F (10.26, 3364.05) = 2.99, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.009): after the third wave, depressive symptoms tended to decrease or stabilise in the young adult group, whereas there was a positive linear increase in the older groups. This study provided evidence that anxiety and depression symptoms tend to increase during crisis contexts, and that this effect is even more pronounced for certain vulnerable population groups. Mental health monitoring and support interventions should be included in government strategies to deal with the long-term impact of the pandemic.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , Humans , Female , Adolescent , Young Adult , Adult , Middle Aged , Aged , COVID-19/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The current COVID-19 pandemic is a novel, unprecedented situation that has created considerable uncertainty due in part to the unpredictability of the future situation. Intolerance of Uncertainty is the inability to withstand negative uncertain situations, and predisposes people to overestimate threats and to develop psychopathological symptoms. The aim of this study was to longitudinally analyze the relationship between intolerance of COVID-19-related uncertainty and anxiety and depression symptoms. A non-probabilistic online snowball sampling method was used. For the study, 1230 Argentine adults (216 men; 1005 women; 9 other genders; mean age = 41.62; SD = 13.81) were recruited to complete three open-access surveys at three different time points: (1) between May 6 and June 1, 2020, (2) between August 8 and 13, 2020, and (3) between April 17 and 23, 2021. The results suggest that anxiety and depressive symptoms increase over time, and that intolerance of uncertainty is a predictor of this variability even up to eleven months after the initial assessment. Gender- and age- related effects were also observed (women and young people reported more psychopathological symptoms). The findings suggest the importance of intolerance of uncertainty for mental health and the importance of this type of study for understanding the psychological impact of the pandemic.
