Dataset Information

Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

ABSTRACT: During the COVID-19 outbreak, individuals with or without mental disorders may resort to dysfunctional psychological strategies that could trigger or heighten their emotional distress. The current study aims to explore the links between maladaptive daydreaming (MD, i.e., a compulsive fantasy activity associated with distress and psychological impairment), psychological symptoms of depression, anxiety, and negative stress, and COVID-19-related variables, such as changes in face-to-face and online relationships, during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. A total of 6,277 Italian adults completed an online survey, including socio-demographic variables, COVID-19 related information, the 16-item Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16), and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 Items (DASS-21). Based on an empirically derived cut-off score, 1,082 participants (17.2%) were identified as probable maladaptive daydreamers (MDers). A binary logistic regression revealed that compared to controls, probable MDers reported that during the COVID-19 lockdown they experienced higher levels of anxiety and depression, decreased online social relationships, and, surprisingly, stable or increased face-to-face social relationships. Given the peculiar characteristics of the pandemic context, these findings suggest that the exposure to the risk of contagion had probably exacerbated the tendency of probable MDers to lock themselves inside their mental fantasy worlds, which in turn may have contributed to further estrangement from online social relationships and support, thus worsening their emotional distress.

SUBMITTER: Musetti A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8024516 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

Musetti Alessandro A Franceschini Christian C Pingani Luca L Freda Maria Francesca MF Saita Emanuela E Vegni Elena E Zenesini Corrado C Quattropani Maria Catena MC Lenzo Vittorio V Margherita Giorgia G Lemmo Daniela D Corsano Paola P Borghi Lidia L Cattivelli Roberto R Plazzi Giuseppe G Castelnuovo Gianluca G Somer Eli E Schimmenti Adriano A

Frontiers in psychology 20210324

During the COVID-19 outbreak, individuals with or without mental disorders may resort to dysfunctional psychological strategies that could trigger or heighten their emotional distress. The current study aims to explore the links between maladaptive daydreaming (MD, i.e., a compulsive fantasy activity associated with distress and psychological impairment), psychological symptoms of depression, anxiety, and negative stress, and COVID-19-related variables, such as changes in face-to-face and online ...[more]

PMID: 33841264

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Project description:From March 11 to April 26, 2020, the Italian government imposed a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, a quarantine that resulted in significant restrictions on the movement and social contacts of the population, with a view to limiting the pandemic outbreak. The quarantine forced people to experience distorted social distance in two contrasting ways. For some people, it resulted in social distancing and isolation, for example by separating noncohabiting couples into different dwellings. For others, however, quarantine increased and imposed social closeness, forcing couples and families into constant, daily, and prolonged cohabitation. The aim of this study was to investigate the sexual health and behaviors of Italian adults during the lockdown period using a multimethod research. An open- and a closed-ended e-questionnaire were administered immediately after the end of the lockdown. A total of 465 Italian adults completed the digital questionnaire (female = 78.7%). Participants recognized their lived sexual experience with generally positive characteristics (related to openness, unproblematic relationship with the body, and awareness and self-reflection about one's sexuality), while negative thoughts such as worry and pain were quite scarce. Participants with a disability (5.6%) showed a marked inversion compared to the mean of respondents, recognizing themselves mainly in negative thoughts related to low self-esteem, inadequacy, and feelings of suffering, yet reporting a higher than mean level of arousal. In the qualitative analysis, the Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) index was computed to measure the salience of the word used by participants to respond to the open-ended five questions. It revealed a generally depressed emotional experience associated with the experience of lockdown, both in terms of desire, which seemed to be shifted more to the level of imagination and fantasies, and the actual possibility of experiencing sexual activity as usual. Nevertheless, the participants emphasized an opening to new possibilities in terms of expressing sexuality, accompanied by a rediscovery of the value of tenderness and affectivity as well as a clearer awareness of their sexual life, needs, and desires.

Project description:BackgroundOn December 12th 2019, a new coronavirus (SARS-Cov2) emerged in Wuhan, China, sparking a pandemic of acute respiratory syndrome in humans (COVID-19). On the 24th of April 2020, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the world, according to the COVID-Case Tracker by Johns Hopkins University, was 195,313, and the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases was 2,783,512. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive impact on human health, causing sudden lifestyle changes, through social distancing and isolation at home, with social and economic consequences. Optimizing public health during this pandemic requires not only knowledge from the medical and biological sciences, but also of all human sciences related to lifestyle, social and behavioural studies, including dietary habits and lifestyle.MethodsOur study aimed to investigate the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating habits and lifestyle changes among the Italian population aged ≥ 12 years. The study comprised a structured questionnaire packet that inquired demographic information (age, gender, place of residence, current employment); anthropometric data (reported weight and height); dietary habits information (adherence to the Mediterranean diet, daily intake of certain foods, food frequency, and number of meals/day); lifestyle habits information (grocery shopping, habit of smoking, sleep quality and physical activity). The survey was conducted from the 5th to the 24th of April 2020.ResultsA total of 3533 respondents have been included in the study, aged between 12 and 86 years (76.1% females). The perception of weight gain was observed in 48.6% of the population; 3.3% of smokers decided to quit smoking; a slight increased physical activity has been reported, especially for bodyweight training, in 38.3% of respondents; the population group aged 18-30 years resulted in having a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet when compared to the younger and the elderly population (p < 0.001; p < 0.001, respectively); 15% of respondents turned to farmers or organic, purchasing fruits and vegetables, especially in the North and Center of Italy, where BMI values were lower.ConclusionsIn this study, we have provided for the first time data on the Italian population lifestyle, eating habits and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet pattern during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, our data need to be confirmed and investigated in future more extensive population studies.

Project description:IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic led to the implementation of physical-social distancing measures-including self-isolation, home confinement, and quarantine around the world, with psychological consequences such as depression. Older adults are especially likely to develop depressive symptomatology. This study aims to investigate the association between physical activity intensities and sedentary behavior with depression levels among previously active older adults during the COVID-19 lockdown.MethodsA total of 1,123 physically active older Brazilian adults (67.68 ± 5.91 years, 91.00% female) were interviewed by telephone in regard to sociodemographic, general health status, depression (GDS-15), and physical activity (IPAQ-SV) after being home-confined for 11.59 ± 2.42 weeks. Participants were also asked to self-report changes in their physical activity levels and time spent sitting. Descriptive statistics (mean, frequencies), between-groups comparisons (t-tests and chi-square), and hierarchical regression analysis were used.ResultsAbout 83.80% of older adults self-reported a decrease in daily physical activity levels and 73.90% increased sitting time. Overall, depressive symptoms were observed in 30.40, and 20.80% met physical activity recommendations. Daily moderate (β = -0.174; 95% CI = -0.026; -0.012) and moderate-to-vigorous (β = -0.183; 95% CI = -0.023; 0.011) physical activity intensities were negatively associated with depression score explaining 2.6 and 2.9% of depression variability, respectively, after adjusting for age, gender, education level, body mass index, and polypharmacy. Daily walking and sitting time were not associated with the depression score (p > 0.05).ConclusionThe results provide empiric suggestion supporting moderate to vigorous physical activity as a way to reduce depressive levels among older adults during COVID-19 confinement. Supervised home-based exercise programs, specifically designed for older adults, might be an important strategy to maintain and improve older adults' mental health.

Dataset Information

Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

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Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

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