De laatste jaren neemt het aantal uren en het aantal werknemers dat werkzaamheden buiten kantoor (telewerk) uitvoert in de publieke sector toe. De opkomst van COVID-19 heeft geresulteerd in een nog...Show moreDe laatste jaren neemt het aantal uren en het aantal werknemers dat werkzaamheden buiten kantoor (telewerk) uitvoert in de publieke sector toe. De opkomst van COVID-19 heeft geresulteerd in een nog snellere en verdere toename in telewerk. Deze toename kan problemen opleveren op het gebied van leiderschap omdat leiders moeten omschakelen naar leiden op afstand. Dit kan vervolgens resulteren in een lagere werkbevlogenheid onder werknemers. Gevolgen hiervan kunnen bestaan uit mindere prestaties en een lagere mentale gezondheid van werknemers, waardoor de kans op burn-outs toeneemt. Om in kaart te brengen of telewerk daadwerkelijk deze negatieve gevolgen met zich heeft gebracht, is er gekeken welke invloed telewerk door COVID-19 heeft gehad op het leiderschap waargenomen door werknemers in de publieke sector en de mate van werkbevlogenheid die zij ervaren. Om dit te onderzoeken zijn werknemers van de Amerikaanse overheid die werkzaamheden zoals gewoonlijk door konden zetten, vergeleken met werknemers die door COVID-19 verplicht moesten telewerken. Hiervoor is gebruik gemaakt van data uit The Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 2020. Uit de data-analyse is gebleken dat telewerkers tegen de verwachtingen in over het algemeen hoger scoorden op waargenomen leiderschap en werkbevlogenheid dan niet-telewerkers. De hogere score bij werkbevlogenheid is voornamelijk te danken aan de indirecte invloed die telewerk uitoefent middels waargenomen leiderschap. Waargenomen leiderschap heeft dan ook een grote positieve invloed op werkbevlogenheid. Andere aspecten van telewerken hebben wel een minimale maar negatieve invloed op de werkbevlogenheid. Het onderzoek kent wel enige beperkingen. Zo worden hoger- en lager management beide meegenomen, wat de resultaten minder toepasbaar maakt voor beide takken van management. Ook worden veel verschillende afdelingen meegenomen in het onderzoek waardoor de toepasbaarheid op individuele afdelingen niet hoog is. Vervolgonderzoek kan zich toespitsen op individuele afdelingen waardoor er voor deze afdelingen bruikbaar telewerkbeleid geschreven kan worden.Show less
De coronapandemie heeft ervoor gezorgd dat wetenschapsnieuws, in het bijzonder nieuws over de coronavaccins, continu relevant is voor de samenleving. Door deze unieke situatie kan er opnieuw...Show moreDe coronapandemie heeft ervoor gezorgd dat wetenschapsnieuws, in het bijzonder nieuws over de coronavaccins, continu relevant is voor de samenleving. Door deze unieke situatie kan er opnieuw gekeken worden naar concepten zoals nieuwswaarden en uitingen van wetenschappelijke onzekerheid. Deze scriptie kijkt specifiek naar hoe het nieuws over de coronavaccins gepresenteerd wordt op Instagram, een steeds belangrijker nieuwsplatform voor jongeren. Door middel van een kwalitatieve inhoudsanalyse wordt er gekeken naar de nieuwswaarden die aanwezig zijn in het vaccinnieuws op de Instagram van de Nederlandse nieuwssite NU.nl. Ook wordt er gekeken of er sprake is van zogenaamde hedging, te weten taalkundige uitingen van (wetenschappelijke) onzekerheid, iets waar het in de wetenschapsjournalistiek veelal aan ontbreekt. 96 posts over de vaccins uit een tijdsbestek van een half jaar zijn vervolgens geanalyseerd. Hieruit bleek dat de relevante nieuwswaarden vooral bekende nieuwswaarden van socialemedianieuws en wetenschapsnieuws omvatten, zoals positief nieuws en personificatie. Interessant genoeg was sociale relevantie de hoofdmanier waarop het nieuws relevant gemaakt werd, en niet overige zaken zoals economische of politieke relevantie, wat de invloed van de pandemie op de samenleving extra duidelijk maakt. Verrassend genoeg bleek er wel degelijk ruimte te zijn voor uitingen van wetenschappelijke onzekerheid in de Instagram posts, hoewel er wel willekeur was qua wanneer er twijfel aan statements werd toegevoegd en wanneer niet. Hoezeer dit komt door de unieke situatie rondom de pandemie en dus in hoeverre deze bevinding door te trekken is naar wetenschapsjournalistiek in het algemeen is echter onzeker.Show less
