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We tested the effect of mask use and other‐race effect on (a) face recognition, (b) recognition of facial expressions, and (c) social distance. Caucasian subjects were tested in a matching‐to‐sample paradigm with either masked or unmasked Caucasian and Asian faces. The participants exhibited the best performance in recognizing an unmasked face condition and the poorest to recognize a masked face that they had seen earlier without a mask. Accuracy was poorer for Asian faces than Caucasian faces. The second experiment presented Asian or Caucasian faces having emotional expressions, with and without masks. The participants' emotion recognition performance decreased for masked faces. From the most accurately to least accurately recognized emotions were as follows: happy, neutral, disgusted, fearful. Performance was poorer for Asian stimuli compared to Caucasian. In Experiment 3 the same participants indicated the social distance they would prefer with each pictured person. They preferred a wider distance with unmasked faces compared to masked faces. Distance from farther to closer was as follows: disgusted, fearful, neutral, and happy. They preferred wider social distance for Asian compared to Caucasian faces. Altogether, findings indicated that during the COVID‐19 pandemic mask wearing decreased recognition of faces and emotional expressions, negatively impacting communication among people from different ethnicities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mask‐wearing, social distancing, and vaccination remain effective ways to mitigate the spread of COVID‐19. Yet, many hesitate to enact some or all these preventive behaviors. We created three persuasive messages—framed to promote benefits to either (1) oneself, (2) close‐others, or (3) distant‐others—to determine whether the effectiveness of these messages varied based on personality differences (specifically independent/interdependent self‐construal and chronic construal level). In two online experiments (N = 862), we measured individual differences and showed participants one of the three messages. Consistent interactions between interdependent self‐construal and message conditions showed that those high in interdependent self‐construal responded most positively to the self‐focused messages promoting mask‐wearing, social distancing, and COVID‐19 vaccination. Those low in interdependent self‐construal responded most negatively to the self‐focused messages. Although no interaction effect was observed for independent self‐construal, and inconsistent evidence emerged for construal level, other‐focused messages performed either better or equally well to the self‐focused messages for most participants and may thus be promising for future public health communication efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has demonstrated that conservative individuals (relative to liberal individuals) were less likely to adhere to COVID‐19 guidelines (e.g., social distancing). We argue that because adherence to COVID‐19 guidelines was largely characterized as "politically correct" behavior, individuals opposed to political correctness (PC) norms would follow COVID‐19 guidelines less, controlling for political conservatism and other relevant demographic variables. In two correlational studies and one preregistered experiment, we tested whether opposition to political correctness (OPC) predicts less adherence to COVID‐19 guidelines. Study 1 showed that OPC correlates negatively with mask‐wearing and social distancing, controlling for conservatism, gender, age, and religious identity. Study 2 replicated and extended these effects, demonstrating that seeing mask‐wearing as a common good (i.e., as a beneficial COVID‐19 mitigation strategy) mediated the relationship between OPC and mask‐wearing, social distancing, handwashing, and vaccination intentions. Study 3 experimentally manipulated feelings toward PC. Inconsistent with our preregistered hypothesis but consistent with previous research, participants induced to have positive feelings toward PC adhered to COVID‐19 guidelines the most and had the most positive feelings toward wearing masks. We discuss how moralization of health guidelines can predict individuals' likelihood of adhering to these guidelines. We also discuss how best to persuade individuals who see adherence to health guidelines as "politically correct," as well as future research directions to address this concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study evaluated the association between depression and non‐compliance with COVID‐19 preventive behaviors among community‐dwelling South Korean older adults. Methods: We utilized the 2020 Korean Community Health Survey—a community‐based nationwide survey. A score of 10 points or higher on the Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 was defined as depression. Non‐compliance with COVID‐19 preventive behaviors was assessed on the following three behaviors: washing hands, wearing masks, and watching distance. We also included socio‐demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and COVID‐19‐related characteristics as covariates. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, and all statistical analyses were stratified by sex. Results: The 70,693 participants included 29,736 men and 40,957 women. Notably, 2.3% of men and 4.2% of women had depression. Non‐compliance with washing hands was significantly higher in men than women (1.3% vs. 0.9%), whereas no significant differences were observed in wearing masks and watching distance. The adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that depression was positively associated with non‐compliance with washing hands and watching distance in both sexes. The association between depression and non‐compliance with wearing masks was significant only in women. Conclusions: There was an association between depression and non‐compliance with COVID‐19 preventive behaviors in South Korean older adults. This signifies that health providers need to reduce depression to improve compliance with preventive behaviors in older adults. Key points: Men are less likely to comply with washing hands than are women.Depression is associated with non‐compliance with COVID‐19 