For any emerging pathogen, the preferred approach is to drive it to extinction with non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) or suppress its spread until effective drugs or vaccines are available. However, this might not always be possible. If containment is infeasible, the best people can hope for is pathogen transmission until population level immunity is achieved, with as little morbidity and mortality as possible.

A simple computational model was used to explore how people should choose NPI in a non-containment scenario to minimize mortality if mortality risk differs by age.

Results show that strong NPI might be worse overall if they cannot be sustained compared to weaker NPI of the same duration. It was also shown that targeting NPI at different age groups can lead to similar reductions in the total number of infected, but can have strong differences regarding the reduction in mortality.

Strong NPI that can be sustained until drugs or vaccines become available are always preferred for preventing infection and mortality. However, if people encounter a worst-case scenario where interventions cannot be sustained, allowing some infections to occur in lower-risk groups might lead to an overall greater reduction in mortality than trying to protect everyone equally.

Early studies of common mental disorders (CMDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic mainly report increases; however, more recent findings have been mixed. Also, studies assessing the effects of restriction measures on CMDs show varied results. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess changes in levels of CMDs from pre-/early to during the pandemic and the effects of restriction policies in the European population.

We searched for studies assessing both pre-pandemic and peri-pandemic self-reported emotional distress and symptoms of depression or anxiety among nationally/regionally representative samples in Europe and collected microdata from those studies. Estimates of corona containment index were related to changes in CMDs using random-effects meta-regression.

Our search strategy resulted in findings from 15 datasets drawn from 8 European countries being included in the meta-analysis. There was no evidence of change in the prevalence of emotional distress, anxiety, or depression from before to during the pandemic; but from early pandemic periods to later periods, there were significant decreases in emotional distress and anxiety. Increased school restrictions and social distancing were associated with small increases in self-reported emotional distress.

Despite initial concerns of increased emotional distress and mental illness due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the results from this meta-analysis indicate that there was a decrease in emotional distress and no change in anxiety or depression in the general population in Europe. Overall, our findings support the importance of strong governance when implementing periodic and robust restriction measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The present study aims to delineate the role of preexisting depression for changes in common mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using mixed-effects linear regression models, we analyzed data on the course of depressive (Patient Health Questionnaire-2) and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2) symptoms as well as loneliness (three-item UCLA Loneliness Scale) in a subset of the Socio-Economic Panel Study, a large and nationally representative household panel study from Germany. Participants were assessed during the first COVID-19 wave in Germany (March 31 to July 4, 2020; n = 6,694) and prospectively followed up at the peak of the second COVID-19 wave (January 18 to February 15, 2021; n = 6,038).

Overall, anxiety and depressive symptoms decreased, whereas loneliness increased from the first to the second COVID-19 wave. However, depressive symptoms increased and the surge in loneliness was steeper in those with versus without clinically relevant depressive symptoms in 2019 or a history of a depressive disorder before the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety symptoms remained stable throughout the pandemic in individuals with versus without clinically relevant depressive symptoms in 2019. Pre-pandemic depression was associated with overall higher depressive and anxiety symptoms and loneliness across both assessments. The stringency of lockdown measures did not affect the results.

Our findings suggest that individuals with a history of depressive symptoms before the COVID-19 pandemic are at increased risk to experience an escalation of mental health problems due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, they might particularly profit from targeted prevention and early intervention programs.

This study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) reserved for influenza pandemics (voluntary home quarantine, use of face masks by ill persons, childcare facility closures, school closures, and social distancing at schools, workplaces, and mass gatherings).

Public health officials in all 50 states (including Washington, DC) and 8 territories, and a random sample of 822 local health departments (LHDs), were surveyed in 2019.

The response rates for the states/ territories and LHDs were 75% (44/ 59) and 25% (206/ 822), respectively. Most of the state/ territorial respondents stated that the feasibility and acceptability of implementing NPIs were high, except for K-12 school closures lasting up to 6 weeks or 6 months. The LHD respondents also indicated that feasibility and acceptability were lowest for prolonged school closures. Compared to LHD respondents in suburban or urban areas, those in rural areas expressed lower feasibility and acceptability. Barriers to implementing NPIs included financial impact, compliance and difficulty in enforcement, perceived level of disease threat, and concerns regarding political implications.

Proactive strategies to systematically address perceived barriers and promote disease prevention ahead of a new pandemic are needed to increase receptivity and consistent adoption of NPIs and other evidence-based countermeasures.

People with personality disorders (PD) share some impairments in personality functioning (e.g. identity, intimacy, empathy) that are also associated with inner or interpersonal conflicts, and sometimes also with different strategies of moral disengagement (MD). It is unclear whether MD strategies are related to individuals with/without PD and their willingness to have social contacts with representatives of otherness (like minorities, physically handicapped, etc.).

Comparison of the differences in MD strategies and social distance to the otherness of healthy controls and people with PD, and the influence of personality functioning.

Moral Disengagement Scale which measures eight MD strategies, the Semi-Structured Interview for Personality Functioning DSM-5 assessing the Self and Interpersonal functioning, and Bogardus Social Distance Scale measuring perceived social distance toward various representatives of otherness are applied in two samples (general population and personality disorders).

