Lockdown Conditions Research Articles

Increased Gender Based Violence during the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Zimbabwean Case Study

The brief addresses the increase of GBV in the wake of COVID-19. Outlining the possible triggers of violence under COVID-19 lockdowns, the brief argues that emergence situations affect social relations, worsen gender inequalities that already exist between men and women as well as violence perpetrated against women and girls .The brief stresses the need by the Zimbabwean government to come up with strategies and measures so that rampant cases of gender based violence may be kept at bay in future health pandemics through identifying and developing needs based solutions, where women and girls are at the center of responses to the crisis. The brief also targets researchers and practitioners to help inform further evidence generation and policy action within the broader intersectional gender- and feminist-informed pandemic response. The brief concludes by making recommendations on how the Zimbabwean government can prepare for future health pandemics.Under current lockdown conditions, desk review, social, media reports analysis; observation and telephone interviews with key selected informants were used.

“We Can ‘Break Bread’ Virtually:” Routinized and Ritualized Aspects of Family Food Provisioning in the United States During Lockdown

ABSTRACT Routines and rituals are ubiquitous across scholarship in family communication yet are overlapping and idiosyncratic concepts, making a clear distinction between them difficult. This paper builds clarification around the concepts by arguing for attending to what we call the routinized and ritualized aspects of family activities. We demonstrate this approach’s utility through a qualitative thematic discourse analysis of 697 Twitter posts discussing the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on family food practices in the United States. We identify three themes that convey the broad impacts of lockdown conditions on family food practices: bolstering, disruption, and reimagining. We then analyze each theme’s salience within daily meals and holiday meals – two food provisioning sites frequently considered routines and rituals, respectively. Theoretically, this paper forwards a conceptualization of routines and rituals that delineates the symbolic and instrumental elements embedded within each; empirically, it demonstrates the multifaced effects of the pandemic on family food life.

The impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on weight management practices in UK adults: A self-regulation perspective.

This study aimed to identify the impact of the first UK COVID-19 lockdown on individuals' weight management attempts (WMA). A self-regulation theoretical framework was used to identify predictors of continuing with a WMA, and weight change during the lockdown. An online retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted after the first UK COVID-19 lockdown. The sample consisted of 166 UK adults (M:31.08, SD:12.15) that were trying to manage their weight before the lockdown started. The survey assessed changes in WMA and practices, and measured perceived stress, flexible/rigid restraint, uncontrolled eating, craving control, and self-compassion. Results showed that 56% of participants reported disruption to their WMA during the lockdown. Participants with lower levels of perceived stress and higher flexible restraint were more likely to continue their WMA. Flexible restraint was a significant predictor of weight change. Interventions that promote flexibility in weight management may be beneficial for at-risk individuals under lockdown conditions.

The enduring impact of the pandemic on gender patterns of paid and unpaid work: evidence from time-use data in Turkey

This paper examines changes in the gender patterns of paid and unpaid work in Turkey from the pre-pandemic period to the early pandemic phase under lockdown conditions and the late pandemic phase under relative normalization. We analyze data from three surveys fielded during these periods. We first adjust for demographic shifts during the pandemic to isolate the changes in paid and unpaid work. We then examine the impact of new work arrangements during the pandemic. Pooled regression analysis shows that paid work time has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels under partial normalization. Unpaid work time has decreased relative to the lockdown period, but it remains higher than pre-pandemic, particularly for women but also for men. The more enduring effects of the pandemic pertain to paid work, attitudes toward teleworking, and the provisioning of social care services. The share of teleworking has increased for women and men.

Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns.

COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable with no change in average movements or road avoidance behavior, likely due to variable lockdown conditions. However, under strict lockdowns 10-day 95th percentile displacements increased by 73%, suggesting increased landscape permeability. Animals' 1-hour 95th percentile displacements declined by 12% and animals were 36% closer to roads in areas of high human footprint, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting variable but substantial impacts of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.

