Search

BackgroundPretraumatic stress has the same symptoms as post-traumatic stress but instead pertains to anticipated threats. There is evidence that pretraumatic stress occurs among soldiers and pregnant people.ObjectiveWe analyzed correlates of pretraumatic stress concerning the threat of COVID-19 infection.MethodOur pilot study was cross-sectional (N = 74); our main study was longitudinal and consisted of three waves (N = 1067, N = 894, and N = 752 for Waves 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Our pilot study used correlation and multiple linear regression. Our main study used quadratic regression and a random intercept cross-lagged panel model.ResultsThe pilot study found that pretraumatic stress was positively correlated with agreeableness (r = .24, p < .01) and negatively correlated with emotional stability (r = -.30, p < .01) and intellect/imagination (r = -.37, p < .01). The main study demonstrated that pretraumatic stress was positively correlated with other measures of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and with perceived positive aspects of the pandemic (r = .11, p < .01). There is evidence of a U-shaped relationship between pretraumatic stress and perceived positive aspects of the pandemic. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model analysis demonstrated that pretraumatic stress in Wave 2 was negatively predicted by levels of prosocial behavior in Wave 1 (B = -1.130, p < .01).ConclusionMental health professionals should take into account pretraumatic stress, not only as a possible consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak but more generally as a risk in situations that are new, difficult, and challenging for people.

The aim of the study was to identify attitudes towards places commonly associated with the communist period of the Polish People’s Republic (PPR), and to investigate the role of the relationship between these attitudes and place attachment, interest in a city’s history and political orientation. This online study used a convenience sample of residents of the cities of Warsaw, Toruń and Poznań, N = 199. The exploratory factor analysis revealed that attitudes towards PPR places fall into two groups: those for the preservation of PPR places, and those for their removal. Moreover, this distinction was associated with, on the one hand, the preservation of ideologically free places (IFPs) such as cafes, milky bars, cinemas, and places that serve cultural functions. On the other, it was associated with the removal of ideologically contaminated places (ICPs) such as, e.g., monuments or street names reminiscent of awkward historical and political events. The inclination to remove ICPs was not related to place attachment but was positively related to interest in a city’s history; willingness to preserve IFPs, on the other hand, was correlated with higher traditional and active place attachment and with higher interest in a city’s history. Interest in a city’s history played a significant mediating role in this relationship. On a more general level, right-wing preferences coincided with being in favor of removing ICPs. Overall, the study adds to the literature by showing how place attachment is related to attitudes towards controversial historic places.

Background: Previous studies carried out in different countries have indicated that young adults experienced higher levels of emotional distress, in the form of depressive and anxiety symptoms, than older age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about which pandemic-related difficulties and factors may contribute to these forms of emotional distress in various age groups. Purpose: The aim of the current study was to investigate: (i) differences in levels of depressive and generalized anxiety symptoms in four age groups in the Polish population during the COVID-19 lockdown; (ii) differences in perceived difficulties related to the pandemic in these groups; and (iii) which factors and difficulties related to the pandemic are the best predictors of generalized anxiety and depressive symptoms in various age groups during the COVID-19 lockdown. Method: A total of 1115 participants (aged 18–85) took part in the study. The sample was representative of the Polish population in terms of sex, age, and place of residence. Participants completed the following online: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, a Scale of Perceived Health and Life Risk of COVID-19, a Social Support Scale, and a Scale of Pandemic-Related Difficulties. Results: Younger age groups (18–29 and 30–44) experienced higher levels of depressive and generalized anxiety symptoms than older adults (45–59 and 60–85 years). Household relationship difficulties were among the most significant predictors of depressive and generalized anxiety symptoms in all age groups. Fear and uncertainty related to the spread of the virus was one of the most important predictors of emotional distress in all the groups apart from the adults between 18 and 29 years, whereas difficulties related to external restrictions were one of the most significant predictors of depressive and anxiety symptoms exclusively in the youngest group. Conclusions: The youngest adults and those experiencing difficulties in relationships among household members are the most vulnerable to depressive and generalized anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown. It is important to plan preventive and therapeutic interventions to support these at-risk individuals in dealing with the various challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

New technological solutions play an important role in preventing the spread of Covid-19. Many countries have implemented tracking applications or other surveillance systems, which may raise concerns about privacy and civil rights violations but may be also perceived by citizens as a way to reduce threat and uncertainty. Our research examined whether feelings evoked by the pandemic (perceived threat and lack of control) as well as more stable ideological views predict the acceptance of such technologies. In two studies conducted in Poland, we found that perceived personal threat and lack of personal control were significantly positively related to the acceptance of surveillance technologies, but their predictive value was smaller than that of individual differences in authoritarianism and endorsement of liberty. Moreover, we found that the relationship between the acceptance of surveillance technologies and both perceived threat and lack of control was particularly strong among people high in authoritarianism. Our research shows that the negative feelings evoked by the unprecedented global crisis may inspire positive attitudes towards helpful but controversial surveillance technologies but that they do so to a lesser extent than ideological beliefs.

