The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s life since its outbreak, with the lockdown having a negative reputation on mental health. This study examined mental health levels of undergraduate...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s life since its outbreak, with the lockdown having a negative reputation on mental health. This study examined mental health levels of undergraduate students during and one year after the lockdown, with the expectation that they would experience more mental health problems. Mood and anxiety problems were assessed through an online questionnaire in two collection waves. The first wave was conducted between September and October 2020, after the first lockdown. The participants were reassessed one year later. The sample consisted of N = 478 undergraduates (mean age = 22,3; 55,6% female). A binary logistic regression revealed that during the lockdown, half of the students (50,8%) reported that the COVID-19 crisis had impacted their mood in a negative way. One year after the lockdown fewer students reported that the COVID-19 crisis had negatively impacted their mood (41,3%), F (1, 205) = 17.91, p < .001. Less than half of the students (38,9%) reported that the COVID-19 crisis had impacted their anxiety levels. One year after the lockdown 25,6% reported that the coronavirus had negatively impacted their anxiety levels, F (1, 206) = 7.49, p = .007. Previous mental health problems were associated with mood and anxiety problems in both waves. In contrast to preregistered hypotheses, experiencing mood and anxiety problems during the COVID-19 lockdown did not predict having more mood and anxiety problems one year after the COVID-19 lockdown. Undergraduate students were found to be largely resilient to the effects of lockdown measures on mental health.Show less
Worldwide, an increase in cases and severity of domestic violence (DV) has been reported as a result of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. As one’s language can provide inferences...Show moreWorldwide, an increase in cases and severity of domestic violence (DV) has been reported as a result of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. As one’s language can provide inferences about one’s mental health, this study analyzed word use in a DV online support group, aiming to investigate the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the mental health of DV victims. As social support and leisure activities might mitigate the consequences of DV on one’s mental health, their role as protective factors was examined. 5856 posts were collected from a DV support group and from two comparison groups on the social media platform Reddit. Confirmatory analysis was conducted following a registered pre-analysis plan. The results show that DV victims used significantly more linguistic indicators of depression than individuals in the comparison groups. However, linguistic indicators of depression did not increase significantly with the onset of COVID-19. Negative emotion words showed a weak negative correlation with words referring to social support (rho = - .110) and leisure activities (rho = -.137). Similarly, pre-occupation with COVID-19 was associated with using more negative emotion words (rho = .148). Exploratory analysis revealed that mid-pandemic, daily posting frequency in the DV support group was 22% higher than pre-pandemic. It is concluded that DV victims show more linguistic indicators of depression than comparison groups and that these characteristics are stable over time. Further, one’s concern with COVID-19 could contribute to negative emotions, whereas social support and leisure activities could function to some degree as protective factors for victims of DVShow less
The COVID-19 pandemic has created another pandemic: one of domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV). Multiple sources have indicated that there is a relationship between the use...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic has created another pandemic: one of domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV). Multiple sources have indicated that there is a relationship between the use of certain words and depressive symptoms, for instance the self-awareness theory of depression states that depressed people use more words referring to the self. This study aimed to see if there was a relationship between exposure to DV and depressive symptoms, indicated by word use and to examine the influence of COVID-19 on the use of these words that indicate depressive symptoms. In total 4671 texts from three different subreddits were analysed: one on DV and two control non-DV groups. The outcome variables were: first-person singular pronouns, negation words, negative emotion words, anxiety-related words. Results indicated that victims of DV used more first-person singular words, words related to negative emotions and anxiety-related words and fewer negation words, relative to the control group. The general effect of subreddit on word use was a value of Pillai’s trace of .662. No effect of time or interactions between subreddits and time were found on the use of the word categories. There is potential in the use of textual analysis to detect depressive symptoms and possibly also victimisation of DV.Show less