(Extra)ordinary artistic and poetic responses to COVID lockdown (2020–21)

This essay is about the making of a visual essay as a response to the conditions of COVID lockdown (2020–21). It explores how two artists worked together and apart to develop inquiries through making and sharing art and text. We worked apart to produce artworks and together to construct the visual essay. Applying a duoethnographic method we created this visual essay to reveal our making processes within the limitations of COVID lockdown.

Chinese university students showed less disordered eating during the COVID-19 campus lockdown

ObjectiveThe rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in China had resulted in campus lockdown in many universities since February 2022, profoundly affecting students’ daily lives. Campus lockdown conditions differ considerably from home quarantine, so that the eating patterns of university students may be different. Thus, the current study aimed to: (1) investigate university students’ eating patterns during campus lockdown; (2) identify factors associated with their disordered eating.MethodAn online survey about recent life changes, disordered eating, stress, depression, and anxiety was carried out from April 8th to May 16th, 2022. A total of 2541 responses from 29 provinces/cities of China were received.Results2213 participants were included in the main analysis, and other 86 participants were analyzed separately as a subgroup due to their diagnosis of eating disorder. Participants who were undergoing campus lockdown (the lockdown group) showed less disordered eating than those who had never been in campus lockdown (the never-lockdown group), as well as those who had experienced campus lockdown before (the once-lockdown group). However, they perceived more stress and felt more depressed. Being female, higher BMI, gaining weight, increasing exercise, spending more time on social media, higher level of depression and anxiety were all related to disordered eating in the lockdown group.ConclusionsDisordered eating among Chinese university students was less prevalent during campus lockdown due to the strict and regular diet. However, there is a potential risk of “revenge eating” after campus lockdown ends. Thus, there should be further tracking and related prevention.Level of evidenceIV, uncontrolled trials without any interventions.

Towards care-ful distraction: Digital well-being and a politics of care during pandemic lockdowns in the U.S.

This paper conceptualizes digital well-being during July of 2020 as an emergent, situated experience which was particularly influenced by the spatiotemporal conditions of lockdown and the affordances of digital platforms and technology. I take up two key heuristics of lockdown digital well-being—attention and intimacy—and draw upon feminist political geography to examine the alignments between attentional and intimate practices by means of digital technology during lockdown. Through four in-depth interviews conducted during this time, I focus on the connections between participants’ political intimacies, emotional geographies, and (self-)care practices. The paper identifies a disconnect between experiences of unwell-being and practices of (self-)care emerging from popular conceptions of digital well-being, specifically regarding practices of ‘doomscrolling.’ Drawing upon Sarah Atkinson’s (2011) work on the discontinuities between scales of care and responsibility, I argue for a reworking of discourses and practices of digital well-being through care-ful distraction: the unruly use of our increasingly co-constituted attentional capacities and intimate relations to practice care within, and for, the sociotechnical systems which bind us together.

Housing conditions and changes in professional activity during lockdown and the risk of prevalent and incident depression: Findings from the CONSTANCES cohort

BackgroundMaterial conditions of lockdown and changes in regular functioning may have played a role on depressive manifestations. We aimed to examine the association between housing conditions and changes in professional activity and depression during the first COVID-19 outbreak in France. MethodParticipants of the CONSTANCES cohort were followed online. A first questionnaire covered the lockdown period (assessing housing conditions and changes in professional activity), and a second the post-lockdown period (assessing depression using the Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression-Scale (CES-D)). Incident depression was also estimated (with a previous CES-D measure). Logistic regression models were applied. Results22,042 participants (median age 46 years, 53.2 % women) were included and 20,534 had a previous CES-D measure. Depression was associated with female gender, lower household income and past history of depression. A negative gradient between the number of rooms and the likelihood of depression was consistently observed (OR = 1.55 95 % [1.19–2.00] for one room, OR = 0.76 [0.65–0.88] for seven rooms), while a U-shape relationship was observed with the number of people living together (OR = 1.62 [1.42–1.84] for living alone, OR = 1.44 [1.07–1.92] for six persons). These associations were also observed with incident depression. Changes in professional activity were associated with depression (Started distance working (OR = 1.33 [1.17–1.50]). Starting distance working was also associated with incident depression (OR = 1.27 [1.08–1.48]). LimitationA cross-sectional design was used. ConclusionThe consequences of lockdown on depression may vary depending on living conditions and changes in professional activity, including distance working. These results could help to better identify vulnerable people to promote mental health.

