This study responds to the need to explore the individual characteristics that may help us to understand the levels of stress involved in the significant COVID-19-related restrictions to people’s daily lives. In order to understand levels of stress and stress control during the COVID-19 confinement, 1269 people from Spain (17.5% men) aged between 18 and 70 completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14). The results indicated that people aged under 40, and especially those under 25, women, and those on low incomes reported higher rates of confinement stress. The nature of where people live, and their working situation during confinement also contributed to people’s stress response, although with lower levels of impact. In this context, our study suggests that the levels of stress in those who combine remote working with in situ working were lower than those who had other working conditions. Our study contributes significant information to understanding the effects of confinement, and its results may be used to inform intervention tools and programs.

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7763552.pdf

Sociodemographic Characteristics and Stress of People from Spain Confined by COVID-19

We examined the relations among children's effortful control, school liking, and academic competence with a sample of 240 7- to 12-year-old children. Parents and children reported on effortful control, and teachers and children assessed school liking. Children, parents, and teachers reported on children's academic competence. Significant positive correlations existed between children's effortful control, school liking, and academic competence. Consistent with predictions, and while controlling for the effects of parents' education and family income, school liking mediated the relation between effortful control and academic competence. Implications include a focus on proximal processes such as enhancing school liking and encouraging social relationships when designing interventions to promote academic competence.

Children’s Effortful Control and AcademicCompetence:Mediation through School Liking

The COVID-19 restrictions have impacted people’s lifestyles in all spheres (social, psychological, political, economic, and others). This study explored which factors affected the level of anxiety during the time of the first wave of COVID-19 and subsequent quarantine in a substantial proportion of 23 countries, included in this study. The data was collected from May to August 2020 (5 June 2020). The sample included 15,375 participants from 23 countries: (seven from Europe: Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia; 11 from West, South and Southeast Asia: Armenia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey; two African: Nigeria and Tanzania; and three from North, South, and Central America: Brazil, Canada, United States). Level of anxiety was measured by means of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the 20-item first part of The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)—State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). Respondents were also asked about their personal experiences with COVID-19, attitudes toward measures introduced by governments, changes in attitudes toward migrants during a pandemic, family income, isolation conditions, etc. The factor analysis revealed that four factors explained 45.08% of variance in increase of anxiety, and these components were interpreted as follows: (1) personal awareness of the threat of COVID-19, (2) personal reaction toward officially undertaken measures and attitudes to foreigners, (3) personal trust in official sources, (4) personal experience with COVID-19. Three out of four factors demonstrated strong associations with both scales of anxiety: high level of anxiety was significantly correlated with high level of personal awareness of the threat of COVID-19, low level of personal reaction toward officially undertaken measures and attitudes to foreigners, and high level of presence of personal experience with COVID-19. Our study revealed significant main effects of sex, country, and all four factors on the level of anxiety. It was demonstrated that countries with higher levels of anxiety assessed the real danger of a pandemic as higher, and had more personal experience with COVID-19. Respondents who trusted the government demonstrated lower levels of anxiety. Finally, foreigners were perceived as the cause of epidemic spread.

Factors Associated With Highest Symptoms of Anxiety During COVID-19: Cross-Cultural Study of 23 Countries

The COVID-19 pandemic is a stressful long-lasting event with an increasingly negative impact upon individuals. This study aimed at assessing the magnitude of depression, anxiety, and stress among adults living in Portugal during the first mandatory lockdown of 2020, and the psychosocial and health-related factors associated with these symptoms. A sample of 484 adults (73% women) with an average age of 40 years old (Standard Deviation, SD = 14.03) responded to an online survey. The survey included measures of depression, anxiety, stress, social support, COVID-19 interference in daily life, attitudes towards COVID-19, and health perception. The impact of the lockdown on psychological well-being was large, with up to 36% of the participants showing signs of at least mild psychological discomfort (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress). Social support, COVID-19 interference on daily life, health perception, and age, explained all the dependent variables. Education level, income, attitudes towards COVID-19, and gender explained some of the dependent variables. These results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has a serious impact on the psychological health of Portuguese adults. The role of the procedures to control the pandemic on the mental health of Portuguese adults should not be underestimated.

/pdf/covid-19-pandemic-in-portugal-psychosocial-and-health-1pwb7etw.pdf

COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: Psychosocial and Health-Related Factors Associated with Psychological Discomfort

Student-teachers&#x2019; dropout is a complicated and serious issue in the learning process, with its attendant negative implications on students, academic institutions, economic resources, and society. This study investigated the composite and relative impact of personal (student), academic and socioeconomic predictive variables on student-teacher dropout. The study improves the early identification of at-risk student-teachers by developing a model that optimizes predictability. We used questionnaires and adopted a four-step logistic regression procedure on a sample of 1723 student-teachers in public teachers training colleges (TTCs) of a least-developed country (LDC). The study confirmed twin academic performance and aspirations factors as the highest predictors of student-teacher attrition. Academic reasons for choosing TTC were significant, as vocational motivation and goals established by student-teachers early in their education help prevent dropout. Contrary to expectations, student-teachers&#x2019; cultural values, parents&#x2019; level of education, and cost of financing education had no significant impact on dropout decisions. This is most likely due to the Government&#x2019;s financial support for student-teachers in LDCs and the widespread belief that higher education can improve one&#x2019;s social and economic status. The findings indicate that early identification and dropout prevention efforts should integrate various support services to foster a healthy learning and retention environment. 

