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This article offers an overview over the political steps and containment proceedures during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark 2020.

I denne artikel undersøges det, hvorvidt COVID-19-krisens første nedlukning har påvirket danskernes eksistentielt i form øget oplevelse af mening i livet og eller givet anledning til eksistentiel krise, samt om bestemte karakteristika er forbundet hermed. Vi fandt, at et stort flertal gav udtryk for håb og tillid til sekulære ressourcer såsom videnskaben, myndigheder, og menneskeheden, også blandt personer med en stærk religiøsitet. En fjerdedel af deltagerne gav udtryk for at opleve mere mening i livet, mens en fjerdedel gav udtryk for eksistentiel krise. Særligt unge gav udtryk for både øget meningsfuldhed, men også øget krise. Angivelse af krise var kraftigt korreleret til dårligere mentalt velbefindende, men også til frygt for smitte samt lavere uddannelse og indkomst, hvilket indikerer at personer med færre socio-økonomiske ressourcer synes at være mere sårbare i en krisetid som denne. This article investigates how the lockdown during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the Danish population existentially in terms of experienced meaning in life or crisis of meaning, and whether specific socio-demographic characteristics and mental health were associated with these existential factors. The study finds that a majority of Danes express hope and trust in secular resources such as science, authorities, and humanity. This was also prevalent among participants who described themselves as religious. One-fourth of participants reported experiencing increased meaning in life, while another fourth reported experiencing a crisis of meaning. Especially young participants reported increased meaningfulness, but also higher crisis of meaning. Reporting a crisis of meaning was moderately associated with poorer mental health, as well as fear of contamination and lower education and income. This may indicate that individuals having fewer socio-economic resources are more vulnerable in a crisis like this.

Denne artikel leverer en oversigt over og en gennemgang af de konkrete politiske indgreb, som den danske regering foretog med henblik på at opdæmme smittespredning i de første måneder af COVID-19-pandemien i Danmark 2020.

Additional file 1.

Faith experiences constitute important sources of meaning but also a risk of religious struggles. However, studies exploring the faith experiences of clients in relation to psychological functioning in psychotherapy are needed, especially in secularized countries. This study investigated how clients described faith experiences when addressed in psychotherapy, how they experienced faith in relation to coping, and how the experiences were integrated into the psychotherapy. Written records of 33 clients from a psychological clinic with outpatient care in Denmark were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The most prevalent diagnoses among the clients were stress, depression, anxiety, and life crises. The clients reported that spiritual and religious beliefs functioned as sources of meaning and constituted either a strength, a challenge, or a combination of both. The psychosocial life and coping strategies of the clients were interwoven with faith experiences. A psychological, resource-focused approach in relation to the clients' religious challenges seemed to help them toward a more flexible and resource-oriented faith. Assessing faith experiences as sources of meaning in a therapeutic approach focusing on the client's resources may increase both the psychological functioning of clients and the therapists' understanding of clients' lifeworlds.

The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe) offers dimensional measures of meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and 26 sources of meaning. It allows for a clearer understanding of the variety of existential orientations, which are known to be linked to both mental and physical health. The Norwegian version of the SoMe was validated by testing 925 randomly selected individuals who were representative for the Norwegian population. Reliability scores were satisfactory; factor analyses suggested a 6-factor structure of the sources of meaning scales. Expected patterns of associations with mental health and quality-of-life factors attested the instrument’s construct validity: Meaningfulness showed positive relationships to all quality-of-life factors. There was no relationship with anxiety but negative relationships with depression and distress. Crisis of meaning established a strong positive relationship with anxiety, depression, and distress and a negative relationship with quality-of-life factors. Criterion validity was documented by expected differences in meaningfulness and crisis of meaning between groups with and without presence of depression disorder. Self-efficacy correlated strongly with sources of meaning from the dimension “accomplishment” and moderately negatively with sources of meaning from the dimension “vertical selftranscendence.”