Victims of domestic violence have a threefold risk for developing depression and are likelier to commit suicide than non-victims. As the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the incidence of domestic...Show moreVictims of domestic violence have a threefold risk for developing depression and are likelier to commit suicide than non-victims. As the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the incidence of domestic violence and mental health problems, social media site Reddit was used to detect changes in depression and suicidality in victims word use (using more first-person singular pronouns, negative emotion words, death-related words and less positive emotion words). The present study aims to see whether the word use suggesting depression or suicidality has increased in the victims (r/domesticviolence) versus non-victims (r/changemyview) from pre-COVID19 to during COVID-19. 1669 and 2358 posts for the r/domesticviolence and r/changemyview respectively were analyzed using LIWC2015. The main effect of subreddit showed that victims used more first-person singular pronouns (Eta squared η²=.668) and negative emotion words (Eta squared η²=.167), both having a large effect. The control group used more positive emotion words and death-related words. Main effect of year showed an increase in the use of first-person singular pronouns in both victims and non-victims. There was no interaction effect between the year and the subreddits. These results indicate that COVID-19 didn’t contribute to the differences in depressive or suicidal word use between the two subreddits. However, COVID-19 had an effect in general for the increases in self-focus. Finally, overall the victims showed more word use related to depression or suicidality. Some limitations and future directions were considered in the end.Show less
Domestic violence is a highly prevalent form of violation of human rights. Victims often exhibit trauma symptoms and/or suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Identifying individuals at...Show moreDomestic violence is a highly prevalent form of violation of human rights. Victims often exhibit trauma symptoms and/or suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Identifying individuals at risk for PTSD can sometimes be difficult, yet it is the key in ensuring prevention of later treatment. The solution might be recognition of early trauma-specific symptoms that are predictors of PTSD and can be detectable through spontaneous narratives. Under extreme stressors individuals experience even more distress, which can amplify pre existing trauma symptoms. This study investigated the linguistic characteristics of trauma specific symptoms over two periods – before Covid-19 and during Covid-19 in a domestic violence (DV) victims’ group and a control group. The sample consisted of a total 4413 Subreddit posts that were analyzed using the software Language Inquiry and Word Count. The following categories were investigated: word count, cognitive processes, 1st person singular pronoun, positive emotions, and death. A MANOVA analysis showed that the linguistic markers of trauma were stronger in the victims group compared to control. Victims had longer narratives that included more 1st person singular pronouns, and fewer cognition words and fewer positive emotion words. However, the markers did not differ over the two time periods. The results indicate that victims exhibit stronger trauma-specific discourse compared to control. Unlike self-reports, linguistic analysis of natural word use is free from response bias, a problem often encountered by clinicians. Analysis of linguistic characteristics of spontaneously written material can contribute to early detection of trauma symptoms and prevention of PTSD.Show less
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders emerging due to impaired memory consolidation and negative appraisal of trauma. Word use has shown to...Show morePost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders emerging due to impaired memory consolidation and negative appraisal of trauma. Word use has shown to reflect these symptoms in victims describing their experience through natural expressive writing. Domestic violence (DV) is a high-risk factor for developing PTSD that has increased sharply worldwide with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aimed at investigating if there is an increase in linguistic markers of PTSD (high negative emotions; high emotional distancing; low cognitive processing) in people experiencing DV and whether this is intensified through the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, it was examined whether PTSD linguistic markers correlate with decreased social support words. Overall, 5880 text posts were obtained for analysis from three reddit forums. First person DV experiencer posts from r/domesticviolence subreddit were used as experimental group and two neutral subreddits (r/changymview & r/femalefashionadvice) functioned as control groups. DV victims showed significantly higher use of negative emotions than both control groups (r = -.45; r = -.76), higher use of emotional distancing than r/changemyview control group (r = - .14) and lower cognitive processing than r/femalefashionadvice control group (r = -. 3). An increase during the COVID 19 pandemic was not found. Contrary to our hypothesis, social support words showed an increase in DV users but correlated with cognitive processing and negative emotions. Gender differences in word use and intensity of trauma exposure may be investigated over time for further insight.Show less
