Relations Between Guardians and Domestic Animals During the Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate how relationships between guardians and domestic animals were established and their possible effects during the COVID-19 pandemic period in Brazil. METHODS: Data were collected by completing an online questionnaire. Throughout the national territory, 2002 people completed the questionnaire, while respecting social distancing from January 20, 2021, to March 20, 2021. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were 'to own pets' or 'those who had them during the period of quarantine' in Brazil. The data obtained were treated qualitatively through discourse analysis and content analysis, while the quantitative data were tabulated by the questionnaire application platform itself. RESULTS: The results showed that 97% of the participants were affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil and that of these, 95.5% stated that their pet was important to overcome and bear bad feelings during the period of social isolation. It was possible to observe through the participants' reports through the online questionnaire that the relationships with their pets were deepened during the pandemic period, and that these had an important role in overcoming bad emotions caused by social distancing. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that due to these relationships, behaviors such as anxiety and sadness were reduced and the pets themselves also showed an increase in affective behaviors in relation to their guardians.

A Mediating Model of Emotional Balance and Procrastination on Academic Performance.

Deficit in the management of time continues to be an important difficulty students are faced with. The present work aimed to test the hypothesis that self-regulation is the major predictor of academic performance and that this effect can be mediated both by the student's emotional regulation and his propensity for procrastination. Participants were 450 university students who were administered MPP and AIP. The procedures involved the administration of instruments and the collection of average exam grades as a measure of academic performance. The effect of a specific component of self-regulation on academic performance, namely action orientation, was significant, while procrastination showed a limiting effect on the performative quality of the student. The model confirmed the mediation role of emotional balance on the effect that action orientation exerts on procrastination, and the mediation of procrastination in the relationship between action orientation and Academic Performance. Results of the study suggest focusing on student support and on prevention of procrastinating behavior through programs that enhance first of all student's proactive attitude, planning skills, self-monitoring and effective/efficient time management, and secondly, emotional awareness and regulation of emotional response in situations of stress and performance anxiety.

Increased COVID-19 Lockdown Burden in Italian Adults with Gastrointestinal Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes not only severe illness but also detrimental effects associated with the lockdown measures. The present study aimed to evaluate reported lifestyle changes in a cohort of adults in Italy, including physical exercise, food choices, and psychological wellbeing, after two months of lockdown. METHODS: A web survey on social media (Facebook and LinkedIn) of 32 multiple-choice questions aiming to evaluate the impact of the national COVID-19 lockdown in a sample of Italian adults. RESULTS: We received 1378 complete responses (women 68.3%, mean age 39.5 ± 12.5 years). The percentage of participants reporting regular exercise decreased during lockdown (52 vs. 56.5%). The vast majority of people continued to consume the three traditional meals per day, but the consumption of meat, fish, and eggs significantly decreased. Women reported more frequent anxiety, sadness, fear, and feelings of insecurity than men. The factors predicting the worst outcome during the lockdown were being a woman, low education and income, gastrointestinal diseases. CONCLUSION: The lockdown has had a limited impact on food choices and physical exercise in Italian adults of our series, since most of them made an effort to improve their lifestyle. However, women with gastrointestinal diseases reported more frequent negative feelings and poor adaptation to the lockdown.

Balance in Positive Emotional Expressivity Across School Contexts Relates to Kindergarteners' Adjustment.

Positive emotional expressivity has been associated with increased social competence and decreased maladjustment in childhood. However, a few researchers have found null or even positive associations between positive emotional expressivity and maladjustment, which suggests that there may be nuanced associations of positive expressivity, perhaps as a function of the social context in which it is expressed. We examined whether observed positive emotional expressivity balance across peer-oriented/recreational and learning contexts predicted kindergarten children's adjustment (N = 301). RESEARCH FINDINGS: Higher positive expressivity during lunch/recess compared to positive expressivity in the classroom was associated with lower teacher-student conflict, externalizing behaviors, and depressive symptoms. In addition, overall positive emotional expressivity predicted lower externalizing behaviors as well as lower depressive and anxiety symptoms. PRACTICE OR POLICY: The results suggest the importance of assessing observed positive emotional expressivity in context as a potential indicator of children's maladjustment risk and the need for children to adapt their emotions to different contexts. Implications for assessing and supporting positive emotional expression balance and training emotional regulation in school are discussed.

Os impactos da balança emocional, otimismo e percepções de suportes sobre bem-estar no trabalho de agentes comunitários de saúde

Nas décadas de 60 e 70, os olhares de muitos estudiosos se voltaram para os aspectos positivos da vida. Diversos autores ofereceram sustentação para fortalecer uma nova perspectiva de campo científico, a Psicologia Positiva. Tendo como base teórica o conhecimento de Psicologia Positiva e Psicologia da Saúde, pesquisas estão sendo desenvolvidas para investigar simultaneamente variáveis oriundas destes domínios. Um dos temas colocado sob analise são as emoções, investigadas em diferentes contextos e no ambiente organizacional. Importante salientar a existência de outras variáveis no contexto organizacional que têm sido investigadas à luz da Psicologia Positiva, tais como otimismo, percepções de suporte social no trabalho e percepções de suporte organizacional, algumas delas reunidas para compor modelos preditivos de bem-estar no trabalho (BET), construto multidimensional composto por dois vínculos afetivos positivos com o trabalho (satisfação no trabalho e envolvimento com o trabalho) e um com a organização (comprometimento organizacional afetivo). ... (AU)