Background: Communication is important, especially in cancer care. Good communication can positively influence patient outcomes, whereas poor communication can cause harm. Due to COVID- 19 physical...Show moreBackground: Communication is important, especially in cancer care. Good communication can positively influence patient outcomes, whereas poor communication can cause harm. Due to COVID- 19 physical contact decreased leading to remote communication. In addition, general health care was downscaled, resulting in patients potentially receiving limited information about (treatment) changes. Currently, we do not know whether these changes are considered harmful and whether that depends on certain characteristics. Objective: This study aims to determine to which extent communication themes and communication situations within these two themes, are deemed harmful and by whom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the relationship between patients’ age, gender, education and information need, and the changed communication (remote consultations and limited information about (treatment) changes) and specific communication situations. Methods: An online survey study was conducted based on a scoping review and input from researchers, clinicians, and patient representatives. Participants were eligible if they were 18 years or older, had advanced (incurable) cancer and had sufficient command of the Dutch language. Participants were presented with six potentially harmful communication situations (grouped under the themes remote consultations and limited information about (treatment) changes) which they assessed as harmful or not (yes/no). The background characteristics were dichotomised, and the relationships were measured using (logistic) regression analyses. Results: The sample existed of 47 participants, aged between 44-81. Most participants (57%–87%) perceived the communication situations as harmful. The relationships between age, gender, education, and information need and remote consultations, limited information about (treatment) changes and specific communication situations were all non-significant (p > .01). The relationship between education and not checking if the discussed information is remembered was marginally significant, c2(1, N = 46) = 6.21, p = .013 and recorded an odds ratio of 7.29 (95% CI: 1.31 – 40.54). Conclusions: As we suspect telehealth to increase, we suggest creating specific guidelines for remote contact using harmful communication examples and helpful alternatives. Furthermore, we advise physicians to provide explanations about treatment changes and as to why patients are not (or less) involved in decision-making when information provision is limited. Larger and more representative research is needed to replicate and substantiate our findings.Show less
Coronavirus disease 2019 has negatively affected the general population, and especially university undergraduates. Attending to and being aware of the present moment in an open, accepting and...Show moreCoronavirus disease 2019 has negatively affected the general population, and especially university undergraduates. Attending to and being aware of the present moment in an open, accepting and compassionate manner (i.e. mindfulness) has been shown to decrease depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and increase positive affect. In our present study, we used network analysis to examine the associations between anxiety, depression, stress, mindfulness and joy. An observational research design was used with a convenience sample of 66 undergraduate students aged 18 to 34 years who completed an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) on their phones. They were asked eight questionsーtwo psychological constructs and six subclinical psychopathology symptomsーfour times a day for two weeks. Network analysis resulted in temporal and contemporaneous network models, indicating that mindfulness at time t does not significantly predict any variable at later time t+1 on the temporal level. At the contemporaneous level, mindfulness is associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and joy. Given the limitations of the present study and the hypothesis generating nature of network analysis, we conclude that the significant partial correlations between mindfulness, psychological well-being and joy in the contemporaneous network may indicate potential causal relations worth following up on in future research.Show less