Impact of Lockdown on Column and Surface Aerosol Content over Ahmedabad and a Comparison with the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Changes in vertical column concentration, size distribution, and surface concentration of aerosol associated with the lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 over the Ahmedabad region in Gujarat State, India, were analyzed. The results are compared with changes over selected Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) regions. On 25 March 2020, the prime minister of India declared a complete lockdown throughout the country and later lifted restrictions in a phased manner. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the Ahmedabad region on 29 March dropped to as low as 0.11, and in the first two weeks of lockdown, the weekly average AOD was only 0.18. On almost all days of the lockdown period, AOD over the Ahmedabad region was lower than the decadal mean. It was found that the Ahmedabad region responded differently to lockdown conditions compared to the IGP regions. During the first lockdown phase, AOD decreased by about 29% compared to the pre-lockdown period over the Ahmedabad region. However, the average reduction over the IGP was much more, about 50%. The average Angstrom exponent (AE) of 0.96 during the pre-lockdown period over the Ahmedabad region increased phase-wise to 1.36 during the L3 lockdown phase, indicating dominance of fine-mode particles during the lockdown period. It suggests a reduction in anthropogenically produced coarse-mode particles, typically dust produced by vehicular movement, construction, and industrial activities. However, on the other hand, over the IGP region, the high dominance of fine-mode particles during the pre-lockdown period had changed to a high dominance of coarse-mode particles, especially over the Delhi region. This indicates a reduction in anthropogenically produced fine-mode particles, which are mainly generated by fossil and biofuels/biomass combustion, over the IGP region by lockdown conditions. Within a few days of lockdown, PM2.5 was reduced by 64% and 76% over the Ahmedabad and Delhi regions, respectively. The lockdown imposed by the pandemic provided an excellent opportunity to ascertain background aerosol conditions in the atmosphere.

How Interpersonal Sensitivity Affects Depression Under the COVID-19 Lockdown Among College Students in South China: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Based on the interpersonal theory of depression and resilience framework theory, this study tested the association between interpersonal sensitivity and depression in college students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the mediating role of resilience and the moderating role of the COVID-19 lockdown were investigated. A total of 5193 South Chinese college students (M=19.27, SD = 1.18) were included in the study. According to which campus they were living on, the subjects were categorized as members of a lockdown group or a nonlockdown group. They completed the interpersonal sensitivity subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). SPSS 26.0 statistical software was used to analyse the descriptive statistics, reliability, and correlation. Specifically, a moderated mediation model was analysed by multivariate logistic regression. Interpersonal sensitivity was significantly associated with depression (r = 0.517, p < 0.01), which was mediated by resilience (β = 0.12, 95% CI = [0.10, 0.13]). Lockdown status was shown to have a moderating effect on the relationship between resilience and depression (β = 0.03, t = 2.71, p < 0.01). The high levels of interpersonal sensitivity displayed by South Chinese college students caused low resilience and then facilitated depression. The COVID-19 lockdown strengthened the effect of low resilience on depression. Lower resilience was more strongly associated with higher depression for students under lockdown conditions compared to students who were not in lockdown.

