The relationship between big five personality traits, coping strategies, and emotional problems through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Considering the impact of pandemic condition on mental health and functioning in daily life, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Big Five personality traits, coping strategies and emotional problems such as symptoms of depression and anxiety, during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to create a model of the impact of coping strategies as mediating factors in the relationship between Big Five personality traits personality traits and emotional problems. For the purposes of this study, a sample of 200 Kosovar respondents was used, where the age of the participants varies from 18 to 54 years. As a result of the pandemic situation created, the method of data collection for this study was done in the form of self-reporting, divided into physical questionnaires and online ones. The BFI Personality Inventory is used to classify Big Five personality traits, the Coping Control Checklist (WCCL) to classify coping strategies, and the Adult Self-Reporting Questionnaire (ASR) used to identify emotional problems. The analysis of the results in this study was done by means of the statistical package of SPSS and R program. After the analysis, it is seen that there is a significant correlation between Big Five personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism) and coping strategies (seeking social support and avoidance), as well as there is a correlation between Big Five personality traits (compliance and neuroticism) and emotional problems (symptoms of anxiety and depression). An association was also found between coping strategies (avoidance) and emotional problems (anxiety symptoms). As for gender differences in experiencing anxiety and depression symptoms and using desired thoughts as coping strategies, it was found that women are more predisposed to experience anxiety symptoms and use desired thoughts than men. The findings highlighted the part that coping strategies are significant mediator factors in the relationship between Big Five personality traits and emotional problems.

Assessment of burnout levels among anesthesiologists and anesthesiology technicians in Kosovo: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Anaesthesiology practitioners experience extraordinary pressure and stress in their daily work. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research is to assess the occupational factors and burnout syndrome among anaesthesiologists and anaesthesiology technicians in Kosovo. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study carried out on a sample of 154 (out of 220) anaesthesiologists and anaesthesiology technicians in Kosovo. We collected the data using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Occupational Role Stressors Scale. RESULTS: The mean ± SD age of the study sample was 42.5 ± 8.7 years, and 57% of them were working more than 40 h per week. A high level of burnout in terms of depersonalization (DP) was found among 48 of anaesthesiologists and anaesthesiology technicians, 26 had high level of emotional exhaustion (EE). EE and DP showed significant positive correlation with work overload, managerial responsibility role, and overall occupational stress (p < 0.05). Female anaesthesiologists and anaesthesiology technicians showed higher score of personal achievement (PA) compared to males (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Approximately one-third of Kosovar anaesthesiologists and anaesthesiology technicians showed high level of burnout and it is rising as work overload and the role of managerial responsibility increases. Increasing the number of employed anaesthesiologists and anaesthesiology technicians in health institutions in Kosovo will lead to a better workload distribution and lower burnout syndrome.

The Impact of Coping Skills in Post-traumatic Growth of Healthcare Providers: When Mental Health Is Deteriorating Due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Frontline healthcare providers are consistently exposed to potentially traumatic events while assisting patients with COVID-19. Post-traumatic growth (PTG) happens when a person can transform trauma and use adversity in one's advantage. In response to limited studies on positive outcomes that may occur from the pandemic; this study aimed to elucidate the positive impact of coping with COVID-19 outbreak on mental health, such as PTG. Methodology: The study comprised a sample of 691 healthcare providers 59% female, including physicians (n = 138) and nurses (n = 550), working in public health facilities in Kosovo, with an average age of 41.6 years (SD = 10.79). They were asked to complete a questionnaire with four parts: Socio-demographic, GHQ-28, COPE and PTGI. A deterioration of mental health with somatic symptoms leading to the escalation due to COVID-19 outbreak was found. Results: Female healthcare providers reported more clinical symptoms as well as higher coping skills scores than men. The domains in which positive changes were most frequently observed were Relating to Others, New Possibilities and Personal Strength. There was no significant direct effect of mental health on PTG in the mediation model, though a significant indirect effect was observed for coping skills. Conclusion: The results suggest that levels of mental health exacerbation do not play a conclusive role in determining levels of PTG, as long coping mechanisms are in place. The development and implementation of interventions to minimize COVID-19-related mental health consequences, by fostering PTG among healthcare providers could be highly beneficial in pandemic response work.

Anthropometric and Motor Competence Classifiers of Swimming Ability in Preschool Children-A Pilot Study.

Swimming is a form of physical activity and a life-saving skill. However, only a few studies have identified swimming ability classifiers in preschool children. This pilot cross-sectional study aimed to find anthropometric (AM) and motor competence (MC) predictors of swimming ability in preschool children, by building classifiers of swimming ability group (SAG) membership. We recruited 92 children (girls n = 45) aged 5-6 years and took the AM and MC measurements in accordance with the reference manual and using the KTK battery test (motor quotient, MQ), respectively. A linear discriminant analysis tested a classification model of preschoolers' swimming ability (SAG: POOR, GOOD, EXCELLENT) based on gender, age, AM, and MC variables and extracted one significant canonical discriminant function (model fit: 61.2%) that can differentiate (group centroids) POOR (-1.507), GOOD (0.032), and EXCELLENT (1.524). The MQ total was identified as a significant classifier, which absolutely contributed to the discriminant function that classifies children's swimming ability as POOR (standardized canonical coefficient: 1.186), GOOD (1.363), or EXCELLENT (1.535) with an accuracy of 64.1%. Children with higher MQ total ought to be classified into higher SAG; thus, the classification model of SAG based on the MQ total is presented.