Mental Health Inequalities During COVID-19 Outbreak: The Role of Financial Insecurity and Attentional Control
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns negatively impacted the mental health of populations. This impact is not equally distributed and increases existing mental health inequalities. Indeed, government restrictions and the economic consequences of the pandemic affect more the less educated and less wealthy people. However, psychological processes implicated in this increase of mental health inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unexplored. The present study (N=591) tested the role of financial insecurity and attentional control in the relation between socioeconomic status and mental health, along with th...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - November 12, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Do Gender and Age Moderate the Relationship between Friendship Quality and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Community Children and Adolescents?
This study highlights the important association between friendship quality and NSSI, as well as gender- and age-related differences in this association, which should be taken into account in the prevention and treatment of NSSI. Published on 2021-11-11 08:09:59 (Source: Psychologica Belgica)
Source: Psychologica Belgica - November 11, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Valuing Happiness is Not a Good Way of Pursuing Happiness, but Prioritizing Positivity is: A Replication Study
Numerous studies confirm the merits of positive psychology. However, an emerging literature brings nuances, with one particular question concerning the impact of pursuing happiness: is this always positive? Some data suggest that an excessive level of valuing happiness may partly diminish the happiness felt, but that prioritizing positivity may increase subjective well-being. The aim of the present study was to replicate these findings. Participants (N = 683, 75% female) completed the prioritizing positivity scale (PPS) and the valuing happiness scale (VHS), as well as four well-being scales: the subjective happiness scale...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - November 10, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Marc Richelle (1930 –2021) and the Study of Temporal Regulation of Behaviour in Animals
This article discusses the contribution of Marc Richelle to the study of temporal regulation of behaviour in animals. Richelle was a pioneer of behavioural pharmacology in Europe in the 1960s, and some of his early pharmacological experiments, particular those involving chlordiazepoxide, are discussed. Richelle frequently tested drug effects on performance on fixed-interval (FI) and differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) schedules. Much of his later work, conducted with Helga Lejeune, involved cross-species comparisons of performance on FI and DRL, and often focused on potential differences between “timing competen...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - October 26, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Letter From the Editor
Published on 2021-09-28 11:55:42 (Source: Psychologica Belgica)
Source: Psychologica Belgica - September 28, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Influence of the Belgian Coast on Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic
There is increasing evidence that blue spaces, particularly coastal environments, are beneficial for well-being. During the first-wave lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, access to the coast was restricted due to restraint in circulation. Making use of this unique opportunity, this study investigated whether access and visits to the coast were positively associated with well-being by using a quasi-experimental design. The emotions of awe and nostalgia were studied as potential mediators between coastal visits and well-being. A total of 687 Flemish adults took part in an online survey that was launched end of Apri...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - September 20, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Memory, Future Thinking, and the Self. In Honour of Martial Van Der Linden
Over the past 20 years, much progress has been made in understanding the relations between memory and future thinking, and their role in shaping our sense of self and identity. My own interest in these research questions owes much to Martial Van der Linden, with whom I had the chance to interact closely for several years. The purpose of this article is to pay tribute to him by reviewing the work we initiated together on autobiographical memory and future-oriented thinking. I first review our early work on the relationship between memory and future thinking and discuss their role in self-representation. Then, I provide an o...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - September 15, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
When, why, and how do People Deviate from Physical Distancing Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study
Conclusions: Need for social contact pushed people to deviate from physical distancing measures in a deliberate manner. Potential areas for future interventions aimed at promoting adherence to physical distancing measures and enhancing psychosocial well-being are discussed. Published on 2021-09-02 11:10:27 (Source: Psychologica Belgica)
Source: Psychologica Belgica - September 2, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Body Image: Integrating Positive Body Image, Embodiment and Self-Compassion
Body image (BI) disturbance is a relevant factor in the etiology and treatment of eating disorders (ED). Although progress has been made in recent decades in understanding BI and its relationship with ED, the efficacy of BI disturbance prevention and intervention programs is still limited. In order to reach deeper understanding of BI disturbance and clarify the interactions between some protective and risk factors related to this construct, we carried out a literature review on some specific BI-related factors that so far have been analyzed independently. We specifically examined positive and negative BI; embodiment and it...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - July 28, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Metadehumanization and Self-dehumanization are Linked to Reduced Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy and Increased Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Patients with Severe Alcohol Use Disorder
This study aims to investigate if metadehumanization occurring among patients with SAUD is associated with clinical factors involved in the maintenance of the disease, namely symptoms of depression or anxiety and drinking refusal self-efficacy. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 patients with SAUD. Self-reported questionnaires measured metadehumanization, self-dehumanization (i.e., the feeling of being less than a human), anxiety, depression, drinking refusal self-efficacy, and demographics. Metadehumanization was significantly associated with self-dehumanization, anxiety, depression, and drinking refusal self...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - July 26, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Dealing with a Crisis: Does Covid-19 Promote Traditional Gender Roles?