Online Survey Data on Economic Effects of Lockdowns and Post-Stratification Data Adjustment: Evidence from Bulgaria

This contribution aims to discuss an original survey methodology, conceived in lockdown conditions, when face to face interviewing was prohibited and economic and sociological research faced obstacles in obtaining empirical data. An original pseudo-longitudinal Covid-CAWI is conducted in two fully harmonized waves. The basic methodological principles are elucidated along with limitations and advantages within the context of anti-epidemic measures and lockdowns in Bulgaria. The article elaborates the steps of data cleaning, conducted as an essential pre-processing step to high level of data quality. Special focus is devoted to posterior data optimization, using post-stratification adjustments. A comparison between weighted and unweighted data on economic effects is analysed. The paper contributes to the scientific debate on methodology insofar as online surveys become the one and only research opportunity for quantitative research in a crisis situation. The presented analysis of subsequent optimization procedures in Internet studies aims to open a discussion, especially in the context of socioeconomic research in a crisis situation where there are physical distance constraints. The data from the Covid-CAWI survey will be available for open access, so all interested in research may analyse the effects of the pandemic on social and economic life and debate on survey methodology.

The effects of perceived organizational support on employees’ sense of job insecurity in times of external threats: an empirical investigation under lockdown conditions in China

The effects of perceived organizational support on employees’ sense of job insecurity in times of external threats: an empirical investigation under lockdown conditions in China

Factors Associated with Increased or Decreased Stress Level in French Children during the First COVID-19 Lockdown

In spring 2020, governments of many countries implemented lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide, the pandemic forced about 1.5 billion children to stay at home for several weeks and to experience homeschooling. The objective of this study was to assess the variation in stress levels and associated factors in school-aged children in France during the first COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was designed by an interdisciplinary team involving hospital child psychiatrists and school doctors. Between 15 June and 15 July 2020, Educational Academy of Lyon (France) invited the parents of school-aged children to participate in this survey. The first part of the questionnaire concerned the children with data on lockdown conditions, socio-demographic data, daily rhythms (eating and sleeping), perceived stress variations, and feelings. The second part assessed parental perspectives on their child's psychological state and use of the mental health care system. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with stress variation (increased or decreased). A total of 7218 questionnaires were fully completed by children from elementary school to high school with a balanced sex ratio. In summary, 29% of children reported a higher stress level during the lockdown, 34% reported a lower stress level, and 37% reported no stress variation in the usual situation prior to COVID-19. Parents were most often able to identify signs of increased stress levels in their children. The most influential factors in the variation of stress for children were academic pressure, family relationships, and fear of being infected or infecting a family member with SARS-CoV-2. Our study underlines the high impact of school attendance stressors on children in usual conditions and encourages vigilance for children whose stress levels have decreased during the lockdown but who may have increased difficulty re-exposing themselves upon deconfinement.

(Re‐)Discoveries in a time of disruption

(Re‐)Discoveries in a time of disruption

Experience of Iranian Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder from the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, different environ-mental stressors and the difficult lockdown conditions exacerbated the signs and symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The aim of this study is to qualitatively investigate and deeply understand the experiences of patients during the epidemic and its effect on the exacerbation of their symptoms to help plan the treatment of OCD during these kinds of periods.&#x0D; Method: This was a descriptive phenomenological study using Colaizzi’s approach, conducted on OCD patients who visited Tehran Psychiatric Institute. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the patients and continued until reaching saturation. Lincoln and Guba’s trustworthiness criteria for qualitative research (credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability) were used to ensure the accuracy and precision of the findings.&#x0D; Results: Fourteen participants with a mean age of 30.3 years took part in this study. The data analysis revealed three themes: the pandemic disrupting OCD patients’ mental structure (OCD exacerbation, increased tensions in interpersonal relationships, mental exhaustion), rationalization of OCD symptoms in the context of COVID-19 (not feeling excluded, conflict resolution with the family, theoretically taking revenge on others), and the assimilation of COVID-19 within OCD (adaptation of the mental world to the world of COVID-19, altered content of obsession, and altered pattern of obsession).&#x0D; Conclusion: The stress induced by the COVID-19 pandemic can impact OCD in different ways, mostly by exacerbating the symptoms, adding new symptoms, and altering the type of obsession. The stress of infection is the most important factor in OCD exacerbation.

