Grandiose narcissism, unfounded beliefs, and behavioral reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A theoretical perspective on grandiose narcissism suggests four forms of it (sanctity, admiration, heroism, rivalry) and states that these forms conduce to different ways of thinking and acting. Guided by this perspective, we examined in a multinational and multicultural study (61 countries; N = 15,039) how narcissism forms are linked to cognitions and behaviors prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As expected, differences in cognitions and behaviors across narcissism forms emerged. For example, higher narcissistic rivalry predicted lower likelihood of enactment of COVID-19 prevention behaviors, but higher narcissistic sanctity predicted higher likelihood of enactment of COVID-19 prevention behaviors. Further, whereas the heroism, admiration, and rivalry narcissism forms acted in a typically antisocial manner, with high narcissism predicting greater endorsement of unfounded health beliefs, the sanctity form acted in a prosocial manner, with higher narcissism being linked to lower endorsement of unfounded COVID-19 health beliefs. Thus, the findings (a) support the idea of four narcissism forms acting differently, and (b) show that these differences reflect a double-edged sword, sometimes linking to an anti-social orientation, and sometimes linking to a pro-social orientation.

The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: Cross-national measurement invariance and convergent validity evidence.

Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a widely used measure that captures somatic symptoms of coronavirus-related anxiety. In a large-scale collaboration spanning 60 countries (Ntotal = 21,513), we examined the CAS's measurement invariance and assessed the convergent validity of CAS scores in relation to the fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) and the satisfaction with life (SWLS-3) scales. We utilized both conventional exact invariance tests and alignment procedures, with results revealing that the single-factor model fit the data well in almost all countries. Partial scalar invariance was supported in a subset of 56 countries. To ensure the robustness of results, given the unbalanced samples, we employed resampling techniques both with and without replacement and found the results were more stable in larger samples. The alignment procedure demonstrated a high degree of measurement invariance with 9% of the parameters exhibiting noninvariance. We also conducted simulations of alignment using the parameters estimated in the current model. Findings demonstrated reliability of the means but indicated challenges in estimating the latent variances. Strong positive correlations between CAS and FCV-19S estimated with all three different approaches were found in most countries. Correlations of CAS and SWLS-3 were weak and negative but significantly differed from zero in several countries. Overall, the study provided support for the measurement invariance of the CAS and offered evidence of its convergent validity while also highlighting issues with variance estimation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A comparative analysis of colour-emotion associations in 16-88-year-old adults from 31 countries.

As people age, they tend to spend more time indoors, and the colours in their surroundings may significantly impact their mood and overall well-being. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence to provide informed guidance on colour choices, irrespective of age group. To work towards informed choices, we investigated whether the associations between colours and emotions observed in younger individuals also apply to older adults. We recruited 7393 participants, aged between 16 and 88 years and coming from 31 countries. Each participant associated 12 colour terms with 20 emotion concepts and rated the intensity of each associated emotion. Different age groups exhibited highly similar patterns of colour-emotion associations (average similarity coefficient of .97), with subtle yet meaningful age-related differences. Adolescents associated the greatest number but the least positively biased emotions with colours. Older participants associated a smaller number but more intense and more positive emotions with all colour terms, displaying a positivity effect. Age also predicted arousal and power biases, varying by colour. Findings suggest parallels in colour-emotion associations between younger and older adults, with subtle but significant age-related variations. Future studies should next assess whether colour-emotion associations reflect what people actually feel when exposed to colour.

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age.

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research.

Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behaviour change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public health behaviour, we present a dataset comprising of 51,404 individuals from 69 countries. This dataset was collected for the International Collaboration on Social & Moral Psychology of COVID-19 project (ICSMP COVID-19). This social science survey invited participants around the world to complete a series of moral and psychological measures and public health attitudes about COVID-19 during an early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (between April and June 2020). The survey included seven broad categories of questions: COVID-19 beliefs and compliance behaviours; identity and social attitudes; ideology; health and well-being; moral beliefs and motivation; personality traits; and demographic variables. We report both raw and cleaned data, along with all survey materials, data visualisations, and psychometric evaluations of key variables.

Measurement and community antecedents of positive mental health among the survivors of typhoons Vamco and Goni during the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines.