Doel. De Coronapandemie en de maatregelen die overheden hebben genomen tegen de verspreiding ervan, kunnen zijn weerslag hebben op het mentaal welbevinden van de bevolking. We hebben de samenhang...Show moreDoel. De Coronapandemie en de maatregelen die overheden hebben genomen tegen de verspreiding ervan, kunnen zijn weerslag hebben op het mentaal welbevinden van de bevolking. We hebben de samenhang tussen stress en mentaal welbevinden getoetst en we hebben getoetst of toegewijd handelen, een onderdeel van psychologische flexibiliteit, de impact van stress op het mentaal welbevinden buffert. Methoden. We analyseerden de data van online enquêtes afgenomen bij de algemene Nederlandse bevolking in 2018 en tijdens de eerste (mei 2020) en tweede (maart 2021) piek van de Coronapandemie. Er is een variantieanalyse gebruikt om te zien of er een samenhang is tussen stress gemeten in jaren en mentaal welbevinden, waarbij er is gecontroleerd voor leeftijd, geslacht, opleidingsniveau en burgerlijke status. Resultaten. Het mentaal welbevinden van Nederlanders tijdens de Coronapandemie in 2020 en 2021 verschilde niet significant van het mentaal welbevinden vóór de pandemie in 2018 (p = .280). Een hoge mate van toegewijd handelen werd wel geassocieerd met een hogere mate van mentaal welbevinden (p < .001), maar buffert niet de impact van stress op het mentaal welbevinden. Conclusies. De stress veroorzaakt door de Coronapandemie in 2021 en 2020 heeft niet gezorgd voor een lager mentaal welbevinden bij de Nederlandse bevolking in vergelijking met 2018. Daarnaast fungeert toegewijd handelen ook niet als buffer tegen de impact van stress tijdens de Coronapandemie op het mentaal welbevinden. Wel is er een samenhang tussen mentaal welbevinden en toegewijd handelen in het algemeen, maar niet ten tijde van de Coronapandemie. Met deze bevinding kan bij toekomstig onderzoek rekening mee worden gehouden, wanneer een zelfde of ander soort crisis ontstaat waarbij de bevolking wel een lager mentaal welbevinden ontwikkelt.Show less
The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, like lockdowns, have resulted in changes in the lives of adolescents. Not much was known about the effect of lockdowns on social anxiety in...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, like lockdowns, have resulted in changes in the lives of adolescents. Not much was known about the effect of lockdowns on social anxiety in adolescents. Aim. This study aimed to gain insight into changes in social anxiety before and after a school closure associated with COVID-19 lockdown and its relation to the experience of the lockdown in Dutch adolescents aged 12-15 years. Methods. A total of 188 adolescents (M = 13.48, SD = 0.81) completed self-report measures of social anxiety on March 2020 (T1). In September 2020 (T2) they completed the same self-report measures of social anxiety, enjoyment of the lockdown, and Worries about COVID-19. Results. Adolescents with average or high symptoms of social anxiety before the first school closure showed a significant reduction in social anxiety symptoms after the first school closure. The expected positive association between social anxiety before and after school closure was moderated by Enjoying the lockdown but not gender. Furthermore, higher symptoms of social anxiety before the first school closure were associated with higher levels of enjoying the lockdown. Conclusion. Results indicated that adolescents with moderate to high social anxiety symptoms and who enjoyed the lockdown and associated consequences such as less face-to-face interaction were most at-risk of reporting higher symptoms of social anxiety once the schools had reopened.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
This thesis investigates the morphological status of COVID-related splinters. It examines whether the splinters cov(i)-, -demic, and quaran- are in the process of becoming combining forms, in...Show moreThis thesis investigates the morphological status of COVID-related splinters. It examines whether the splinters cov(i)-, -demic, and quaran- are in the process of becoming combining forms, in similar vein to forms like -(a)holic, a splinter which has developed into a combining form. Corpus-based investigation and feature-based analysis have shown that cov(i)- and -demic indeed behave like combining forms in word formation processes, while quaran- does not. However, an analysis of its lexical structure has indicated that it is not impossible for quaran- to become a combining form eventually.Show less
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been associated with adverse psychological symptoms. Psychotropic prescription drugs are a critical tool in treating and controlling a variety of...Show moreThe coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been associated with adverse psychological symptoms. Psychotropic prescription drugs are a critical tool in treating and controlling a variety of psychopathological conditions, which raises concern in terms of potential overuse and irrational use. Available data regarding the use and prescribing practices of psychotropic prescription drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic are inconsistent. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted with the aim of investigating the change in psychotropic prescription drug use and dispensing in relation to COVID-19. Pub-med and Web of Science Databases were systematically searched, and a total of 30 studies were included (23 prevalence estimates, and 19 correlation coefficient estimates; total N = 5,133,032). The yielded findings demonstrated a statistically significant increase of 16.34% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 9.11 to 23.57) in prevalence estimates of psychotropic prescription drug use. Furthermore, the conducted meta-analysis yielded a small positive statistically significant correlation r = 0.11 (95% CI: 0.05 to 0.16), implying a small increase in psychotropic prescription drug use and dispensing pre relative to post COVID-19. The association between COVID-19 and adverse mental health, as well as the increased use of psychotropic medications, may lead to an upsurge in substance use related disorders and overdose-related deaths. This is important to know, given that many substance use treatment programs during the pandemic have been disrupted. It may be essential for policy makers and health officials to address mental and behavioral health through telemedicine.Show less
This thesis explores COVID-19 induced economic uncertainty within South Korea, the consequences hereof for South Korea’s economic outlook, other modifiers that may be of relevance, and how consumer...Show moreThis thesis explores COVID-19 induced economic uncertainty within South Korea, the consequences hereof for South Korea’s economic outlook, other modifiers that may be of relevance, and how consumer uncertainty compares to established uncertainty indexes. It finds that economic uncertainty is present within the South Korean populace, that its effect on consumption may not be as clear cut as other literature suggests, that it impacts labour mobility and long-term economic outcomes and how risk aversion and acquaintances play a role in this. It furthermore finds that consumer uncertainty and uncertainty indexes do not always correlate, that vaccination sentiment may affect the economic outlook, how retail investors support capital markets and that consumer opinion may counterbalance trade-sector uncertainty.Show less
Bij deze studie wordt de mogelijke relatie tussen het ervaren van zorgen en belemmeringen en een achteruitgang in vriendschapskwaliteit als gevolg van de COVID-19 pandemie onderzocht. Daarnaast is...Show moreBij deze studie wordt de mogelijke relatie tussen het ervaren van zorgen en belemmeringen en een achteruitgang in vriendschapskwaliteit als gevolg van de COVID-19 pandemie onderzocht. Daarnaast is er beoordeeld of prosociaal gedrag en subjectief geluk deze mogelijke negatieve relatie kunnen beperken. Het is van belang om te weten wat de impact is van de COVID-19 pandemie op vriendschapskwaliteit, om de negatieve gevolgen van de COVID-19 pandemie te kunnen beperken. 119 adolescenten tussen de leeftijd 11 en 15 jaar hebben voor dit onderzoek een vragenlijst ingevuld. Vervolgens zijn hun antwoorden geanalyseerd met een meervoudige lineaire regressie om de hypotheses van dit onderzoek te toetsen. Uit de resultaten is gebleken dat er voorzichtig gesproken kan worden van het bestaan van een negatieve relatie tussen het ervaren van zorgen en belemmeringen als gevolg van de COVID-19 pandemie en vriendschapskwaliteit. De limitaties en implicaties van de resultaten worden aan het einde behandeld.Show less
This study investigated whether parents’ fear of the COVID-19 is associated with children’s fear of the COVID-19. Further, the study examined whether the association is mediated by parents’ verbal...Show moreThis study investigated whether parents’ fear of the COVID-19 is associated with children’s fear of the COVID-19. Further, the study examined whether the association is mediated by parents’ verbal threat information. In addition, it was studied which sources of information about the COVID-19 contribute to children’s fear of the COVID-19. In this online study participated 90 parent-child dyads (child mean age M = 13.22, parent mean age M = 46.49). The present study has a cross-sectional correlational design. The participants completed online self-reported questionnaires. The results of the study showed that parents’ fear of the COVID-19 is positively linked to children’s fear of the COVID-19. Parents’ fear of the COVID-19 is positively associated with parents’ verbal threat information. Also, parents’ verbal threat information is positively related to children’s fear of the COVID-19. The link between parents’ and children’s fear of the COVID-19 is partially mediated by parents’ verbal threat information. Further, the results showed that various sources of information accounted for 39% of the variance in the children’s fear of the COVID-19. Parents, television and friends are important contributing sources of information to the children’s fear of the COVID-19. The results support Rachman’s information pathway in explaining fear transmission from parents their offspring in the context of the COVID-19. The results are also in line with the previous research about parents’ threat information mediation between parents’ and children’s fear of the swine flu.Show less