Past research has shown that during natural disasters, domestic violence cases tend to increase. As a result of domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are likely to...Show morePast research has shown that during natural disasters, domestic violence cases tend to increase. As a result of domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are likely to develop which decrease cognitive processing capacity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on PTSD symptoms and cognitive processing in domestic violence victims through their word use. Linguistic analysis was performed on posts from the domestic violence and control subreddits from 2019 and 2020 (N = 2858). 1 st person singular pronouns and negative emotions were used as markers of PTSD symptoms, and causation, insight, and tentative were used as markers of cognitive processing. The results showed a significant effect for subreddit only with a strong effect size of η 2 = .693. Compared to the control, the domestic violence subreddit showed significantly greater use of 1st person singular and negative emotion, and significantly lower use of insight, causation, and tentative. However, there were no significant effects of year (η 2 = .003) or interaction between year and subreddit (η 2 = .001). Therefore, there was no significant effect of Covid-19. These results highlight the effect of domestic violence trauma, suggesting an increase in PTSD symptoms and a decrease in cognitive processing. Implications and suggestions for future studies are also discussed.Show less
OVID-19 has shown to have significant negative impact on mental health, especially in vulnerable groups. One of these groups is experiencers of domestic violence, a group that seems to be growing...Show moreOVID-19 has shown to have significant negative impact on mental health, especially in vulnerable groups. One of these groups is experiencers of domestic violence, a group that seems to be growing during the epidemic. Linguistic markers of high stress sensitivity have been identified in earlier research but not used to discover groups vulnerable to developing or possessing high stress sensitivity. The aim of this paper is to determine whether experiencers of domestic violence show more signs of high stress sensitivity as compared to other groups and to test whether COVID-19 has affected the population's levels of mental distress. In this paper, 4186 posts from three subreddits were analysed from pre- and during COVID-19 periods. The results showed a significant positive correlation between the indicators of mental distress and COVID-19 related words (rs = .120, p < .001), as well as between the linguistic indicators of stress sensitivity and anxiety (rs = .352, p < .001). Scores of linguistic indicators of stress sensitivity are significantly higher for 1st person experiencers of domestic violence than for other groups. From this it is concluded that there is a positive relationship between mental distress and the use of COVID-19 related words, as well as between stress sensitivity and anxiety. It also indicates that 1st person experiencers of domestic violence tend to show higher stress sensitivity than others. Further research, specifically non-linguistic research, is needed to provide extra support for the aforementioned relationships found, so as to not rely on linguistic indicators alone.Show less
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), is a strong determinant of mental health, and increases throughout any crisis, making the COVID19 pandemic no exception. Current literature implies that word use...Show moreIntimate Partner Violence (IPV), is a strong determinant of mental health, and increases throughout any crisis, making the COVID19 pandemic no exception. Current literature implies that word use can give insight into one’s mental health. The current study aimed to see to what extent word use changes in those who do, and those who do not experience IPV; and what effect does COVID19 have. It is also explored whether staying or leaving the relationship, or being of a particular gender has an impact on the well-being of the IPV experiencer. A total of 1173 posts were extracted from the Reddit social platform. The posts were put through an LIWC software to acquire the linguistic scores of well-being. The results show that experiencing IPV contributes to lower cognitive processes, personal concerns and religion, while reporting higher negative emotions and drives, accounting for 29.3% of variance explained. COVID19 accounts for only 0.3% of variance explained, as writing during COVID19 leads to significant differences in the drives category, with bystanders reporting the highest scores. Differences between staying or leaving the relationship account for a small variance explained of 0.9%, as those who stay report higher negative emotions and personal concerns, whereas those who leave report higher cognitive processes and drives. Females reported higher cognitive processes than males (r = -.12). Finally, future studies should aim to match control and IPV experienced writers when assessing the linguistic scores by age, cultural background and writing skill for more comparable and reliable resultsShow less
