Reopening of Schools in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Quality of Life of Teachers While Coping with This New Challenge in the North of Spain

Background: This study aims to analyze how teachers perceived their quality of life when coping with the reopening of schools after their closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was carried out with a total sample of 1633 teachers from the Department of Education of the Basque Autonomous Community (Northern Spain), all of the professionals working in different educational centers, from preschool education to university studies, with the average age of 42.02 years (SD = 10.40). Main Outcome Measures: For this purpose, the Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF was used. Results: The highest values of perceived quality of life were found in the dimension of psychological health, followed by the dimension of physical health, the social relations dimension, and finally, the environmental dimensions. The results also revealed significant differences depending on gender, age, having a chronic illness, or living with someone who has a chronic illness, employment security, and educational sector. Conclusion: The study shows that it is important to attend to teachers’ health and quality of life, especially older teachers, those with a chronic illness, caregivers, those with job insecurity, and those who teach in preschool education.This research was funded by KideOn Research Group of the Basque Government, Ref.: IT1342-19 (A category) and R + d + i Projects Research Challenges of the Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation, grant number PID2020-119011RB-100 EDU

Well-Being of Adolescents in De-Escalation Situation: Physical, Emotional, Social, and Academic Impact

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world we knew in recent months. In the interest of maintaining social distance, lockdown periods have been established and schools in many countries have closed their doors. In this context, the objective of this research was to analyze the well-being of adolescents in Spain after lock-down and during the de-escalation process in a holistic way; taking into account their indicators on physical, emotional, social, and academic levels. The "Well-being of Children in Lockdown" (WCL) scale was used to measure the well-being of adolescents using these same parameters. The results point out that the general well-being of adolescents in the pandemic situation was situated at an intermediate level. Taking into account the different aspects measured within the general well-being, the domains that obtained the lowest scores were the domains of addictions and playful and creative activities. Intermediate scores were also obtained in the physical activity, emotional and academic domains, with the routine and academic domains having the highest scores. Boys and younger adolescents are those who show higher scores in the general well-being. Moreover, correlations appear between academic task stress and emotions, playful and creative activities, addictions, physical activity, routine, academic and overall well-being.This research was funded by KideOn Research Group of the Basque Government, Ref.: IT1342-19 (A category) and R + d + i Projects Research Challenges of the Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation, grant number PID2020-119011RB-100 EDU

Teacher stress, anxiety and depression at the beginning of the academic year during the COVID-19 pandemic

[EN] Background. Faced with the situation of COVID-19, teachers are dealing with new measures, insecurity and a lack of clear guidelines. The aim of this study is to analyse the levels of stress, anxiety and depression of teachers in the north of Spain. Methods. This study was conducted with 1633 teachers from the Department of Education of the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) and Navarre, all of whom are professionals working in various educational centres, from nursery education to university studies, with an average age of 42 years (M= 42.02; S.D. = 10.40). The Spanish version of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 was used. Results. The results show that a high percentage of teachers have symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. Women show significantly more symptoms of stress and anxiety than men, those who have children have more depressive symptoms than those who do not, and people with chronic pathology or those who live with others with chronic pathology have more stress, anxiety and depression. Conclusions. This study indicates the importance of attending to the mental health of teachers, particularly women, those who have children, and those who have a chronic pathology or a family member with a chronic pathology.This research was funded by KideOn Research Group of the Basque Government, Ref.: IT1342-19 (A category)

Improvement in Gender and Transgender Knowledge in University Students Through the Creative Factory Methodology