preventive behaviors in both sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was carried out to determine the effect of high school students' perception of risk of COVID‐19, wearing masks and social distance behavior on stress during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Method: This descriptive study was performed on 1034 participants between the ages of 15 and 18 between June 21 and July 2, 2021. "Descriptive Questionnaire," "COVID‐19 Risk Perception Form," "Mask Wear Behavior Form," "Social Distance Behavior Form," and "Perceived Stress Scale" were used in data collection. Results: It was determined that 81.4% of the students used disposable medical masks, and 50.6% of them used the mask they wore for one day. In the characteristics of the risk perception of COVID‐19, 31% have a risk perception, 45% are afraid to contact people returning from abroad, 58.8% avoid going to crowded places, 66.8% are afraid of contacting people with flu symptoms. It was found that they always kept sufficient distance while communicating with others. As a result of the multiple regression, it was determined that gender, mask type, mask usage frequency, risk perception, social distance behavior, and mask‐wearing behavior had a statistically significant effect on the perceived stress level (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These results provide theoretical inferences for public health policies targeting the high school students to develop accurate risk perception and protective behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To better understand the knowledge, practice, importance, awareness, usefulness, and confidence of non‐Hispanic Black and English‐ and Spanish‐speaking Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes. Design: A descriptive cross‐sectional survey study design was used and descriptive statistics was conducted. Sample: Non‐Hispanic Black and Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes were recruited from three New York City public hospitals. Measurements: A one‐time survey was delivered via email, text message or over the phone. Results: Of the 96 participants, 47.9% were Hispanic/Latino and 52.1% were non‐Hispanic Black individuals; 43.8% of the surveys were completed in Spanish and 56.3% in English; 41.7% were female and 58.3% male; 77.1% preferred to complete the survey via the telephone, 14.6% through email, and 8.3% via text message. Chi‐square findings showed, 90.6% knew mask wearing prevented COVID‐19; 96.9% knew that covering the nose and mouth during mask wearing is needed, 93.8% wore a mask, and 92.8% felt it important or very important to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID‐19. For social distancing, 88.5% knew it prevented the spread of COVID‐19, 93.8% practiced it, and 95.8% felt it important or very important. Conclusion: In having a better understanding of the knowledge and practices of COVID‐19 among non‐Hispanic Black and Hispanic populations with diabetes, the development of culturally and linguistically tailored community‐based mitigation strategies can be developed that are aimed at improving the preparedness of these groups for the next emerging infectious disease, such as COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality traits play a role in prosocial behavior in relation to containment measures intended to tackle the COVID‐19 pandemic. Empirical findings indicated that individuals high in socially aversive traits such as callousness are less compliant with containment measures. This study aimed to add cross‐cultural data on the relationship between antisocial traits and adherence to COVID‐19 containment measures. The sample consisted of 4,538 adults recruited by convenience in nine countries (Australia, Brazil, England, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States). Statistical analyses indicated two latent profiles from our sample, empathic and antisocial, and six COVID‐19 containment‐measure‐related factors using measures covering antisocial traits (PID‐5), empathy (ACME), global personality pathology (LPFS‐BF), and COVID‐19 behaviors and beliefs. Through MANCOVA, the antisocial profile consistently showed less compliance and concern about the COVID‐19 containment measures, even when controlling for demographics and local pandemic covariables. The network analysis indicated a lack of empathy and callousness as crucial traits of the predisposition to non‐compliant behavior. In elaborating on prosocial campaigns in community emergencies, our cross‐cultural findings would need to consider personality traits that focus on antisociality, anticipating similar associations and potential impacts in future disease outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: We examined fidelity and feasibility of implementation of COVID‐19 preventive measures in schools, and explored associations between adherence to these measures and staff well‐being, to inform policy on sustainable implementation and staff wellbeing. METHODS: Surveys were conducted across 128 schools in England with 107 headteachers and 2698 staff‐members with reference to autumn term 2020, examining school‐level implementation of preventive measures, adherence, and teacher burnout (response rates for headteacher and staff surveys were 84% and 59%, respectively). RESULTS: The median number of measures implemented in primary and secondary schools was 33 (range 23‐41), and 32 (range 22‐40), respectively; most measures presented challenges. No differences were found regarding number of measures implemented by school‐level socio‐economic disadvantage. High adherence was reported for staff wearing face‐coverings, staff regularly washing their hands, (secondary only) desks facing forwards, and (primary only) increased cleaning of surfaces and student hand‐washing. Adherence to most measures was reported as higher in primary than secondary schools. Over half of school leaders and 42% (517/1234) of other teaching staff suffered from high emotional exhaustion. Higher teacher‐reported school‐wide adherence with measures was consistently associated with lower burnout for leaders and other teaching staff. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate a tremendous effort in implementing preventive measures and an urgent need to support investments in improving teacher wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID‐19 public health messages largely communicated that Americans were "safer at home." Implicit in this advice are messages about protections ostensibly also offered by monogamy–that having more relationships is always more dangerous than having fewer relationships and that closer relationships are always safer–from a disease transmission perspective–than unfamiliar relationships. These heuristics may have led people to discount other COVID‐19 dangers (such as spending more time with others of unknown infection status) and to ignore COVID‐specific safety measures (such as mask‐wearing, and ventilation). We conducted three studies in which we used experimental vignettes to assess people's perceptions of COVID‐risky targets in monogamous relationships with a close, committed partner versus targets who were described as non‐monogamous with casual partners but relatively COVID‐safe. Participants perceived monogamous‐but‐COVID‐riskier targets as more responsible and safer from COVID‐19. Non‐monogamy stigma seems to extend analogously to COVID‐19 risk. Public health messages that fail to attend to the specifics and nuances of close relationships risk contributing to this stigma and ultimately undermining the goals of reducing the spread of infectious disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lockdown measures to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in China in early 2020 was considered effective by the World Health Organization and many academics around the world. At the same time, the Western media labelled these measures as draconian. This research examined the reasons why the Chinese people were willing to support such measures. Based on an online survey of 528 Chinese participants, conducted in April 2020, the results revealed that the participants' instrumental attitudes (e.g., the outcome of the lockdown), but not experiential attitudes (i.e., the experience of the lockdown), were predictive of their support for a lockdown policy. Further analysis showed that those with higher communitarian worldviews had favourable instrumental attitudes and strong support regardless of the level of the perceived severity of the virus, whereas those with lower communitarian worldviews had more favourable instrumental attitudes and policy support when perceived severity was high than when it was low. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Assisted living (AL) is the largest residential long‐term care provider in the United States, including for persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Despite recognizing the challenge of infection control for persons with dementia, this study of 119 AL communities is the first to describe dementia‐relevant COVID‐19 infection control across different types of AL communities, and to discuss implications for the future. Methods: From a parent study sampling frame of 244 AL communities across seven states, 119 administrators provided data about COVID‐19 infection control practices and resident behaviors. Data were collected from July 2020 through September 2021. Communities were differentiated based on the presence of beds/units dedicated for persons living with dementia, as being either dementia‐specific, mixed, or integrated. Data obtained from administrators related to feasibility of implementing seven infection control practices, and the extent to which residents themselves practiced infection prevention. Analyses compared practices across the three community types. Results: Less than half of administrators found it feasible to close indoor common areas, all community types reported a challenge organizing group activities for safe distancing, and more than half of residents with dementia did not wear a face covering or maintain physical distance from other residents when indicated. Dementia‐specific AL communities were generally the most challenged with infection control during COVID‐19. Conclusion: All AL community types experienced infection control challenges, more so in dementia‐specific communities (which generally provide care to persons with more advanced dementia and have fewer private beds). Results indicate a need to bolster infection prevention capacity when caring for this especially vulnerable population, and have implications for care in nursing homes as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has been influencing people's social life substantially. Everybody, including infants and children needed to adapt to changes in social interactions (e.g., social distancing) and to seeing other people wearing facial masks. In this study, we investigated whether these pandemic‐related changes influenced 12‐ to 15‐months‐old infants' reactions to observed gaze shifts (i.e., their gaze following). In two eye‐tracking tasks, we measured infants' gaze‐following behavior during the pandemic (with‐COVID‐19‐experience sample) and compared it to data of infants tested before the pandemic (no‐COVID‐19‐experience sample). Overall, the results indicated no significant differences between the two samples. However, in one sub‐task infants in the with‐COVID‐19‐experience sample looked longer at the eyes of a model compared to the no‐COVID‐19‐experience sample. Within the with‐COVID‐19‐experience sample, the amount of mask exposure and the number of contacts without mask were not related to infants' gaze‐following behavior. We speculate that even though infants encounter fewer different people during the pandemic and are increasingly exposed to people wearing facial masks, they still also see non‐covered faces. These contacts might be sufficient to provide infants with the social input they need to develop social and emotional competencies such as gaze following. