The evidence all over the world shows an alarming increase in the stigmatization of health personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to explore possible psychological factors that help explain the disposition to stigmatize health personnel in the central and northern regions of Mexico. Two studies explore possible psychological factors to explain the disposition to stigmatize healthcare personnel (HP) in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. In study one, 520 participants responded to three instruments that measure the disposition to stigmatize, the perceived contagion risk, and the positive beliefs towards HP. Results showed a generalized low disposition to stigmatization, where only a small percentage obtained high scores. A regression analysis identified that stigmatization towards HP can derive mainly from the perception of risk of contagion, although positive beliefs of HP decrease this disposition. The second study extends this finding by analyzing responses of 286 participants to seven instruments measuring factors hypothesized as predictors towards stigmatization: uncertainty generated by the pandemic, selfish strategies to face off the pandemic, social capital, trust in institutions, perceived vulnerability of contagion, perceived risk of contagion, and positive beliefs towards HP. A path analysis reveals that the main predictor of stigmatization is the perceived risk of contagion, increased by the strategy of selfishness, and the uncertainty generated by the pandemic. These results are discussed emphasizing the importance of cooperation and community ties to prevent the stigmatization of HP in the context of sanitary emergencies generated by contagious diseases.
There has been initial evidence to support the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis, which proposes that beliefs in being unlucky are associated with deficits in executive functioning (Maltby et al., 2013). The present study tested the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis by examining whether deficits in the early stage of top down attentional control led to an increase of neural activity in later stages of response related selection process among those who thought themselves to be unlucky. Individuals with these beliefs were compared to a control group using an Event-Related Potential (ERP) measure assessing underlying neural activity of semantic inhibition while completing a Stroop test. Results showed stronger main interference effects in the former group, via greater reaction times and a more negative distributed scalp late ERP component during incongruent trials in the time window of 450–780 ms post stimulus onset. Further, less efficient maintenance of task set among the former group was associated with greater late ERP response-related activation to compensate for the lack of top-down attentional control. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence to support the Dysexecutive Luck hypothesis.
This study proposes that, given the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, its sanitary restrictions, and the associated economic effects, citizens perceive higher uncertainty and tend to reduce their willingness to cooperate with others. Community social capital refers to a set of norms of reciprocity, trust, and civic engagement networks that promote trust, reciprocal help, and cooperation for mutual benefits. It is also suggested that it can help alleviate negative effects of the pandemic in communities, by reducing uncertainty and its harmful effects on cooperation. These hypotheses were tested in a sample of 565 inhabitants of Mexico, who answered an online survey with measurements of social capital, uncertainty, and willingness to cooperate in the face of the pandemic. The relationships between variables were analyzed in two structural equation models, which show adequate goodness of fit, where higher levels of uncertainty generated by the pandemic were associated with a greater disposition to noncooperation with others, while social capital moderated this relation decreasing negative effects of uncertainty on noncooperation. The value of social capital is discussed as a resource worth preserving and promoting in communities to strengthen them, so that they are better able to face health or economic contingencies.
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