Pandemic Nostalgia: Reduced Social Contact Predicts Consumption of Nostalgic Music During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Some scholars observed a “nostalgia bump” during the COVID-19 pandemic, where people compensated for social isolation by engaging with products and experiences evoking nostalgia. To further explore this effect and its underlying mechanism, the authors tested the hypothesis that reduced social contact during lockdown conditions would lead people to feel lonely and bored and, in turn, increase their consumption of nostalgic music. Study 1 ( Nsong = 213,464) established the temporal relationships between social contact and nostalgia by analyzing mobility data and daily listening patterns of top songs on the music platform Spotify from 2019 to 2021. Study 2 ( N = 525) was a retrospective survey of individual experiences during the lockdown period. Results showed that reduced social contact had an indirect positive effect on consumption of nostalgic songs through loneliness, but not boredom. These findings shed light on the use of nostalgia as a coping strategy during times of isolation.

Surface, satellite ozone variations in Northern South America during low anthropogenic emission conditions: a machine learning approach.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11869-023-01303-6.

IMPLICATIONS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON DIFFERENT SECTOR OF PEOPLE’S LIVELIHOOD: AN EYE IN CONTEXT OF NEPAL

Being a predominantly agricultural nation, Nepal is dominated by this sector of the economy, which employs thousands of people. When the pandemic hit Nepal, a developing country, there was a concern on a nationwide level since the government was compelled to announce a lockdown that lasted for 4 months employing a variety of tactics, including lockdown, social isolation, quarantine, contact tracking, etc. Because of the lockdown condition, many encountered mental health concerns. When obliged to maintain a specific distance between members of their own family, neuromuscular issues were profound among the people. Therefore, in order to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Nepal’s way of life the case study was carried out. WHO, MoHP, and other organizations’ publications, as well as other secondary sources of information, served as the sole data foundation for this review. Hence, the worst conditions in Nepalese society were reflected in the 25% income reduction and the 5% job loss rate, both of which have an impact on peoples’ capacity to support themselves. In addition, there was a severe dearth of food, especially seed and fertilizer, which contributed to a food crisis and black marketing. By limiting tourism to Nepal, COVID-19 transformed the educational environment and had a negative impact on the country’s economy. Other diverse effects were observed on remittance and local institutions that COVID-19 has exhibited. Benefits for the environment were also obvious.

AGE AS ONE OF THE DETERMINANTS OF RESILIENCE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACTS ON SEX LIFE

Abstract Recent research started exploring the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sex life. However, there is a dearth of research on the roles of age in the overall adjustment to the pandemic and its impacts on sex life. The purpose of this study was to address this gap. Data collection was based on the online survey methodology (N=675, age range:18-76yo). Data analysis included one-way ANOVA and multivariate multiple regression. Age differences were found in the participants’ overall ability to adjust to the pandemic-related lockdown conditions, with older adults (51+yo group) adjusting better than the rest of the sample and young adults (18-30yo group) adjusting significantly worse. Resilience to the impacts of COVID-19 on sex life also varied by age. Sexual desire deteriorated the worst among middle-aged participants (31-50yo group); likely, due to increased childcare responsibilities. However, the issues with physical sexual difficulties have worsened the most among older adults. Regression results also showed that age had negative effects on the frequencies of intimate and sexual behaviors (sexual touching and caressing, sexual intercourse, and oral sex) and sexual desire and satisfaction with sex life during the pandemic. While older adults’ overall adjustment capacity to the pandemic’s conditions was the highest in the sample, the pandemic’s impacts on their sex lives and sexual health were the worst. The pandemic has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and further jeopardized older adults’ sexual wellbeing. This study provides age-specific insights for sexual counseling and age-targeted sexual health education for older adults during the pandemic and its aftermath.