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BackgroundThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is expected to have widespread and pervasive implications for mental health in terms of deteriorating outcomes and increased health service use, leading to calls for empirical research on mental health during the pandemic. Internet-based psychological measurement can play an important role in collecting imperative data, assisting to guide evidence-based decision making in practice and policy, and subsequently facilitating immediate reporting of measurement results to participants. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to use an internet-based mental health measurement platform to compare the mental health profile of community members during COVID-19 with community members assessed before the pandemic. MethodsThis study uses an internet-based self-assessment tool to collect data on psychological distress, mental well-being, and resilience in community cohorts during (n=673) and prior to the pandemic (two cohorts, n=1264 and n=340). ResultsOur findings demonstrate significantly worse outcomes on all mental health measures for participants measured during COVID-19 compared to those measured before (P

Author(s): Gözde Kiral Ucar [sup.1] , Matthias Donat [sup.2] , Jonathan Bartholomaeus [sup.3] , Kendra Thomas [sup.4] , Sofya Nartova-Bochaver [sup.5] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.412364.6, 0000 0001 0680 7807, Department [...], The purpose of this study was to understand the complex relationships between belief in a just world (BJW), perceived control, perceived risk to self and others, and hopelessness among a globally diverse sample during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The just-world hypothesis suggests that people need to believe in a just world in which they get what they deserve and deserve what they get. Studies have shown that believing in a just world has an adaptive function for individuals. Samples from six countries completed an online questionnaire. A total of 1,250 people participated (934 female) and ages ranged from 16 to 84 years old (M = 36.3, SD = 15.5). The results showed that, when controlling for gender, age, country of residence, and being in a risk group for COVID-19 (e.g., smoker, old age, chronic disease etc.), a stronger personal and general BJW and higher perceived control over the COVID-19 pandemic predicted lower levels of hopelessness. How at-risk participants perceived themselves to be for COVID-19 positively predicted hopelessness, but how risky participants perceived the disease to be for others negatively predicted hopelessness. This study highlights how the distinction between self and others influences hopelessness and how BJW, especially personal BJW, can serve as a psychological resource during times of historic uncertainty.

Belief in a just world for the self (BJW-self) is a resource that promotes adaptive functioning. We theorize that BJW-self has such an effect because it is empowering. This article reports on four studies (N = 967) testing whether BJW-self encourages more positive and less negative affect indirectly through empowerment. There was support for this hypothesis at a trait level across all studies, and specifically in Study 1. Experimental evidence, however, was more complex. Study 2 demonstrated the causal effect of the mediator, empowerment, on affect. Study 3 demonstrated that affirming BJW-self enhanced empowerment with an associated increase in positive affect and reduced negative affect. Study 4 showed that enhancing empowerment did not significantly influence the effect of affirmed BJW-self on affect, but blocking empowerment did, although this finding is qualified by no significant effect on empowerment. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings, and the challenges of experimentally manipulating BJW-self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the incidence, trends, and differences between age groups and sex in Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS)‐subsidised mental health service utilisation by older Australians over the past 10 years. Methods: A cross‐sectional cohort study between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2019 was conducted using publicly available MBS data for older individuals aged ≥65 years. Age‐ and sex‐standardised yearly incidence rates of psychological therapy (MBS M06), GP mental health treatments (MBS A20), focussed psychological strategy (MBS M07), and psychiatric attendances (MBS A08) and incidence rate ratios (IRR) estimated using Poisson regression were calculated. Results: Overall, the rate of utilisation of primary care mental health services by the older population increased over the study period, with psychological therapy claims increasing the greatest from 14.4/1000 older persons in 2009/10 to 38.5/1000 in 2018/19 (IRR 1.11, 95% CI 1.09–1.13), followed by GP mental health treatments increasing from 43.7/1000 (95% CI 43.4–43.9) in 2009/10 to 81.0/1000 (95% CI 80.7–81.3) in 2018/19 (IRR 1.07/year, 95% CI 1.06–1.09). Females aged 65–74 years had the highest use of GP mental health treatments at 123.8/1000 compared to 63.6/1000 in males in 2018/2019. Conclusions: While utilisation of mental health services by the older population in Australia has increased over the study period, it is important that policymakers and service providers continue to support access and use of these services, which may facilitate well‐being and quality of life in the older population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longevity is a valuable resource for society, as older people are increasingly looking for new ways to contribute after retirement. Their contribution is however dependent upon their physical health, mental health and wellbeing. The potential role that mental health and wellbeing, two separate but interrelated constructs, play often are both under-recognised and insufficiently targeted. Positive ageing is a positive and constructive view of ageing, where older people actively work on maintaining a positive attitude, work towards keeping fit and healthy, and strive to maximize their wellbeing. Interventions stimulating positive ageing show promising results for both mental health and wellbeing, and telehealth can play an important role in improving the reach and effectiveness of positive ageing interventions. Telehealth solutions can also help researchers reliably measure and better understand the drivers of wellbeing at individual and population levels; results that can both form the basis for advancing the field of positive ageing and help inform public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the development and validation of the Episodic Empowerment Scale (EES): A manipulation check designed to measure a momentary psychological state. In Study 1, participants (n = 125) completed a selection of candidate items after being exposed to a low- or high-power manipulation. Exploratory factor analysis was used to reduce the number of items to a brief five-item measure. We then examined the validity, reliability, and stability of the EES. Study 2 (n = 143) compared the target sensitivity of the EES to a widely used measure of power. In Study 3 (n = 129), we investigated the discriminant content validity of the EES by testing its sensitivity to a non-target manipulation: positive and negative affect. Finally, in a large-scale replication, Study 4 (n = 479) established the measurement invariance of the EES across experimental conditions and the interaction between conditions and gender as well as replicating the findings from Study 1. Our results indicate that the EES is a brief, valid, and sensitive manipulation check. Findings are discussed within the broader context of validating self-report manipulation checks and the importance of employing robust psychometric techniques in experimental social psychology., (© 2024 British Psychological Society.)