Social campaigns are persuasive messages that attempt to communicate positive ideas and practices. One of the main challenges in designing effective social campaigns is the need to compete with other advertisements for viewers' attention. One of the most widely used methods of drawing attention to social advertising is the use of negative emotions. However, the effectiveness of negative emotional appeals in social campaigns is still a topic of debates. The aim of the study was to use both declarative and neural (EEG) measures to examine whether increasing the intensity of negative emotions in a social campaign enhances its effectiveness linearly or only to a certain level (curvilinear relation). The experimental study was conducted (N = 62) with road safety campaign, using three different levels of negative emotional intensity. The results showed that even though advertising with the strongest negative stimuli evoked the strongest negative emotions, it had no significantly stronger influence on behavioral intention (driving less risky) than moderately negative stimuli. Moreover, neural reaction to the negative stimuli in advertising depended on driving style-people with risky driving style payed less attention to more threatening message (higher beta oscillations).

In multi-attribute choice, people use heuristics to simplify decision problems. We studied the use of heuristic and rational strategies and their electrophysiological correlates. Since previous work linked the P3 ERP component to attention and decision making, we were interested whether the amplitude of this component is associated with decision strategy use. To this end, we recorded EEG when participants performed a two-alternative choice task, where they could acquire decision cues in a sequential manner and use them to make choices. We classified participants’ choices as consistent with a rational Weighted Additive rule (WADD) or a simple heuristic Take The Best (TTB). Participants differed in their preference for WADD and TTB. Using a permutation-based single trial approach, we analyzed EEG responses to consecutive decision cues and their relation to the individual strategy preference. The preference for WADD over TTB was associated with overall higher signal amplitudes to decision cues in the P3 time window. Moreover, the preference for WADD was associated with similar P3 amplitudes to consecutive cues, whereas the preference for TTB was associated with substantial decreases in P3 amplitudes to consecutive cues. We also found that the preference for TTB was associated with enhanced N1 component to cues that discriminated decision alternatives, suggesting very early attention allocation to such cues by TTB users. Our results suggest that preference for either WADD or TTB has an early neural signature reflecting differences in attentional weighting of decision cues. In light of recent findings and hypotheses regarding P3, we interpret these results as indicating the involvement of catecholamine arousal systems in shaping predecisional information processing and strategy selection.

Introduction. Imatinib mesylate (IM) remains a treatment of choice for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) showing a remarkable efficacy and providing a perspective for a long disease-free survival. Due to the long-term administration of IM, the questions about the possible impact on the development of secondary malignancies (SM) are raised. Objective. To investigate the frequency and clinical outcome of secondary malignancies during IM therapy for CML. Material and Methods. The records of 221 CML patients treated with IM between 2003-2013 in single institution were reviewed. The Chi-squared test was used for statistic analysis. Results. Secondary malignancies developed in eight out of the 221 patients (3.6%) receiving IM for a median of 61 months (range, 10-137 months). Female/male ratio was 5/3. Two patients were diagnosed with their CML at accelerated phase whereas 6 had chronic phase. The median age at IM initiation was 58 years (range, 31-72 years). Five of these 8 SM patients received IM after other treatments failure: interferon α (n=5), hydroxyurea (n=4) and cytarabine (n=1). Three patients received IM as a frontline therapy. All patients were on IM at 400mg daily at SM occurrence. The therapy for SM included surgery (n=3); chemotherapy only (n=3); and chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy (n=1). One patient did not receive treatment due to disseminated disease. At the time of SM development all patients were in hematologic and cytogenetic remission (CCR) of their CML and all patients continued their IM while receiving treatment for their SM. Among 8 patients with SM, five patients are alive and remain in CCR on IM whereas 3 patients died due to SM. The observed incidence of SM was found to be comparable with that expected in the age-adjusted population (chi-squared=0.4; p=0.52). Conclusions. The association between IM therapy for CML and SM development has not been found.