Predicting Student-Teachers Dropout Risk and Early Identification: A Four-Step Logistic Regression Approach

School engagement occupies a place of reference in recent educational psychology research owing to its potential to address poor school results and school dropout rates. However, there is a need for a unifying theoretical framework. The study proposed the characterization of school engagement and explored the extent to which different profiles are associated with academic performance and self-regulation. With a sample of 717 5th and 6th year primary school students, this study was carried out via the latent profile analysis (LPA). Two groups of low school engaged students—one characterized by low behavioral engagement (5.02%) and the other by low emotional engagement (6.55%)—were distinguished. The majority of participants showed moderately high (31.95%) or moderate (56.48%) levels of school engagement in its three dimensions. Students with high engagement had the best grades and managed their time and study surroundings better, were the most strategic in seeking information, and showed less maladaptive regulatory behavior. The differences between students exhibiting low behavioral and emotional engagement and those exhibiting moderate levels in these dimensions may center upon the management of contextual resources and management of information and help. This research supports the need to approach the study of school engagement by observing the combination of its emotional, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/6/3011/pdf

School Engagement, Academic Achievement, and Self-Regulated Learning

Background: Confinement due to COVID-19 can have a short- and long-term impact on mental health (increased levels of stress and anxiety and emotional upheaval) and on people's quality of life. Knowing what factors are behind the stress can benefit the development of strategies and resources for future situations of a similar nature. The purpose of this study is to examine the incidence of a series of sociodemographic factors, confinement conditions, and work situation on the stress reported by confined citizens. Method: The sample is made up of 2008 citizens (19.9% men), the Perceived Stress Scale of 14 items (PSS-14) was used to assess the stress level of the population, as well as a sociodemographic questionnaire and different questions aimed at obtain information about the characteristics of the confinement and the employment situation. Data were collected using exponential snowball-type non-probability sampling. Results: The results suggest that sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, and income level could be good predictors of confinement stress. Post-confinement work expectancy along with pre-confinement working conditions can be key to protecting the well-being of confined populations. Limitations: This is a transversal study that forces us to be cautious with causal interpretations. The questionnaire was administered online, which means it excluded a good proportion of the population. Conclusion: The perception of stress being higher in women than men, with the lowest stress in older people and those with higher reported incomes. Stress levels increase as populations spend more weeks in confinement and the pre-confinement work situation seems key to protecting the well-being of the population. A lower stress is observed among stable couples without children confined in residential or suburban areas. Low income or economic instability is associated with a higher rate of stress and anxiety. The results can contribute to prioritizing actions and aid by contributing to the formation of teams and the design of tools for work in the current pandemic situation.

/pdf/covid-19-lockdown-key-factors-in-citizens-stress-quyvtbt5o4.pdf

COVID-19 Lockdown: Key Factors in Citizens' Stress

In recent years, there has been particular interest in studying the relationship between student self-regulation and variables such as students’ well-being, satisfaction, and school engagement. Although in other fields such as healthcare, self-regulation in different areas seems to influence individuals’ well-being, this is not so well established in the educational arena. We performed a systematic search of research articles published between 2010 and 2020 which explored the relationships between self-regulation and student well-being. The present article presents a report of a systematic review of 14 research articles. The analysis showed that some executive functions and self-regulation strategies employed in the learning process, and some self-regulatory deficits are significantly associated with different dimensions of student well-being.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/4/2346/pdf?version=1645188577

Self-Regulation and Students Well-Being: A Systematic Review 2010–2020

BACKGROUND
Boys are more frequent aggressors than girls, but there are no conclusive findings on gender differences in victimization. There is a relationship between immigration background and bullying, but differences between generations are still debated. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: 1) to analyze victimization according to gender and immigration background (first and second generation); 2) to compare the attitudes of students against bullying based on these variables.


METHOD
a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was carried out, considering gender and immigration background as independent variables, and types of offline bullying (physical, verbal and relational) as dependent variables. The sample was made up of 6,335 Spanish students (50.1% girls; 49.9% boys; average age: 15.83, DT: 0.29).


RESULTS
Statistically significant differences were detected in types of bullying (considered together) and in attitudes against bullying according to gender and immigration background (p <.001).


CONCLUSIONS
being a first-generation immigrant stands out as the main risk factor. Findings are discussed as to the need to address cultural victimization in schools.

Rocío González-Suárez

Papers

School Engagement, Academic Achievement, and Self-Regulated Learning

COVID-19 Lockdown: Key Factors in Citizens' Stress

Self-Regulation and Students Well-Being: A Systematic Review 2010–2020

Bullying According to Gender, and Immigration Background in Spanish Students.