Parents of school-aged children should assess activity-related stress and the degree to which children perceive they are busy. Teachers, school counselors, and school administrators should be aware of these perceptions as they are making decisions regarding school schedules and should teach personal skills such as time management and stress control.

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the daily lives of millions of people around the world, substantially increasing anxiety and stress levels for many. Psychological capital (PsyCap), a multidimensional construct that includes hope, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy, may serve as a resource for helping people more effectively cope with uncertainty resulting in lower levels of perceived stress. The authors hypothesize a negative relationship between PsyCap and perceived stress that is partially and differentially mediated by adaptive and maladaptive coping styles. The authors further hypothesize that work context (home vs workplace) will moderate the relationships between coping styles and perceived stress.Design/methodology/approachAfter receiving Institutional Review Board approval, data were collected during the first week of May 2020 using an online survey. The hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, specifically Mplus 8. The authors validated their initial findings using PROCESS Model 14 with 5,000 boot-strapped samples and a 95% confidence interval.FindingsThe authors’ results show that adaptive and maladaptive coping styles differentially mediate the effects of PsyCap on perceived stress with the indirect effects of PsyCap on perceived stress through maladaptive coping being stronger than the indirect effects through adaptive coping. The authors found support for the relationships in our hypothesized model.Practical implicationsThe authors’ findings suggest that health interventions aimed at increasing PsyCap may be an effective means of reducing maladaptive coping and perceived stress. Future research should continue to explore PsyCap as a potential means of shaping positive health behaviors.Originality/valueThis study makes a unique contribution to the literature by explaining how PsyCap operates through coping to affect perceptions of stress in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The conceptual approach to curriculum planning has enduring value. It provides a foundation for teaching and learning that is adaptable, flexible, and can maintain permanence in conjunction with emerging scientific evidence and cultural and political influences on health behavior.

This paper explores how trust in formal information sources (government and media) and informal information sources (interpersonal) about COVID-19 influences compliance with preventive measures. This cross-sectional study uses convenience sampling of 478 adult participants. Data analyses using structural equation modeling with multigroup comparisons examine hypothesized relationships between trust in information sources and preventative behaviors and social distancing. Results suggest that understanding of COVID-19 causes is related to trust in formal information sources, but not to trust in informal information. Self-efficacy for prevention is related to trust in informal information sources, but not to trust in formal information sources. Worry about contracting COVID-19 is related to trust in formal information sources, but not to informal ones. Engaging in preventive measures is linked to both self-efficacy for prevention and worry, while social distancing was related only to worry. These findings have important implications for public health policy guidelines centered on clear and truthful media messages. The findings also facilitate comparative analyses of reactions to information sources across a decade of evolving attitudes toward media and government, between two cultures (Hong Kong vs. the USA), and between two different global pandemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many public health professionals to take on new roles such as online teaching, communicating, and managing; serving on the frontlines of patient care; and serving as health education resource personnel. Researchers of this study posed the question: How has the pandemic impacted those who serve to help others? Seven aspects of self-efficacy in professional practice were examined via an online survey sent to health educators. Respondents were extremely confident communicating with their colleagues and supervisors (60%) and with students (51%), but only 19% were extremely confident in maintaining a work-life balance and 22% in managing personal and professional stress. Respondents reported being confident in all areas of responsibilities, overall, but they were most confident in Area 8 (ethics and professionalism) and least confident in Area 1 (assessing the needs and capacity of a community) since COVID-19. Findings imply a need for more professional development opportunities to foster professional and personal self-efficacy and to improve self-efficacy in needs assessment, leadership, and advocacy. Findings also show a need for workplace or state-based interventions to support resiliency and self-care among professionals who work to serve others.

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