Objective: The global outbreak of COVID-19 has greatly affected individual's lives around the world and resulted in various negative psychological consequences. During the pandemic, reflection on and attention to COVID-19 may help in dealing with its symptomology but frequent and persistent thoughts about the situation can be unhealthy. The present study examined the direct and indirect associations between obsession concerning COVID-19, psychological distress, life satisfaction, and meaning in life.Design: This mediation study presents a primary analysis of normative data collected after the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Pakistan. Parametric bootstrapping was used to test the mediation models of subjective well-being, the extent of the effect, and meaning in life as parallel and serial mediators concerning the associations between COVID-19 obsession and psychological distress measures.Setting: A sample of 1,002 adults (45% men and 55% women) were recruited utilizing an online survey between April to May 2020. They were aged between 19 and 45 years (M = 24.30, SD = 7.29) and normalized on population characteristics.Results: Two out of three mediators in parallel mediation fully mediated the relationship between obsession and psychological distress (total effect = 0.443, SE = 0.050, p < 0.0001) illustrating that high-level obsessions were associated with low levels of satisfaction with life and presence of meaning in life and search for meaning in life. Psychological distress is likely to decrease in the presence of a high level of satisfaction with life and meaning. Moreover, satisfaction with life and search for meaning in life significantly mediated the association between COVID-19 obsession (z=-3.507, p < 0.0001 and z = −2.632, p < 0.001 respectively).Conclusion: The present study showed that life satisfaction and search for meaning in life may play a significant role in decreasing psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: To identify the stress level and commonly used coping strategies of parents of children with SN (SN)Methodology: The sample for the study was 150 parents of children with SN selected from three different special schools of Lahore, by using convenient sampling technique from January 2019 to April 2019. The parents were required to fill Perceived Stress Scale and Coping Strategies Inventory.Results: The results revealed that 20.6% parents face high level of stress when managing their children with SN. While, problem-solving (14.66), cognitive restructuring (14.64) and social contact (14.38) were more frequently used coping strategies. Correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation of stress with cognitive restructuring (r=-.26, p<0.01), problem focused engagement (r=-.237, p<.05) and positive correlation with self-criticism (r=.455, p<.001), social withdrawal (r= .27, p=<.01), and emotion focused disengagements (r=-.431, p<.001). Further, high level of stress was positively associated with high level of disengagement.Conclusion: The currents study concludes that parents use more positive and practical coping strategies to cope with stress induced by taking care of children with SN. Therefore, there is great need of introducing management mechanisms and intervention programs based on these coping strategies Continuous...

Objective: The worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused significant public health burdens and psychological dysfunctions. In this challenging time, adolescents require special care. The Persian version of the Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS) for adolescents was developed to screen for dysfunctional obsession associated with the coronavirus during the global pandemic. The structure and internal consistency of the OCS were established.Design and Measures: Although there are different language versions of the OCS, this is the first study to validate the psychometric properties of the OCS in Iranian adolescents. Seven hundred and nine students (369 girls) participated in the study. Demographic questions and the OCS were administered.Results: The findings provided support for the existence of a unidimensional structure that met the criteria for configural, metric, and full scalar invariance across gender (girls and boys), inhabitancy (urban and rural), and infection experience (infected and non-infected). The OCS is short and highly reliable measurement. However, further research is necessary to establish the validity of the scale in Iranian population.Conclusions: The development of such valid scales is an essential part of both research and practice during times of crisis, like a global pandemic. Diagnosis of pandemic related to obsessive thoughts in adolescents is needed as the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing and as experts point out, it can be expected that the effects of the pandemic will be observed in the coming years. The Persian version makes it possible to conduct international comparative research on the anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Objective:To investigate the prevalence and comorbidity of subclinical obsessive compulsive disorder (SOCD) symptoms and stress across gender, marital and employment statuses.Methods:A cross-sectional research was conducted from December, 2016 to March 2017 at two universities of cosmopolitan city Lahore. Two self-report scales measuring SOCD symptoms and stress were used to collect data from 377 adults selected through simple random sampling technique, proportionately distributed across gender, marital and employment status.Results:From the total sample, 52% reported low level of stress and 48% faced high level of stress. Significant differences in prevalence were observed across marital and employment statuses whereas for men and women, it was observed same (24%). Comorbidity of high level of SOCD symptoms and high level of stress was seen 34%.Conclusion:Significant prevalence and comorbidity exists between SOCD symptoms and stress and more studies addressing diverse population are needed.