Clients’ existential, spiritual, and religious needs in clinical settingsObjectives: Existential, spiritual, and religious needs are seldom assessed systematically in therapeutic settings. However, these needs may very well be present and a core concern for the client. Thus, psychologists risk to overlook important needs of the client. In the present study, we tested a method of assessing clients’ existential, spiritual, and religious needs in a private psycho-therapeutic clinic. We investigated how clients described these needs, and how they experienced them in relation to coping. Methods: Written consents were obtained from 33 clients and expressions concerning existential, spiritual, or religious needs were extracted from the records. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was applied to analyse the qualitative data. Results: All clients reported religious belief, and more than half described their faith as both a strength and a challenge. Case-analysis showed that psychological aspects were interwoven with religious belief and with the function of the belief. Further, the psychological approach in relation to religious challenges seemed to help clients restructure resulting in a more flexible faith and practice. Conclusions: Assessing existential, spiritual, and religious needs is a valuable way to understand the clients’ lifeworld. Using a structured approach in clinical practice helps psychologists to prioritise this perspective in the communication with the clients. Clients’ existential, spiritual, and religious needs in clinical settingsObjectives: Existential, spiritual, and religious needs are seldom assessed systematically in therapeutic settings. However, these needs may very well be present and a core concern for the client. Thus, psychologists risk to overlook important needs of the client. In the present study, we tested a method of assessing clients’ existential, spiritual, and religious needs in a private psycho-therapeutic clinic. We investigated how clients described these needs, and how they experienced them in relation to coping. Methods: Written consents were obtained from 33 clients and expressions concerning existential, spiritual, or religious needs were extracted from the records. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was applied to analyse the qualitative data. Results: All clients reported religious belief, and more than half described their faith as both a strength and a challenge. Case-analysis showed that psychological aspects were interwoven with religious belief and with the function of the belief. Further, the psychological approach in relation to religious challenges seemed to help clients restructure resulting in a more flexible faith and practice. Conclusions: Assessing existential, spiritual, and religious needs is a valuable way to understand the clients’ lifeworld. Using a structured approach in clinical practice helps psychologists to prioritise this perspective in the communication with the clients.

“THE INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOSOCIAL VARIABLES ON THE USE OF RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL COPING AND QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG DANISH CANCER PATIENTS”Pedersen, H.F., Pedersen, C.G., Zachariae, R. Psychooncology Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital and University of Aarhus, DenmarkAim: Use of religious/spiritual resources in coping may be prevalent in patients with cancer considering the life-threatening nature of the illness. Religious/spiritual coping has been found to have both positive and negative effects on quality of life and illness adjustment among cancer patients, with adaptive religious coping styles such as seeking social or spiritual support resulting in more favourable outcomes than more maladaptive religious coping such as seeing cancer as Gods punishment. However, little is known about the psychosocial factors associated with the use of religious/spiritual coping style. Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore: 1) the use of religious/spiritual coping among Danish cancer patients compared to a healthy population, 2) changes in the use of religious/spiritual coping over time, 3) the psychosocial factors associated with the use of religious/spiritual coping, and 4) influence of religious/spiritual coping on quality of life Design/Method: A prospective study of 1.500 newly diagnosed Danish lung cancer patients, will be compared to a healthy, age and gender matched control group with respect to their use of religious/spiritual coping, quality of life, and relevant psychosocial variables. Lung cancer patients complete baseline questionnaire shortly after diagnosis and follow-up questionnaires at 6 and 12 months after diagnosis. Perspectives: Knowledge about the use of positive and negative religious coping over time among a life-threatened group in a secular society will help health care professionals to be more attentive and responsive to the religious and spiritual needs of the patients. Furthermore, the results could identify possible psychosocial factors that may predict the use of positive and negative religious/spiritual coping, which will help healthcare professionals to identify patients at risk of using a negative religious/spiritual coping style resulting in poorer quality of life and illness adjustment.

En kræftdiagnose vil som regel have negativ indvirkning på patienters psykologiske og sociale velbefindende. Religiøsitet eller spiritualitet kan tænkes at være en måde, kræftsygdommen søges håndteret på, og eksistentielt velbefindende er blevet positivt forbundet med psykologisk, socialt og fysisk velbefindende samt med oplevelsen af global livskvalitet. Undersøgelser peger på, at der forekommer religiøse og spirituelle behov både blandt kræftpatienter internationalt og i Danmark, der ikke imødekommes. Selvom resultater af nogle undersøgelser kunne indikere, at religiøsitet/spiritualitet kan have indflydelse på fysiologiske processer af betydning for kræft, er det fortsat uafklaret, om religiøse/spirituelle faktorer har indflydelse på overlevelse og/eller kræftsygdomsforløb. Der er brug for yderligere undersøgelser for at afklare, på hvilken måde religiøs/ spirituel mestring kan have gavnlig indvirkning for kræftpatienter ikke mindst i et sekulært samfund som det danske.