You Do Not Have to Get through This Alone: Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Psychosocial Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic across Four Countries

While experiencing the unpredictable events of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are likely to turn to people in order to regulate our emotions. In this research, we investigate how this interpersonal emotion regulation is connected to affective symptoms, above and beyond intrapersonal emotion regulation. Furthermore, we explore whether perceived psychosocial resources moderate these associations, i.e., if individuals reporting healthier social connections benefit differently from interpersonal emotion regulation. N = 1401 participants from the USA, UK, Germany, and Switzerland completed an online survey that included text samples. Affective symptoms (depression, adjustment disorder, fear of COVID-19) were examined based on self-reported as well as language-based indicators. As psychosocial resources, we examined social support, loneliness, attachment style, and trust. We defined latent variables for adaptive and maladaptive interpersonal emotion regulation and analyzed how they were associated with affective symptoms controlling for intrapersonal emotion regulation. Further, we analyzed how they interacted with psychosocial resources. Maladaptive interpersonal emotion regulation strategies were associated with affective symptoms. With lower psychosocial resources, the associations between interpersonal emotion regulation and depressive symptoms were more pronounced. The results highlight that maladaptive interpersonal emotion regulation is associated with worse mental health. These effects are not buffered by more psychosocial resources and are stronger for people with low psychosocial resources

Photoacoustic response in a multivariable dyeing process: Comparison between conventional aqueous and supercritical CO2_2 used for impregnating PET films

Photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy is used to study impregnation of Poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET). Films were produced in conventional aqueous bath (CAB) and supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO$_2$) and impregnated with disperse dyes Blue 79 (DB 79) and Red 60 (DR 60). It was treated in different temperature, concentration and pressure, and PA intensities used as the response in the multivariate method (Factorial Planning – FP). Results pointed out the SC-CO$_2$ process with DB 79 dye as more effective

Emotion regulation across the lifespan: age differences in intrapersonal and interpersonal strategies for the adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic in four countries

OBJECTIVES: Studies have shown age differences in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The processes explaining these age differences remain unclear. Intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation play an important role in psycho-social adjustment and develop across the lifespan. This study investigated whether differences in COVID-19-related adjustment disorder symptoms can be explained by age-differences in rumination in a multi-national sample. Furthermore, linguistic indicators of ruminative processing were examined with reference to age. METHODS: N = 1401 participants (from USA, UK, Switzerland, Germany, aged 18-88) completed an online survey and a writing task. Measures included brooding, co-brooding, adjustment disorder symptoms, and language indicators of negative self- and communal-focus. RESULTS: Older participants reported less adjustment disorder symptoms which was mediated by less (co-)brooding. Participants reporting more (co-)brooding wrote about COVID-19 more negatively. While in younger adults more self-focus was associated with higher ruminative brooding, in older adults it was associated with less brooding. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to a better understanding of regulatory mechanisms that help explain age differences in mental health. They warrant further research considering age-related differences, as our results suggest not only more adaptive emotion regulation as resilience factor in older individuals but also different qualities of self-focus while processing stressful events

Emotion regulation across the lifespan:Age differences in the intra- and interpersonal strategies for adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic in four countries

Objectives: Studies have shown age differences in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the processes explaining these age differences remain unclear. Intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation – such as ruminative brooding and co-brooding - play an important role in psycho-social adjustment and develop across the life-span. This study aims at investigating COVID-19-related adjustment disorder symptoms in relation to age and whether this relation can be explained by age-differences in rumination in a multi-national sample. As a second research goal, linguistic indicators of ruminative processing when writing about the pandemic will be examined with reference to age. Methods: N = 1401 participants (from USA, UK, Switzerland, and Germany, aged 18-88) filled out an online survey and completed a writing task. Measures include brooding, co-brooding, adjustment disorder symptoms, and language indicators of negative self-focus and communal focus while writing down thoughts and feelings regarding the pandemic. Findings: Older participants reported less adjustment disorder symptoms which was mediated by less (co-)brooding. Participants who reported more (co-)brooding wrote about COVID-19 more negatively. While in younger adults (age 18-40) more self-focus was associated with higher ruminative brooding, in older adults (age 59-88) it was associated with less maladaptive emotion regulation. Discussion: These findings contribute to a better understanding of regulatory mechanisms that help explain age differences in mental health. They warrant further research considering age-related differences, as our results suggest not only more adaptive emotion regulation as a resilience factor in older individuals, but also different qualities of self-focus while processing stressful events across the lifespan

Optimization of dying variables in PET: Using thermal diffusivity response as a probe in a multivariable algorithm

The conventional process (CP) using aqueous dyeing and the supercritical CO$_2$ (SC-CO$_2$) impregnation were used in the present work to impregnate Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) under several conditions by varying Time, CO$_2$-Pressure, Temperature, Treatment and using fixed dye concentration (2 wt%) and dye color (Blue Samaron).. Samples were prepared following a Factorial Planning Design (FP) of the experiments and the thermal diffusivity ($\alpha$) were the FP response. It was found $\alpha$ in the range 1.0 to $2.0 \times 10^{-3}$ cm$^2$/s, for CP and, from 1.4 to $1.8 \times 10^{-3}$ cm$^2$/s for the SC-CO$_2$ process. The thermal diffusivity increases if compared to virgin PET but, in order to analyze the thermophysical data, we shall analyze the variable effects implicit in the sample using the mains and the multivariable algorithm (MVA). Results contrast with a former photoacoustic work where intensities were used instead and showed that SC-CO$_2$ process is more effective in incorporating dyes than the aqueous impregnation

Twitter language samples reflect collective emotional responses following political leaders’ rhetoric during the pandemic across four countries

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the global public has relied on their political leaders to guide them through the crisis. The current study investigated if and how political leader’s rhetoric would be associated with collective emotional responses. We used text analytical methods to investigate association between political leader speech and daily aggregates of expressed emotions on Twitter. We collected posts concerning Covid-19 and all speeches by the highest executive power from the USA, UK, Germany, and Switzerland. We applied cross-lagged time series analyses. Political leaders whose communication was more analytic and communal corresponded to increased positivity on Twitter. Collective communal focus, in turn, increased after speeches which were more analytic and negative. Processes of socio-affective dynamics between political leaders and the general public are apparent. Our findings demonstrate that political leaders who present public crises competently and with a sense of community are associated with more positive responses on Twitter

Photoacoustic investigation of copaiba oil

In this study we demonstrate the usefulness of the Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (PAS) in the investigation of copaiba oil obtained from Copaifera tree, located in a site within Rondônia State, Amazon region, Brazil. Pure copaiba oil sample was diluted in 98% ethanol providing 10 different samples at volume concentration in the range of 5 to 50% vv. The observed photoacoustic spectral features from pure copaiba oil and the corresponding diluted samples, in the 0.18 to 4.00 μm wavelength region, are discussed in terms of five distinct bands (C, S, L, K, and X bands). Photoacoustic peak intensity was investigated as a function of the copaiba oil concentration in the 5 to 50% v.v