In Spain, Social Educators, similar to both social workers and educators in the United States, help coordinate social change through educational interventions and mobilization of social groups to benefit marginalized people and overall societal welfare. They are trained to work with diverse populations, and it is important that they have awareness and training on gender and transgender issues given the extensive discrimination that transgender people endue. Research has begun to identify the important role that knowledge and attitudes of health and educational professionals may play in providing a supportive, healing context to combat the harmful effects of this discrimination and how educational trainings may foster improved knowledge and attitudes in helping professions. This study describes a program to improve knowledge and positive attitudes toward gender and especially transgender people in university students who study Social Education. The researchers measured knowledge and attitudes toward gender and transgender people issues of 64 students before and after receiving a 4-month interactive training. They used the Short Form of the Genderism and Transphobia Scale, a 12-item scale of transphobia and gender ideology variables. The researchers also asked participants about their knowledge of gender and transgender issues before and after training. The methodological experience "Creative Factory" was employed as an interactive training program. The main goal of this methodology is to enable students in a formative context to analyze social realities to generate discussion and innovate ideas to design successful practices. After 4 months of training with a weekly session on gender and transgender learning, students showed improvements in knowledge and attitudes toward both gender and transgender people. Specifically, students demonstrated more knowledge about gender and transgender issues and more positive attitudes toward transgender people. The study demonstrates that training in gender education using the Creative Factory methodology improved knowledge and attitudes in students

Back to School in the Pandemic: Observations of the Influences of Prevention Measures on Relationships, Autonomy, and Learning of Preschool Children

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact on societies, economies, and education. In Spain, one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 in the initial year, the virus began to spread at the end of February 2020. When the Spanish government declared a state of emergency, the first restrictive measure was the closure of all educational centers on the 14th of March. All schools and universities were closed until September 2020, when students returned to classes with preventative health measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Methods: This study focuses on the observation of children in pre-school education. Specifically, it focuses on studying how preventative health measures that were taken in the pre-schools may have influenced children’s social relationships, basic autonomy, and learning. We used a mixed method in which field notes were taken and observational scores were assigned. Results: The following prevention measures appear to have influenced children’s relationships, autonomy, and learning: bubble groups, handwashing, teachers wearing masks, divided playgrounds so different classes cannot mix, and no toys from home or shared personal objects. Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that new health measures such as the use of masks and social distancing do appear to be affecting the communication and development of pre-school children. Continued research is needed to understand and minimize the potential negative impacts of pandemic measures on children’s development

Measuring Discrimination Against Transgender People at the University of the Basque Country and in a Non-University Sample in Spain

Transgender people suffer from others’ negative attitudes in many situations. The university context is one environment where further progress has to be made to ensure the inclusion of transgender people. In this study, a sample of 376 undergraduate students was collected and their attitudes towards transgender people were analyzed. A comparison was made between number of years in university, and a sample from the general public. In addition, comparisons were made by gender, since the literature shows more negative attitudes toward transgender people in men than in women. The results show relatively positive attitudes toward transgender people among higher education students, but they have little knowledge of transgender identity. In turn, researchers found significant differences between different years in the university and between genders. These results support the need to expand knowledge about transgender people in the university environment

Prevalence of Anxiety in Dental Students during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the psychological state of university students has been a cause for concern. In particular, odontology students have experienced symptoms of anxiety due to the closure of universities and the suspension of clinical training. Methods: Medline via PubMed was searched for studies on the prevalence of anxiety in dental undergraduates, published from 1 December 2019 to 1 August 2021. Results: A total of fifteen studies were included in this review. Our results show a prevalence of anxiety of 35% reported by dental students, which was independent of gender, response rate or methodological quality. The only significant finding was a lower prevalence of anxiety in studies located in Europe compared to those located in other continents. Conclusions: The results suggest dental students are experiencing significant levels of anxiety during this COVID-19 pandemic and that there seem to be differences between students from different regions of the world. Therefore, it is important to help dental students psychologically as the pandemic situation continues

Psychological Symptoms During the Two Stages of Lockdown in Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak: An Investigation in a Sample of Citizens in Northern Spain