Background. The outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019 has led to a rise in xenophobic attitudes – a fear that foreigners may be the source of the virus. One important mechanism involved in the...Show moreBackground. The outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019 has led to a rise in xenophobic attitudes – a fear that foreigners may be the source of the virus. One important mechanism involved in the rise of xenophobic attitudes is the behavioural immune system, an evolutionary addition to our physiological immune system which helps us to proactively avoid sources of disease. This system mainly works via the emotion disgust and has been found to be influenced by one’s perceived vulnerability to disease. The present study investigated whether perceived vulnerability to disease moderates the association between disgust sensitivity and COVID-19 related xenophobic attitudes. Methods. The research question was investigated by administering three questionnaires to a convenience sample as part of a bigger online survey. Results. While disgust sensitivity was associated with xenophobic attitudes, perceived vulnerability to disease was not associated with xenophobic attitudes and also did not moderate the association between the other two variables (perceived infectibility*disgust sensitivity: b = , t = 1.23, with p = .219). Discussion. The non-significant moderation may be the result of habituation. While the behavioural immune system may respond particularly strong in a context where vulnerability to disease is high, this may change if a disease context is present for too long. In that case, the behavioural immune system may become habituated to the situation and may therefore no longer be influenced by one’s perceived vulnerability to disease. Accordingly, the present study adds a nuance to the existing literature on the behavioural immune system.Show less
Exhibition spaces being closed as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown brings unforeseen new concerns for the museum. Digital visitor interaction influences the engagement with objects and artworks...Show moreExhibition spaces being closed as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown brings unforeseen new concerns for the museum. Digital visitor interaction influences the engagement with objects and artworks within the exhibition. This change of interaction has consequences for the relation between visitors and the artwork, and how these relate to each other. Visitors gain new forms of power in curating the exhibition without the original crafted outlines by the museum. Especially during a pandemic where sudden changes in society are compulsory, it is a necessity to research the influences caused by these changes. The digitization causes digital reproduction that have not been (as much of) a struggle for the museum as before the global pandemic. Digital interaction and reproduction cause adaptations in authenticity and the carefully crafted authority of the museum over the centuries. This role and status the museum has in society is mutating because of digitization.Show less
Tijdens de crisis rondom COVID-19 stond berichtgeving in de media in het teken van het communiceren van de mogelijke risico’s van het virus: gezondheidsrisico’s, het aantal overleden personen en...Show moreTijdens de crisis rondom COVID-19 stond berichtgeving in de media in het teken van het communiceren van de mogelijke risico’s van het virus: gezondheidsrisico’s, het aantal overleden personen en het wegvallen van ieders sociale leven. Bij het weergeven van rampen of crisissituaties in de media kan sprake zijn van de constructie van een zogenaamde risk society. Hierbij kunnen burgers het gevoel krijgen deel uit te maken van een maatschappij waarin geen controle bestaat over alles wat er gebeurt. Een dergelijke risicomaatschappij is dus een sociaal construct en kan gestuurd worden door media en overheden. De media kunnen het gevoel van leven in risico versterken, bijvoorbeeld door framing. Dit onderzoek geeft antwoord op de vraag ‘Hoe wordt COVID-19 geframed als risk society op Instagramaccounts van nieuwsprogramma’s voor kinderen?’ In het onderzoek worden Instagramberichten van de programma’s NOS Jeugdjournaal, Karrewiet en Logo! onderworpen aan een visuele framinganalyse. Aan de hand van theorie over frames in een risk society, kenmerken van een risk society en productiewaarden van het maken van nieuws voor kinderen, toont het onderzoek hoe de berichten bijdragen aan de sociale constructie van risico’s rondom COVID-19. Ook wordt geanalyseerd hoe dit samengaat de nieuwswaardes die bestaan in de weergave van nieuws voor kinderen. De resultaten van onderzoek verklaren dat risico enerzijds geframed wordt als iets wat ruimte biedt voor innovatie en waar een oplossing voor bestaat. Anderzijds draagt framing juist bij aan het idee dat de crisis veel risico’s met zich meebrengt: de berichtgeving wordt gekenmerkt door dramatisering en angst. Er is sprake van victimisering en anonimisering waarbij werkende burgers, mensen uit het buitenland en kinderen worden geframed alsof ze onzichtbaar zijn. Daarbij worden ze ook als slachtoffer van de crisis geframed. Dit in tegenstelling tot politici, media, wetenschappers en beroemdheden. Bij politici en media suggereert framing dat er sprake is van institutionalisering, waarbij ze de macht hebben om met risico’s om te gaan. Bij wetenschappers en beroemdheden is er sprake van heroïsering, waarbij ze de helden van de crisis zijn.Show less
The COVID-19 pandemic displayed a crisis with complex policy issues and relied on the responses of national governments. This study seeks to investigate the influence of structural determinants on...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic displayed a crisis with complex policy issues and relied on the responses of national governments. This study seeks to investigate the influence of structural determinants on these responses, rather than short-term mechanisms. The responses could either be perceived as stringent or liberal, based on data extracted from the Oxford stringency index. Earlier research shows that long-term conditions have a larger effect on crisis policy response and offer more predictive results. Based on these structural determinants, five conditions were found using academic literature and turned into testable hypotheses. The level of democracy, political trust, economic development, the level of social safety net and state capacity to shape crisis policy response were derived from the literature and chosen for this research. Accordingly, a multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between a combination of these independent variables and the Oxford stringency index, serving as outcome variable. The results found that there is a significant relationship between these independent variables and the stringency index of the COVID-19 policy response. Particularly the economic development and state capacity of a state were deemed to be significant.Show less
The COVID-19 pandemic and its negative consequences for psychological health are omnipresent. Increased poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms, which are knowingly interrelated, have been...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic and its negative consequences for psychological health are omnipresent. Increased poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms, which are knowingly interrelated, have been reported amongst the general public. From previous research we know that social support can have a protective function and diminish the negative consequences of stressful life situations, such as the pandemic. We hypothesized that poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic was linked to depressive symptoms. We also assumed perceived social support to moderate this association. This cross-sectional study included 3484 students with Mage= 22.1 and SD = 3.1; 73,5 percent were female; 26.5 percent were male. Three multiple regression analyses were conducted, a moderation term was added to the equation. The post hoc analysis was a subgroup analysis. A positive association between experiencing poor sleep quality during COVID-19 and depressive symptoms was found (β = .38, p < .001). Perceived social support was a statistically significant moderator of poor sleep quality during COVID-19 and depressive symptoms (β = -.03, p = 025). However, only when comparing the beta value of the high social support group (β = .36, p < .001) with the medium-high social support group (β = .33, p < .001) a mitigating effect of perceived social support was identified. In conclusion, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms co-occurred. Also, the study suggested that perceived social support had a protective effect concerning both, poor sleep quality during COVID-19 and depressive symptoms, a moderating role on the association was not confirmed.Show less