As previous studies show a positive relationship between present time orientation and psychological well-being, the purpose of the current within-subjects study is to examine whether a present time...Show moreAs previous studies show a positive relationship between present time orientation and psychological well-being, the purpose of the current within-subjects study is to examine whether a present time orientation, and otherwise mindfulness, can be found in word use of suicidal musicians over time. Fewer words referring to the present, compared to the past and the future were expected. Moreover, a decrease in the use of present time words, and an increase in the use of past and future time words, closer to the moment of suicide, was expected. The different means of the time categories were calculated with the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used to test for differences in these means. To test for change over time in the time categories, the Kendall’s Tau B correlation coefficients were used. Present time orientation (M = 8.449) had a mean greater than both the mean of past time orientation (M = 2.308) and the future time orientation (M = 1.500). Moreover, future time orientation had a mean greater than past time orientation. I found that these differences were statistically significant. There was a significant decrease in words referring to the past (τb = -.113, p = .005) and a non-significant decrease in words referring to the future (τb = -.071, p = .081). Lastly, there was a significant decrease in words referring to the present (τb = -.153, p < .001). The finding of a decrease in present time, and the finding of less words referring to the future, compared to the past, are in line with previous studies on this topic. It is concluded that fewer words referring to the future, compared to the past and present, and a decrease in present time words over time can be an indication of suicide risk.Show less
Deelnemers (N = 85) maakten de empathie vragenlijsten Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) en de Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Daarnaast speelden zij een probabilistische...Show moreDeelnemers (N = 85) maakten de empathie vragenlijsten Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) en de Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Daarnaast speelden zij een probabilistische leertaak waarin zij voor zichzelf, een vriend en een onbekende deelnemers leerden en een prijs konden winnen. Verwacht werd dat deelnemers over het algemeen beter zouden presteren voor zichzelf. De participanten die hoog scoorden op empathie zouden relatief beter presteerden voor een vriend en een onbekende ander dan de participanten die laag scoorden. Daarnaast werd verondersteld dat de eerder gevonden positieve correlatie tussen empathie en de cognitieve empathie subschaal van de QCAE: Online Simulation, gerepliceerd zou worden en dat dat affectieve empathie positief zou correleren met anoniem prosociaal gedrag. Uit de resultaten blijkt dat de deelnemers inderdaad beter presteren voor zichzelf dan een vriend of een onbekende ander. Er is geen significante correlatie gevonden met de Online Simulation subschaal en de leerprestaties voor een vriend en onbekende ander. Echter, er is een positieve correlatie gevonden tussen de cognitieve empathie subschaal van IRI: Perspective Taking, en de leerprestatie voor een onbekende ander. Tevens is een eenzijdig significante positieve correlatie gevonden tussen de totaalscore op de QCAE en de leerprestatie voor een onbekende ander. Hier wordt voorzichtig mee omgegaan. De resultaten van de huidige studie bevestigen dat men beter leert voor zichzelf en suggereren dat cognitieve empathie een rol speelt in anoniem prosociaal gedrag.Show less
Achtergrond: Professionals binnen de Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg in Nederland gebruiken Serious Games nog te weinig. Ondanks dat de effectiviteit van Serious Games gunstig blijken te zijn binnen de...Show moreAchtergrond: Professionals binnen de Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg in Nederland gebruiken Serious Games nog te weinig. Ondanks dat de effectiviteit van Serious Games gunstig blijken te zijn binnen de psychotherapie. Wat weerhoudt professionals om Serious Games in te zetten? Onderzocht werd wat de attitude was van de professionals ten opzichte van de belemmeringen voor henzelf of de cliënten in het gebruiken van Serious Games. Methode: Doormiddel van een online vragenlijst werden professionals binnen de Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg in Nederland, waarbij zij enige vorm van therapie geven aan cliënten, gevraagd naar hun attitudes omtrent Serious Games. Resultaten: Gebleken is dat bijna een kwart (23.3 procent) van de professionals Serious Games niet willen inzetten. De voornaamste reden hiervoor bleek het hebben van onvoldoende kennis in Serious Games en onvoldoende vertrouwen in de effectiviteit van Serious Games. Daarnaast weerhield het professionals om Serious Games te gebruiken voor cliënten met complexe problematieken. Conclusie/discussie: Omdat professionals aangeven te weinig kennis te hebben van Serious Games, wordt geadviseerd om trainingen te ontwerpen om professionals nog beter te informeren over het gebruik van Serious Games binnen de Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg in Nederland. Ook wordt geadviseerd nader onderzoek te doen naar de professionals met een negatieve attitude van Serious Games.Show less
