To examine perceptions, behaviors, and impacts surrounding COVID-19 early in the pandemic response. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey of 1,030 U.S. adults was administered on March 31st, 2020. This survey examined attitudes toward media, government, and community responses to COVID-19 by political ideology and sociodemographic factors. Knowledge, anxieties, and impacts of COVID-19 were also assessed. Results Conservatives were more likely to report that COVID-19 was receiving too much media coverage and people were generally overreacting; liberals were more likely to report the government had not done enough in response to the pandemic. Females and those with lower income experienced more COVID-19 related economic anxieties. Those working and with children at home reported higher social, home, and work disruption. Social distancing behaviors were more common among liberals and were associated with increases in depressive symptoms. General knowledge about COVID-19 was widely exhibited across the sample, however, Black and Hispanic respondents were less likely to correctly answer questions about the availability of a vaccine and modes of transmission. Conclusions Public health experts should consider the political climate in crafting messaging that appeals to the values of those across the political spectrum. Research on the COVID-19 pandemic should continue to monitor the effects of social distancing on mental health and among vulnerable populations.
With more than one million couples transitioning to parenthood each year, finding ways to enable healthier transitions is salient. Trait mindful awareness and sexual mindfulness were examined in an Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) framework using 169 mixed-sex, married couples to evaluate their association with individual, relational, and parental outcomes. For couples who have transitioned to parenthood, mothers’ trait mindfulness was associated with their own higher mental health and fathers; trait mindfulness was associated with their own higher quality mental health; mothers’ and fathers’ sexually mindful nonjudgment, an ability to remain mindful during sex, was associated with fathers’ higher quality mental health and mothers’ sexually mindful nonjudgment was associated with their own higher quality mental health. Mothers’ trait mindfulness was also associated with their report of lower pregnancy and delivery stress. Higher reports of sexual nonjudgement by both mothers and father were also associated with higher parenting satisfaction for fathers. Thus, mindfulness and sexual mindfulness may be particularly important skills to support new parents’ mental health, relational satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and parenting satisfaction. Transition to parenthood scholars and practitioners have long been invested in understanding risk and protective factors for new parents and are commonly seeking important points of education and/or intervention to support this transition. Our study suggests mindfulness may both reduce risk and promote healthy behaviors that support mothers, fathers, and their relationship.
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