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

Exploring the Social and Emotional Representations Used by the Elderly to Deal With the COVID-19 Pandemic

Spain has become one of the European epicenters of coronavirus (COVID-19), a virus that particularly affects the elderly, since this group accounts for the majority of hospitalized cases and has the highest mortality rates. Therefore, the aim of this research is to understand how elderly people represent and emotionally cope with COVID-19 during the days when the pandemic emerged in Spain. Using a qualitative methodology, a free association exercise elicited by the word "COVID-19" was completed by 115 participants (age range: 60-85 years) from the North of Spain. Lexical analysis was used to analyze the content. The results revealed that the government and the mass media are criticized for failing to communicate a clear message, and for giving out information that is both insufficient and contradictory. However, participants are clear that it is essential to follow the guidelines of the scientists and doctors, which are represented as credible sources. However, when the state of alarm and the lockdown of all citizens was declared, most of the participants represented the risk as being associated with the elderly and the pandemic became something that might also affect their families. Due to these circumstances, negative emotions appear such as fear, nervousness, uncertainty, restlessness, and insecurity. Feelings of solitude and loneliness also emerged, and these are represented as being linked to death. These results indicate the need for governments to manage the current situation with the elderly by placing greater emphasis on social and inclusive policies to help alleviate the possible effects of the pandemic and the lockdownThis research was supported by KideOn Research Group of the Basque Government, Ref.: IT1342-19 (A category

Exploring Children’s Social and Emotional Representations of the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19, a new emerging infectious disease (EID), has spread throughout the world, including Europe. Spain, in particular, has witnessed a significant outbreak of the pandemic. All classes have been canceled, and the government has declared a state of emergency, ordering the lockdown and confinement of the entire population. All children in the country have been confined to their homes since March 13 and are not allowed to leave at any time. This population is thus facing the harshest restrictions. Given the vulnerable situation of children, the aim of this research is to understand how they represent and emotionally cope with the COVID-19 crisis. A free association exercise elicited by the word "coronavirus" was completed by 228 children (age range: 3-12 years) from the North of Spain. To analyze the content, we employed the Reinert method with Iramuteq software for lexical analysis. The results revealed that children represent the COVID-19 as an enemy that is being fought by the doctors. Children are afraid and worried about catching the virus, but mainly because they think they can infect their grandparents, and this makes them feel guilty. Moreover, the lockdown situation has produced conflicting emotions in the children. On the one hand, they are scared, nervous, lonely, sad, bored, and angry, but they also feel safe, calm, and happy with their families. These results indicate the need for governments to also consider children in their management of the current situation by placing greater emphasis on social and inclusive policies to help alleviate the possible effects that they may suffer as a consequence of the pandemic and the lockdown. In short, there is a need to address the psychological, educational, social, health, and well-being needs of children.This research was funded by KideOn Research Group of the Basque 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)

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

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

Social Professionals in the Face of the Health Crisis

Due to the crisis generated by COVID-19 at a global level, many professionals are working under harsh conditions, and the Basque Country is no exception. On 14 March 2020, the head of the government decreed a state of alarm at the state level, which forced us all to be confined to our homes. This situation directly affected the profession of social educator. In fact, these professionals work with the most vulnerable groups, so working on the front line is mandated, even if this results in a significant risk. The situation of the groups in residential resources cannot be easy due to the stress produced by living together and being locked up, and this directly affects the educators who necessarily work in it. However, the over-exertion that all of this requires, which is a risk, has not been detected nor recognized at the social level. For this reason, the objective of this investigation is to measure the stress of social educators of advanced age who work in residential resources in different zones of the Basque Country (northern Spain). Sixty-seven social educators participated in the case study. Qualitative and quantitative methods were combined for data collection. This questionnaire was conducted through the Google Forms platform. The quantitative data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed by descriptive analysis and frequency contrasts were performed through the SPSS V25 program. We can conclude that it is necessary to take into account the difficulties of this sector and the professionals both at the governmental and social levels. Future research should include responses from both groups and workers in order to guarantee adequate inclusion

COVID-19aren ondorioz konfinatutako haurren egoera beren ahotsen bidez

37 p.Ikerketa honen helburua COVID-19 koronabirusaren eraginez konfinatutako Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoko (EAE) eta Nafarroako haurren egoera aztertzea da. Egoera honetan, haurrak ezin dira beren etxeetatik atera, eta uste dugu horrek ondorioak izan ditzakeela haiengan. Beraz, ikerketan, haurrak bizitzen ari diren askotariko errealitateak aztertu nahi izan ditugu; hala, adingabeak egoera nola eramaten ari diren eta haiengan zer inpaktu izaten ari den sakon aztertzen saiatu gara, haien emozioei, bizipenei eta ongizateari lotutako alderdiak jasoz. Kontuan hartuta konfinamendu egoera eta haurren ondoan ikerketa bat egiteko ezintasuna (haurren ahotsa hobeto jasotzeko, lagungarriak izan zitezkeen teknika aktiboak, esate baterako), galdetegi bat erabiltzea erabaki genuen, ausaz banatu zena sare sozialen bidez eta mailing orokor baten bidez. Mailinga EAEko eta Nafarroako ikastetxe guztietara bidali zen, eta galdetegira sartzeko esteka bat zeukan