Mental Health during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Optimism and Emotional Regulation.

In light of different challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, university students are considered a particularly vulnerable population to mental health and study engagement issues. The first years at university represent a crucial period for students and are associated with an increase in mental health problems, particularly in healthcare studies. This study aimed (1) to document the current levels of mental health and study engagement among healthcare students in Tunisia, and (2) to investigate the relationships between emotional regulation, optimism, study engagement and common mental health problems (stress, anxiety and depression) among this population. A cross-sectional, electronic survey-based research design was used to draw a sample of 366 health care students from a University in Tunisia. Participants mostly reported mild (34.7%) or moderate (44.3%) levels of depression, moderate (44.7%) or severe (33.6%) levels of anxiety, average (50.8%) or mild (33.8%) levels of stress, and high levels of study engagement (>85%). Through structural equation modelling, the results showed that emotional regulation negatively affected stress, anxiety, and depression. Optimism partially mediated the relationship between emotional regulation, anxiety and depression and fully mediated the relationship between emotional regulation and study engagement. The findings indicated a high prevalence of psychological distress among healthcare university students in Tunisia, and specific protective factors that may be targeted to reduce mental health problems.

Social Study Resources and Social Wellbeing Before and During the Intelligent COVID-19 Lockdown in The Netherlands.

The first intelligent COVID-19 lockdown resulted in radical changes within the tertiary educational system within the Netherlands. These changes posed new challenges for university students and many social welfare agencies have warned that it could have adverse effects on the social wellbeing (SWB) of university students. Students may lack the necessary social study-related resources (peer- and lecturer support) (SSR) necessary to aid them in coping with the new demands that the lockdown may bring. As such, the present study aimed to investigate the trajectory patterns, rate of change and longitudinal associations between SSR and SWB of 175 Dutch students before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. A piecewise latent growth modelling approach was employed to sample students' experiences over three months. Participants to complete a battery of psychometric assessments for five weeks before the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented, followed by two directly after and a month follow-up. The results were paradoxical and contradicting to initial expectations. Where SSR showed a linear rate of decline before- and significant growth trajectory during the lockdown, SWB remained moderate and stable. Further, initial levels and growth trajectories between SSR and SWB were only associated before the lockdown.

PERMA+4: A Framework for Work-Related Wellbeing, Performance and Positive Organizational Psychology 2.0.

A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments (PERMA) may be a robust framework for the measurement, management and development of wellbeing. While the original PERMA framework made great headway in the past decade, its empirical and theoretical limitations were recently identified and critiqued. In response, Seligman clarified the value of PERMA as a framework for and not a theory of wellbeing and called for further research to expand the construct. To expand the framework into organizational contexts, recent meta-analyses and systematic literature reviews showed that physical health, mindset, physical work environments and economic security could be seen as essential contextually relevant building blocks for work-related wellbeing and are therefore prime candidates to expand the PERMA framework for use within organizational contexts. Through expanding the original PERMA framework with these four factors, a new holistic approach to work-related wellbeing and work performance was born: the PERMA+4. As such, the purpose of this brief perspective paper is to provide a conceptual overview of PERMA+4 as holistic framework for work-related wellbeing and work performance which extends beyond the predominant componential thinking of the discipline. Specifically, we aim to do so by providing: (1) a brief historical overview of the development of PERMA as a theory for wellbeing, (2) a conceptual overview of PERMA+4 as a holistic framework for work-related wellbeing and work performance, (3) empirical evidence supporting the usefulness of PERMA+4, and (4) charting a course for the second wave of positive organizational psychological research.

The Concept and Components of Engagement in Different Domains Applied to eHealth: A Systematic Scoping Review.

Within the context of eHealth interventions, a shared understanding of what constitutes engagement in and with eHealth technologies is missing. A clearer understanding of engagement could provide a valuable starting point for guidelines relating to the design and development of eHealth technologies. Given the cross-disciplinary use of the term "engagement," investigating how engagement (and its components) is conceptualized in different domains could lead to determining common components that are deemed important for eHealth technological design. As such, the aim of this paper was 3-fold: (a) to investigate in which domains engagement features, (b) to determine what constitutes engagement in these different domains, and (c) to determine whether there are any common components that seem to be important. A comprehensive systematic scoping review of the existing literature was conducted in order to identify the domains in which engagement is used, to extract the associated definitions of engagement, and to identify the dimensionality or components thereof. A search of five bibliographic databases yielded 1,231 unique records. All titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. This led to 69 articles being included for further analyses. The results showed that engagement is used in seven functional domains, categorized as follows: student (n = 18), customer (n = 12), health (n = 11), society (n = 10), work (n = 9), digital (n = 8), and transdisciplinary (n = 1) domains. It seems that some domains are more mature regarding their conceptualization and theorizing on engagement than others. Further, engagement was found to be predominantly conceptualized as a multidimensional construct with three common components (behavior, cognition, and affective) shared between domains. Although engagement is prolifically used in different disciplines, it is evident that little shared consensus as to its conceptualization within and between domains exists. Despite this, engagement is foremost seen as a state of being engaged in/with something, which is part of, but should not be confused with, the process of engagement. Behavior, cognition, and affect are important components of engagement and should be specified for each new context.

Effectiveness of an online positive psychology intervention among Tunisian healthcare students on mental health and study engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Research indicates that university students present higher levels of psychological distress compared with non-student age-matched youth. These levels are higher among healthcare students, and even higher during the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, cost-effective large-scale interventions are needed in order to prevent further development of psychological distress during this period, and more generally. The aim of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of an 8-week Internet-based positive psychology intervention for healthcare students in Tunisia. A two-armed randomized controlled trial was conducted among a sample of 366 health care students (183 in the experimental group and 183 in the control group), with a majority of women (94%). The average age was 20.74 years (±1.64). The participants completed the following online questionnaires at three time-points (before the program, immediately after, and three months later): stress, anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, optimism, hope, study engagement, and well-being. Repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed significant positive effects of the intervention on all the measured variables for the experimental group. The results showed a significant improvement immediately after the intervention compared to the control group, which was maintained three months later. This program may thus be considered as a promising means of improving students' mental health and study engagement.