Spain has been in a state of emergency since 14th March due to the COVID-19 crisis. This state of emergency means that the population must comply with strict rules such as lockdown (confinement to their homes except for essential trips) and social distancing. The aim of this study was to examine the psychological state of the general population in a sample recruited in Northern Spain. Sociodemographic and psychological data were gathered, assessing variables such as stress, anxiety, and depression. A questionnaire was administered at the beginning of the lockdown and three weeks later. The sample was recruited using an online questionnaire by means of a non-probabilistic snowball sampling methodology. A total of 1,933 people participated in this study. The results reveal that more than a quarter of the participants have reported symptoms of depression (27.5%), anxiety (26.9%) and stress (26.5%) and as the time spent in lockdown has progressed, psychological symptoms have risen. In relation to gender, data indicate that men have higher levels of depression than women, and similar levels of anxiety and stress. Greater symptomatology has also been found among the younger population and in people with chronic diseases. We discuss the need to continue carrying out these types of studies to prevent and treat psychological problems that could emerge amidst this pandemic.This research was funded by KideOn Research Group of theBasque Government, Ref.: IT1342-19 (A category

Reduction of COVID-19 Anxiety Levels Through Relaxation Techniques: A Study Carried Out in Northern Spain on a Sample of Young University Students

Since March 14, 2020, Spain has been in a state of alarm due to the crisis created by the outbreak of COVID-19. This measure has led to strict levels of lockdown. This situation has led to an increase in anxiety levels among the younger population. For this reason, an intervention was carried out on university voluntary participants in order to help lower their anxiety levels. Specifically, a telematic workshop was implemented to teach emotional literacy and relaxation techniques combined with the practice of the techniques in an autonomous manner. Anxiety measurements were taken before and after the workshop using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7 (GAD-7) scale. The results show that Jacobson's progressive relaxation techniques, Schultz's autogenic training, abdominal relaxations, and visualizations are effective in lowering the anxiety levels of university students as an alternative to pharmacotherapy

Stress, anxiety, and depression levels in the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in a population sample in the northern Spain

En marzo de 2020, el virus SARS-CoV-2 procedente de China ha llegado a España y desde el 14 de marzo se ha declarado el estado de alarma en todo el Estado español, llevando al confinamiento a toda la población. La presente investigación se contextualiza en la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca (situada al norte de España). Se han analizado los niveles de estrés, ansiedad y depresión a la llegada del virus y se han estudiado los niveles de sintomatología psicológica según edad, cronicidad y confinamiento. Se ha recogido una muestra de 976 personas y la medición de las variables ansiedad, estrés y depresión se ha hecho mediante la escala DASS (Escala de Depresión, Ansiedad y Estrés). Los resultados demuestran que, aunque los niveles de sintomatología han sido bajos en general al principio de la alarma, la población más joven y con enfermedades crónicas ha referido sintomatología más alta que el resto de población. También se ha detectado un mayor nivel de sintomatología a partir del confinamiento, donde las personas tienen prohibido salir de sus casas. Se prevé que la sintomatología aumentará según vaya transcurriendo el confinamiento. Se defienden intervenciones psicológicas de prevención y tratamiento para bajar el impacto psicológico que pueda crear esta pandemia.Em março de 2020, o vírus SARS-CoV-2, procedente da China, chegou à Espanha e desde 14 de março está declarado estado de emergência em todo o país, forçando toda a população ao confinamento. O presente estudo foi conduzido no País Basco (norte da Espanha). Foram analisados os níveis de estresse, ansiedade e depressão desde a introdução do vírus e os níveis de sintomas psicológicos segundo idade, comorbidades e confinamento. A amostra foi composta de 976 indivíduos e a medição das variáveis ansiedade, estresse e depressão foi realizada a partir do intrumento DASS (Escala de Depressão, Ansiedade e Estresse). Os resultados mostram que, ainda que os níveis de sintomas tenham sido baixos no início do confinamento, os indivíduos mais jovens e com comorbidades referiram mais sintomas que o restante da população. Também se detectou maior nível de sintomas desde o confinamento, quando a população foi proibida de sair de suas casas. Se prevê aumento dos sintomas conforme o confimaneto continuar. Intervenções psicológicas de prevenção e tratamento são necessárias para diminuir o impacto psicológico causado pela pandemia.Nuestros más sinceros agradecimientos a todas las personas que han participado en este estudio de manera voluntaria. Financiación: KideOn Grupo de investigación del Gobierno Vasco, con referencia IT1342-19 (categoría A)