The Covid-19 crisis has many characteristics susceptible to emphasize gendered prescriptions. In the present research, we argue that the Covid-19 crisis should promote citizenship behaviors (CB) consistent with gender stereotypes. Two preregistered experiments were conducted during lockdown in France (Study 1) and United Kingdom (Study 2). We manipulated the salience of the Covid-19 crisis using a fake newspaper article and showed that women were more likely than men to engage in CB of altruism and sacrifice. Meta-analysis results of the two studies confirmed that these gender differences were larger when the Covid-19 cr...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - July 23, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Anxiety, Compassion and Pride. How Emotions Elicited by the Government ’s Handling of Covid-19 Influences Health- Promoting Behavior
This article explores how emotions connected to the Government ’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak in Sweden relates to behaviors to stop the spread of the virus, and which emotions functions as mediators in this relationship. The Swedish approach to handling the outbreak greatly differed from how many other Western European countries handled the situation a nd thus makes an important case to study. In a large representative survey (N = 2449), we found that satisfaction with how the Government handled the situation was related to more positive and less negative emotions. Anxiety, compassion and pride mediated the effect...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - July 23, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) over the Intraparietal Sulcus Does Not Influence Working Memory Performance
Mixed results of the impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on working memory have been reported. Contrarily to previous studies who focused mainly on stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, we modulated the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) area which is considered to support attentional control aspects of working memory. Using a within-participant experimental design, participants completed three different conditions: anodal stimulation of the IPS, cathodal stimulation of the IPS, and sham stimulation of the IPS. Both visual and verbal working memory tasks were administered. In the visual task, pa...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - July 9, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Parents ’ Perceived Impact of the Societal Lockdown of COVID-19 on Family Well-Being and on the Emotional and Behavioral State of Walloon Belgian Children Aged 4 to 13 Years: An Exploratory Study
This exploratory study assessed parents ’ perceptions of the emotional and behavioral impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on their children. The total sample included 749 children, aged 4 to 13 years old (353 girls, 396 boys); 524 parents took part. The emotional and behavioral changes observed during the societal lockdown, family coexiste nce, the impact of COVID-19 on family well-being, and the frequency of social contacts before and during this lockdown were investigated. Results show that the most frequently reported difficulties were worry, agitation, anxiety, sadness, loneliness, nervousness, arguing, anger, frustrati...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - June 29, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
The Short-Term Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Psychiatric Patients: Evidence for Differential Emotion and Symptom Trajectories in Belgium
The spread of COVID-19 and the implementation of various containment strategies across the world have seriously disrupted people ’s everyday life, and it is especially uncertain what the psychological impact of this pandemic will be for vulnerable individuals, such as psychiatric (ex-)patients. Governments fear that this virus outbreak may prelude a major mental health crisis, and psychiatrists launch critical calls to flat ten an upcoming mental ill-health surge. Here, we aim to add nuance to the idea that we are heading towards a mental health pandemic and that psychiatric populations will unavoidably (re)develop psych...
Source: Psychologica Belgica - June 21, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