People with PD showed a significantly higher propensity to use various MD strategies than healthy controls with moderate effect size (.34–.49). Moral disengagement is facilitated by different aspects of personality functioning in both samples, sharing the impairments in maintaining close relationships. Both samples differed in MD strategies connected with higher social distancing.

People with PD are more prone to moral disengagement than healthy adults. MD appears to be facilitated by different aspects of personality functioning in both samples. Some representants of otherness are more related to specific MD strategies. We hypothesize that understanding of specific MD strategies used by people with PD can provide insight and explain some of their behavior.

The Group of Studies and Research on Psychology and Cognition (GEPESPSI) in Brazil has developed important academic and clinical actions on mental health in contexts of difficult psychological handling.

GEPESPSI organized a symposium to discuss the psychological effects of isolation due to the strict measures of social distancing.

11 psychologists and one speech language pathologist discussed possible contributions to face social distancing in their specific fields of expertise in a virtual symposium of two days. The themes were: university teaching; support to the development of social and emotional competencies among children; the threat of the death of dreams in a phenomenological perspective; resilience and self-esteem; the repercussions of the lack of the school space for socialization; psychological tools for facing isolation; the challenges and perspectives of women who are victims of violence; online therapy for children; the health of workers; suicidal behavior; formulation of educational policies for remote learning and family mental health.

1094 people were enrolled with an average of 400 people participating in each period. 91,1% of which were graduate students of a university. 55,7% were students of Psychology, 12,8% of Pedagogy, 6% of Physical Therapy among other courses. 39,8% of them were from the city of Santos, the others were from different regions of the country.

The feedback given by the participants was positive and involved gains such as sharing experience and knowledge but mainly creating connections to exchange psychological tools as a way of facing the difficulties of social distancing among researchers and graduate students.

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and its main symptoms are fever, dry cough and difficulty breathing. It spread to several countries, which led the World Health Organization to decree, on March 11, 2020, a pandemic state that deeply affected Brazil. Due to the impossibility of leaving the house, the routine of children with autism was changed. Children in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a qualitative deficit in social interaction. Clinical and daily observations reinforce several scientific studies that defend the importance of maintaining a routine as stable as possible for people with ASD, without this stability they may become emotionally disorganized, feel discomfort or even irritability.

Investigate the impact caused by social distancing on the development of children and adolescents with autism.

An online questionnaire based on the DIR/Floortime basic map of emotional functional capacity development was distributed in Brazil from April to May, 2020. The results were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results obtained from 122 questionnaires showed that after 30 days of quarantine 20% of children no longer had the characteristic of being able to remain calm and organized for at least 2 minutes; 11% no longer initiates interactions with their parents; 27% demonstrated more protests and anger than before the social distancing; 18% demonstrated more emotions such as anger, fear and intimacy, 28% began to understand their limits and 12% of the children are using greater facial expression during the social distancing.

This study brings results that can help to understand the processes in a child with autism.

In response to the spread of COVID-19, many Brazilian therapists faced the challenge of taking their practices online considering legal and ethical issues, besides learning to handle new technologies in a way the therapeutic setting was maintained. The cooperation of the family is fundamental for the creation and maintenance of an adequate therapeutic setting. Children are not sufficiently mature to speak clearly about what bothers them or to talk about how they feel and why, so, drawing, pretend playing, story telling, playing games are the common tools for children’s communication during therapy.

Evaluating if online therapy for children can support therapeutic play tools and be effective in a virtual environment preserving the therapeutic setting.

Two children aged 6 to 11 attended the psychological sessions that were conducted through video calls.The family should provide a silent and private room for those sessions. The children were free to choose the toy they would like to play with and that was available at home such as board games, comic and story books. Mimicry, drawing, an adaptation of the Winnicott Squiggle Game were used, as well as electronic games through screen sharing.

The emotional conflicts were expressed either through conventional games and play or electronic games. Playing with children online was possible as well as maintaining the therapeutic alliance in order to carry on with the treatment in a proper therapeutic setting.

Online therapy for kids showed to be an effective form of service delivery, under strict measures of social distancing in Brazil.

Through the application of the Health Belief Model, this study sought to explore how relationships between perceived susceptibility, severity, and benefits of social distancing recommendations, as well as psychological factors, may impact compliance with COVID-19 social distancing recommendations in the United States.

Between October and November 2020, a convenience sample of English-speaking adults in the United States completed an online, cross-sectional survey which included items assessing beliefs around threats (e.g., perceived susceptibility and severity), response efficacy (e.g., perceived benefits), psychological factors (e.g., stress and COVID-specific anxiety), and compliance with social distancing measures (e.g., avoiding social gatherings).

Social distancing compliance was positively associated with perceived susceptibility of COVID-19 (b = 0.42, P < 0.05) and perceived benefits of social distancing recommendations (b = 0.81, P < 0.01). No significant associations were found between perceived severity of COVID-19 (P = 0.38), general stress (P = 0.28), COVID-19-related anxiety (P = 0.12), and compliance.

Findings suggest that perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 and perceived benefits of social distancing measures significantly increased compliance with social distancing recommendations in this convenience sample of U.S. adults.