The present study examined the measurement and antecedents of positive mental health in people who concurrently experienced two disasters of different nature (i.e., typhoons and COVID-19 crisis), focusing on the survivors of typhoons Vamco and Goni that hit the Philippines in November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, we investigated the psychometric properties of Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF), a well-validated measure of positive mental health dimensions (i.e., emotional, social, and psychological well-being) by: 1) comparing the structural validity of three measurement models including a single-factor, bifactor, and three-factor solutions of positive mental health; 2) looking into the criterion validity through correlating the MHC-SF subscales with relevant measures; and 3) calculating for item reliability. Second, we examined the mediating role of social responsibility in the positive influence of community resilience on the three dimensions of positive mental health. Using 447 participants, with ages ranging from 18 to 70 years old, confirmatory factor analysis showed that compared to the single-factor and the bifactor models, the intercorrelated three-factor model of MHC-SF has the best model fit and most stable factor loadings. MHC-SF subscales correlated with relevant measures indicating criterion validity and yielded excellent internal consistency for all subscales. Additionally, results showed that social responsibility mediated the positive impact of community resilience on emotional, social, and psychological well-being of Filipinos in times of great adversities. The findings were discussed within the context of extreme weather events and the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines, highlighting implications on disaster preparedness and mental health policies at the community level.

The plight and promise of mental health providers in the face of a warming planet: perspectives and experiences from the Philippines.

A growing body of research shows the inimical impact of climate change on people's mental health. However, attention to mental health providers at the frontlines is rather sparse, especially in climate-vulnerable countries. This commentary aims to present the perspectives and experiences of mental health providers within the context of climate change in the Philippines. Specifically, this paper explicates the challenges faced by mental health providers in trying to address the increasing climate-related distress experienced by many Filipinos and the recent progress in promoting climate change and mental health nexus in the country. The recommendations offered in this commentary will hopefully provide the basis for a more comprehensive mental health framework that incorporates climate change and supports mental health providers in their pursuit to preserve Filipino mental health on a warming planet.

Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning.

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution-individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic.

An integrative review of negative emotions of older adults in later life.

BACKGROUND: Older adults are one of the most vulnerable populations requiring scientific, psychological, and clinical attention. Although several studies have explored psychoemotional needs in later life, one critical gap in the literature is a shortage of studies comprehensively reviewing negative emotional experiences and their antecedents associated with later life. AIM: This integrative review aims to identify negative emotional experiences during older adult years. METHODS: This review of articles from Medline, CINAHL, Science Direct, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Taylor and Francis synthesized negative emotional experiences during older adult years. Across these six electronic databases, we searched and identified 17 relevant articles from 2005 to 2020 containing quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies. RESULTS: Based on the review, we identified five negative emotions (sadness, anxiety, frustration, anger, and loneliness). These negative emotions were rooted in marital problems, separation from families, medical problems, physical functioning and disability, and financial limitations. Additionally, we identified common antecedents of negative emotions. CONCLUSION: At the center of numerous interventions, older adults are reinvigorated to understand the antecedents of negative emotions. The complex array of emotions, specifically regrets and frustration in later life, is depicted by more negativity than positivity. Such array of emotions could help develop strategies to prevent the causes of regret and frustration that nurses see when working with older adults in a clinical practice setting.

Self-compassion promotes mental help-seeking in older, not in younger, counselors.

While self-compassion and mental help-seeking are two important aspects emphasized in mental health literature and counseling practice, very little research has focused on how these two are associated particularly among counseling professionals-individuals providing mental health support to others but whose mental health are often overlooked. This cross-sectional study investigated a moderated mediation model examining the role of age and attitudes in the positive influence of self-compassion on mental help-seeking intention. Using a paper-and-pencil survey, data were collected from a total of 158 Filipino counseling professionals. Results revealed that mental help-seeking attitudes significantly and partially mediated the positive association between self-compassion and mental help-seeking intention. Additionally, age significantly moderated the positive relationship between self-compassion and mental help-seeking attitudes. The significant positive influence of self-compassion on mental help-seeking attitudes was strong among older participants, weak among middle-age, and diminished among younger participants. The findings provided insights on the importance of a self-compassion-based approach to counselor training. The implications of preserving counselors' mental health in counseling practice were discussed.

Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample.

The study of moral judgements often centres on moral dilemmas in which options consistent with deontological perspectives (that is, emphasizing rules, individual rights and duties) are in conflict with options consistent with utilitarian judgements (that is, following the greater good based on consequences). Greene et al. (2009) showed that psychological and situational factors (for example, the intent of the agent or the presence of physical contact between the agent and the victim) can play an important role in moral dilemma judgements (for example, the trolley problem). Our knowledge is limited concerning both the universality of these effects outside the United States and the impact of culture on the situational and psychological factors affecting moral judgements. Thus, we empirically tested the universality of the effects of intent and personal force on moral dilemma judgements by replicating the experiments of Greene et al. in 45 countries from all inhabited continents. We found that personal force and its interaction with intention exert influence on moral judgements in the US and Western cultural clusters, replicating and expanding the original findings. Moreover, the personal force effect was present in all cultural clusters, suggesting it is culturally universal. The evidence for the cultural universality of the interaction effect was inconclusive in the Eastern and Southern cultural clusters (depending on exclusion criteria). We found no strong association between collectivism/individualism and moral dilemma judgements.