This study aimed to assess the traumatic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and to explore the contribution of fatalism to a) psychological distress and b) pandemic-related behavior change.Data for the study were collected via an anonymous online survey. The survey included questions about demographic characteristics, health status, pandemic-related stress, impact of COVID-19 on health and behavior, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and fatalism. The sample included 465 participants from 30 countries (mean age = 36.87, SD = 13.39, age range = 18 -76; 80% female). While none of the study participants have been diagnosed with COVID-19, almost 25% knew someone who had received the diagnosis. The overwhelming majority (79%) had to make changes to their daily routine, and 48.82% of the sample reported moderate to severe PTSS. Fatalism was found to be a statistically significant predictor of PTSS in a multiple regression model and was also associated with lack of behavior changes in response to the pandemic. Our findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic event with a potential to affect mental health and well-being of individuals and communities. Fatalism may contribute to severity of psychological distress and diminish individuals' ability to engage in health-protective behaviors.
The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of childhood victimization experiences in a sample of young adults in St. Petersburg, Russia. The study sample included 743 students aged 19 to 25 from 15 universities in St. Petersburg, Russia. All of the study participants completed a reliable questionnaire assessing the following types of childhood victimization: conventional crime, child maltreatment, peer victimization, sexual victimization, and witnessing violence. Participation in the study was anonymous. High rates of victimization and exposure to violence were reported by the study participants. The majority of the sample experienced at least one type of victimization during childhood or adolescence, and poly-victimization was reported frequently. The most common type of victimization reported was peer or sibling assault (66.94%), followed by witnessing an assault without weapon (63.91%), personal theft (56.19%), vandalism (56.06%), and emotional bullying (49.99%). Sexual assault by a known adult was reported by 1.45% males and 5.16% of females. This study provides new information on the scope of childhood victimization experiences in Russia. Further research is warranted, including epidemiological research with representative data across the country and studies of the impact of trauma and victimization on mental health and well-being of Russian adults and children.
Exposure to childhood victimization and abuse has been shown to affect HIV risk in adult populations. In Russia, the existence of child abuse was largely unrecognized until 1990s and its behavioral consequences remain understudied. Our goal was to assess childhood victimization and HIV risk behavior among young adults in Saint-Petersburg, Russia: 743 students from 15 local universities were surveyed. Unprotected sexual intercourse was the most common type of HIV risk behavior: study participants reported no condom use at last intercourse (65.17%), inconsistent condom use (58.43%) and 30.81% never used condoms in the past 3 months. Childhood sexual victimization was significantly associated with unprotected sex at last intercourse and with inconsistent condom use in the past 3 months. Young adults in Russia are vulnerable to HIV epidemic due to the pervasiveness of unprotected sexual intercourse, and childhood sexual victimization is associated with risky sexual behavior in this population. Efforts to combat HIV epidemic in Russia must include programming for the prevention of childhood sexual abuse and the development of services for the survivors of childhood victimization.
People have been using images to express ideas, share stories, and communicate since early history. The advent of social media has made sharing images an important part of everyday life. Among other things, social networks can be used to express psychological distress; however, research on this topic is limited. The goal of this study was to explore representations of psychological distress in the Russian-speaking segment of Instagram. The study involved contrasting images labeled with hashtags in Russian with images marked by analogous Anglophone hashtags in a data set of 1,512 images. Quantitative content analysis revealed significant differences between images labeled with Russian and Anglophone hashtags. Images containing depictions of texts were significantly less frequent among images with Russian hashtags, while inanimate object depictions were more prevalent. Hashtags for fear in both languages were related not to psychological distress but to the "scary" in popular culture. Images of alcohol were associated with stress hashtags in both languages and with hashtag for depression in Russian only. Images of food were significantly more prevalent among images with Russian hashtag for stress. Current study highlights the need for culturally and linguistically appropriate online mental health interventions.
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