Multicultural personality traits of Chinese university students and their effects on the psychological adjustment in the aftermath of COVID-19 in Shanghai: a scale validation.

Objective: This study aims to explore Chinese university students' multicultural personalities and examine how they predict the psychological adjustment of students in Shanghai. In addition, the validation of Multicultural Personality Questionnaire Short Form (MPQ-SF) scale developed to assess the multicultural personality traits of individuals is also aimed in Chinese context. Data were collected after the psychological stresses from restrictions imposed by COVID-19 in China that influenced life adjustments for nearly three years. Method: A total of 1,099 university students participated in this multi-stage study. First, the Chinese version of MPQ-SF (MPQ-SF-C) was developed and validated. The impact of MPQ-SF-C dimensions was then tested through path analysis to establish the effects of Chinese university students' multicultural personality traits on their psychological adjustment using the Schwartz Outcome Scale (SOS-10). Results: The MPQ-SF-C yielded a five-factor solution which accounted for 60.14% of the common variance. The findings indicated that cultural empathy (ß = 0.23, p < 0.05), certainty seeking (ß = 0.13, p < 0.05), open-mindedness (ß = 0.48, p < 0.05), and emotional stability (ß = 0.24, p < 0.05) had significant influences on adjustment. Only flexibility was found to have a statistically insignificant impact on adjustment at this time in this context. MPQ-SF-C and SOS-10 scales represented very good psychometric properties in terms of their reliability and validity. Conclusion: The MPQ-SF-C shows good psychometric properties and appropriateness for evaluating multicultural personalities in Chinese contexts. The multicultural personality characteristics of university students using this scale well predicted their psychological adjustment.

The assessment and validation of the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) among frontline doctors in Pakistan during fifth wave of COVID-19.

Objective: The study aims to document sociodemographic features, address the symptoms and levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among frontline doctors in Pakistan, and validate the depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS-21) on the context of Pakistan. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted throughout the regions of Pakistan on frontline doctors to document their sociodemographic patterns and the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress while dealing with the fifth wave (Omicron-variant) of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Pakistan (December 2021-April 2022). Respondents (N = 319) were recruited through a snowball sampling process. Results: Though previous literature reported declines in psychological symptoms after earlier waves of COVID-19, these DASS-21 findings show that as the pandemic has worn on, frontline doctors in Pakistan are having considerable personal symptoms of depression (72.7%), anxiety (70.2%), and stress (58.3%). Though specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic, they rated only moderate levels of depression and stress, however they reported severe levels of anxiety. The results also revealed a positive correlation between depression and anxiety (r = 0.696, p < 0.001), depression and stress (r = 0.761, p < 0.001), and anxiety and stress (r = 0.720, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Through the application of all required statistical procedures, DASS-21 is validated in the cultural context of Pakistan among this group of frontline doctors. The findings of this study can provide new directions for the policy makers (government and hospitals' administration) of Pakistan to focus on the mental wellbeing of the doctors under similar enduring public health crises and to protect them from short- or long-term disorders.

The impact of empathy, sensation seeking, anxiety, uncertainty, and mindfulness on the intercultural communication in China during the COVID-19.

Objective: This study seeks to explore factors that have shaped the intercultural communication effectiveness (ICE) of international students (IS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretical predictions of anxiety uncertainty management (AUM) are considered to assess the ICE of IS who stayed in China throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The prime causal factors of AUM theory (anxiety, uncertainty, and mindfulness) are included with empathy and sensation, seeking to examine their impact on ICE among IS in China. Methods: A quantitative research design was designed to survey IS via convenience samples from across China with a total of 261 IS from 42 different cultural backgrounds responding to invitations to participate in a Chinese-English survey. Well-established measurement tools were adopted to measure empathy (Cultural Empathy scale), sensation seeking (Brief Sensation Seeking Scale), anxiety (Intercultural Anxiety scale), uncertainty (Intercultural Uncertainty scale), mindfulness (Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised), and ICE (Perceived Effectiveness of Communication scale). Findings: The findings revealed that anxiety (t = -3.61, p < 0.05) and uncertainty (t = -2.51, p < 0.05) had a negative impact on ICE. However, mindfulness (t = 3.93, p < 0.05), empathy (t = 3.60, p < 0.05), and sensation seeking (t = 7.93, p < 0.05) had a positive influence on ICE. Furthermore, the moderating effect of mindfulness is affirmed in this study. Conclusion: This study has reconfirmed the theoretical reasonings and applicability of AUM theory with the addition of empathy and sensation seeking by IS in the cultural context of China during the COVID-19 pandemic.