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provided comparisons of confirmed cases between face‐cover‐required states and partially or not‐required states from a time‐series analysis on effects of face mask use in public based on eight different states between March 1 and June 15, 2020. In comparing face‐cover‐required states and partially or not‐required states, it was very encouraging that the slope of the daily case trends turned negative after face‐cover requirements in statewide face‐cover‐required states, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. However, the patterns of the daily case have been showing positive trends continuously in partially or not‐required states, including California, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. Based on our prediction model, if nationwide face‐cover requirements with social distancing were enacted on March 16, the estimated number of deaths would be about 15,600, which is 94,300 less than the actual number of deaths by June 15, 2020. We recommend that all states and the federal government require face coverings in order to reduce the risk of infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This pilot study describes the characteristics of social contact patterns of the elderly, a group at high‐risk for contracting infections. Design: A cross‐sectional design was used. Sample: Participants included 30 volunteers aged 65 years or older. Measurements: Records of a contact diary were maintained for a period of 24‐hr. Results: Thirty participants recorded 340 contacts within the 24 hr period, with a mean of 11.3 people daily. Physical encounters accounted for 50.9% of contacts. Participants with an occupation had significantly higher contacts than those without (p=.013). Contact type differed by location and duration (p<.001). Contact locations included: home (11.5%), work (2.4%), elderly welfare facilities (32.9%), transport (1.2%), and other places (52.1%). Contact duration (p <.001) and frequency (p <.001) differed by location. Contact duration differed by frequency (p <.001). Conclusions: The elderly participate in frequent physical contact that increases their risk of infection, especially among those with an occupation in comparison to those without an occupation. Infection control nursing should focus on providing education to reduce the risk of infections during contact events. Social distancing should be applied to limited periods of infection transmission risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the face of the global pandemic of coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19), people's adherence to precautionary behavioral measures (e.g. social distancing) largely influences the effectiveness of those measures in containing the spread of the coronavirus. The present study aims at testing the applicability of the health belief model (HBM) and generalised social beliefs (i.e. social axioms) to explore strategies for promoting adherence to COVID‐19 precautionary measures. Methods: We conducted a telephone survey with a two‐step stratified random sampling method and obtained a probability sample of 616 adults in Macao, China (18–87 years old; 60.9% women) in April 2020. Results: Our participants showed stronger adherence to some COVID‐19 precautionary measures (e.g. face mask wearing; 96.4%) but not others (e.g. social distancing; 42.3%). Their adherence to those measures was found to be significantly associated with four HBM factors and two social axioms, after controlling for gender, age, and years of education. Conclusions: The HBM and the generalised social beliefs of social cynicism and reward for application can be applied to understanding adherence to precautionary measures against COVID‐19. Strategies based on beliefs were proposed to facilitate the promotion of precautionary measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing number of SARS‐CoV‐2 infections and COVID‐19 patients to be taken care of by the health system, more and more health workers become affected by the disease. It has been reported that right from the beginning of the outbreak in Lombardy up to 20% of the doctors and nurses became infected. Under these circumstances, the regular operation of health institutions already suffering from a shortage of staff becomes difficult. This has led to complete or partial shutdowns of hospitals, either due to a lack of uninfected personnel or because of uncontrollable chains of infection endangering patients. In one of the largest university perinatal center in Bavaria with more than 3000 births per year, an outbreak of COVID‐19 occurred in March 2020, affecting 36 staff members, including doctors, nurses, and midwives. Here, we describe the outbreak and present the measures contributing to the successful containment of the outbreak within three weeks. At the same time, clinical services could be maintained, however, not without deployment of personnel exposed to employees infected with SARS‐CoV‐2. Apart from massive testing of personnel in pre‐defined phases and increased hygiene measures, including a general obligation to wear surgical face masks, we identified the need to monitor cases of illness across all groups of employees, to ensure social distancing within personnel and to evaluate contacts of clinical personnel outside of the hospital environment, in order to be able to interpret chains of infections and to disrupt them. Overall, only a bundle of measures is needed to contain such an outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be developing into a planetary-scale mental health experiment, undermining the foundations of our being human, obliging us to keep physically apart from one another, and inducing us to see other people as a potential threat.Methods: In the world of pediatric oncology, we have found ourselves up against new challenges. In this article, we discuss the difficulties found in conducting psychological support sessions while complying with physical distancing rules, as well as wearing protective face masks, and even gloves; or while using modern remote communication telecommunications.Results: The classic reasons behind requests for psychological support have been compounded by other, novel problems, such as: fewer relational resources for families at home, less chance to socialize, hospital stays with only one parent, the suspension of all teaching and group activities on the ward, economic difficulties caused by the pandemic, the rising levels of family conflictuality and generalized anxiety.Conclusions: It is essential to find new solutions that can be promptly implemented, reconfiguring the way we humanize our hospital wards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]