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Background and Objectives: We investigated the trajectories of anxiety, general anxiety and more specifically COVID-19 anxiety in the period of school closure in Slovenia using a longitudinal design with three time points: at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the school year., Design and Methods: We have used data from a representative adolescent sample for Slovenia ( n  = 1233) and two anxiety scales: the LAOM Anxiety Scale and the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale. The findings from latent growth curve models show a significant difference in initial levels and a decrease in both types of anxiety as well as an interaction effect between the initial level and the rate of change of COVID-19 anxiety. In addition to investigating the change in time, we were interested in covariates., Results and Conclusions: The findings show significant effects of: (a) gender, school level and academic achievement on initial levels of COVID-19 anxiety; (b) gender and school level on initial levels of anxiety; (c) gender on the rate of change in anxiety; (d) academic achievement on the rate of change in COVID-19 anxiety; and, additionally, (e) the significant but different role that school belongingness plays in anxiety and in particular COVID-19 anxiety.

Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a widely used measure that captures somatic symptoms of coronavirus-related anxiety. In a large-scale collaboration spanning 60 countries ( N = 21,513), we examined the CAS's measurement invariance and assessed the convergent validity of CAS scores in relation to the fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) and the satisfaction with life (SWLS-3) scales. We utilized both conventional exact invariance tests and alignment procedures, with results revealing that the single-factor model fit the data well in almost all countries. Partial scalar invariance was supported in a subset of 56 countries. To ensure the robustness of results, given the unbalanced samples, we employed resampling techniques both with and without replacement and found the results were more stable in larger samples. The alignment procedure demonstrated a high degree of measurement invariance with 9% of the parameters exhibiting noninvariance. We also conducted simulations of alignment using the parameters estimated in the current model. Findings demonstrated reliability of the means but indicated challenges in estimating the latent variances. Strong positive correlations between CAS and FCV-19S estimated with all three different approaches were found in most countries. Correlations of CAS and SWLS-3 were weak and negative but significantly differed from zero in several countries. Overall, the study provided support for the measurement invariance of the CAS and offered evidence of its convergent validity while also highlighting issues with variance estimation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).total = 21,513), we examined the CAS's measurement invariance and assessed the convergent validity of CAS scores in relation to the fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19S) and the satisfaction with life (SWLS-3) scales. We utilized both conventional exact invariance tests and alignment procedures, with results revealing that the single-factor model fit the data well in almost all countries. Partial scalar invariance was supported in a subset of 56 countries. To ensure the robustness of results, given the unbalanced samples, we employed resampling techniques both with and without replacement and found the results were more stable in larger samples. The alignment procedure demonstrated a high degree of measurement invariance with 9% of the parameters exhibiting noninvariance. We also conducted simulations of alignment using the parameters estimated in the current model. Findings demonstrated reliability of the means but indicated challenges in estimating the latent variances. Strong positive correlations between CAS and FCV-19S estimated with all three different approaches were found in most countries. Correlations of CAS and SWLS-3 were weak and negative but significantly differed from zero in several countries. Overall, the study provided support for the measurement invariance of the CAS and offered evidence of its convergent validity while also highlighting issues with variance estimation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated anxiety and triggered a new and specific COVID-19 anxiety in all age groups, especially in adolescence. The aim of the present study was to identify differences between anxiety and COVID-19 anxiety in profiles of positive outcomes by using the Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework (i.e., the Five Cs of competence, confidence, character, caring, and connection) on a sample of 1,977 adolescents from Slovenia (57.4% females; M age  = 15.34 years) from lower- and upper-secondary schools. Latent profile analysis revealed four distinctive profiles: High PYD, Self-efficacious, Socio-emotional, and Low PYD. The High PYD profile reported lower anxiety and moderate COVID-19 anxiety; the Self-efficacious profile reported lower anxiety and the lowest COVID-19 anxiety; the Socio-emotional profile reported moderate anxiety and the highest COVID-19 anxiety; and the Low PYD profile reported higher anxiety and moderate COVID-19 anxiety. The study findings suggest that higher levels of competence, confidence, and connection can mitigate anxiety, while higher levels of caring are associated with COVID-19 anxiety. Nonetheless, the study supports the promotion of all Five Cs of the PYD framework to prevent anxiety, COVID-19 anxiety, and maladaptive developmental outcomes. The study provides important insights into profiling responses to extreme situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

In addition to COVID-19 being a health threat, its longevity and restrictions act as significant stressors and risk for mental health. In the current study, we take a look at how psychological response, both its positive aspects, for example, mental well-being and life satisfaction, and its negative aspects, for example, anxiety and COVID-19 anxiety, have changed as the pandemic has continued (first three waves in Slovenia). Additionally, we are interested in whether the psychological response is associated with the perception of stress level in waves 2 and 3 as less, equally or more stressful when compared to the stress level in wave 1 and what shapes these perceptions. An online questionnaire battery (COVID-19 stress level comparison, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale; LAOM Anxiety Scale; Global Life Satisfaction scale; COVID-19 anxiety), with ANOVA and qualitative analysis of the open-ended question on reasons for perceiving wave 2 and wave 3 as more stressful when compared to wave 1, was used on a Slovene convenience adult sample (wave 1: N = 364, 83.5% female; wave 2: N = 987, 85.5% female; wave 3: N = 467, 78.5% female). The findings show (a) a significant increase in COVID-19 anxiety from wave 1 to wave 3, with a peak in wave 2, and a significant decrease in mental well-being from wave 1 to wave 3; (b) the level of anxiety, mental well-being, and life satisfaction differs significantly between individuals who perceive wave 2 and 3 as more stressful compared to individuals who perceive wave 2 and wave 3 as equally or less stressful when compared to wave 1; (c) reasons for perceiving the succeeding waves of the pandemic as more stressful compared to wave 1 are diverse, with some being reported in both succeeding waves (e.g., negative emotional response to the pandemic, negative perceptions of measures). The findings highlight the important role of stress analysis in identifying the support mechanisms for dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

With stress related to the COVID–19 pandemic, an increase in anxiety and a decrease in overall mental well-being is expected. We investigated the role of emotional competencies (mindfulness and emotional self-efficacy) for psychological responding (mental well-being, general anxiety, and COVID–19 anxiety) during the COVID–19 pandemic. We also examined whether practising mindfulness with inner (meditation-based) and body (yoga-based) exercises supports emotional competencies. Our sample consisted of 364 participants (83.5% females, M = 37.21 years, SD = 12.92 years). Findings showed that emotional competencies are a viable source of support in psychological responses to COVID–19, with Emotional self-efficacy and Accept without judgement playing the strongest roles. Moreover, practising mindfulness was shown to foster several aspects of emotional competencies (i.e., Observe, Describe, and Emotional self-efficacy). There is an ambiguous finding regarding Observe scale that was also found problematic in other studies. The implications for possible interventions are discussed.