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      Trustworthiness appraisals of faces wearing a surgical mask during the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany: An experimental study

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          Abstract

          Background

          During the Covid-19 pandemic, the negative effects of wearing a mouth-nose cover (MNC) on interpersonal functioning have been discussed in public media but empirical studies on how wearing MNCs affect social judgements are sparse. In the present study, we investigated the effects of MNCs on trustworthiness appraisals, the influence of changes due to MNCs in evaluating joy, and the relationship between a social-cognitive appraisal bias and a participant’s characteristics.

          Methods

          All participants ( N = 165) judged the intensity of happiness and trustworthiness in calm facial stimuli presented with and without a surgical mask covering part of the face. We analysed the relationship of changes in judgements evoked by MNCs to participants’ evaluations of MNCs as protective tools and explored their associations with the burden experienced by wearing MNCs, compliance to behaviour recommendations, their risk associated with the pandemic, and their levels of psychological distress.

          Results

          Overall, calm facial stimuli covered with MNCs were evaluated as less trustworthy and, to an even stronger extent, less happy than uncovered facial stimuli. However, participants varied in whether they showed a negative or positive evaluation of faces with MNCs; the negative bias was stronger in those participants who attributed lower protective potential to MNCs, experienced a higher burden while wearing MNCs, wore MNCs less often, and experienced a higher level of psychological distress.

          Conclusions

          A negative bias in trustworthiness appraisals of faces with a positive emotional expression covered by MNCs is linked to a participant’s evaluation of MNCs as inefficient and burdening and their experience of high psychological distress.

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          Most cited references38

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          Controlling the False Discovery Rate: A Practical and Powerful Approach to Multiple Testing

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            Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China

            Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic is a public health emergency of international concern and poses a challenge to psychological resilience. Research data are needed to develop evidence-driven strategies to reduce adverse psychological impacts and psychiatric symptoms during the epidemic. The aim of this study was to survey the general public in China to better understand their levels of psychological impact, anxiety, depression, and stress during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. The data will be used for future reference. Methods: From 31 January to 2 February 2020, we conducted an online survey using snowball sampling techniques. The online survey collected information on demographic data, physical symptoms in the past 14 days, contact history with COVID-19, knowledge and concerns about COVID-19, precautionary measures against COVID-19, and additional information required with respect to COVID-19. Psychological impact was assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and mental health status was assessed by the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results: This study included 1210 respondents from 194 cities in China. In total, 53.8% of respondents rated the psychological impact of the outbreak as moderate or severe; 16.5% reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms; 28.8% reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms; and 8.1% reported moderate to severe stress levels. Most respondents spent 20–24 h per day at home (84.7%); were worried about their family members contracting COVID-19 (75.2%); and were satisfied with the amount of health information available (75.1%). Female gender, student status, specific physical symptoms (e.g., myalgia, dizziness, coryza), and poor self-rated health status were significantly associated with a greater psychological impact of the outbreak and higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (p < 0.05). Specific up-to-date and accurate health information (e.g., treatment, local outbreak situation) and particular precautionary measures (e.g., hand hygiene, wearing a mask) were associated with a lower psychological impact of the outbreak and lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (p < 0.05). Conclusions: During the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, more than half of the respondents rated the psychological impact as moderate-to-severe, and about one-third reported moderate-to-severe anxiety. Our findings identify factors associated with a lower level of psychological impact and better mental health status that can be used to formulate psychological interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 epidemic.
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              COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown Measures Impact on Mental Health Among the General Population in Italy

              Background The psychological impact of the COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and lockdown measures on the Italian population are unknown. The current study assesses rates of mental health outcomes in the Italian general population three to 4 weeks into lockdown measures and explores the impact of COVID-19 related potential risk factors. Methods A web-based survey spread throughout the internet between March 27th and April 6th 2020. Eighteen thousand one hundred forty-seven individuals completed the questionnaire, 79.6% women. Selected outcomes were post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, anxiety, insomnia, perceived stress, and adjustment disorder symptoms (ADS). Seemingly unrelated logistic regression analysis was performed to identify COVID-19 related risk factors. Results Endorsement rates for PTSS were 6,604 (37%), 3,084 (17.3%) for depression, 3,700 (20.8%) for anxiety, 1,301 (7.3%) for insomnia, 3,895 (21.8%) for high perceived stress and 4,092 (22.9%) for adjustment disorder. Being woman and younger age were associated with all of the selected outcomes. Quarantine was associated with PTSS, anxiety and ADS. Any recent COVID-related stressful life event was associated with all the selected outcomes. Discontinued working activity due to the COVID-19 was associated with all the selected outcomes, except for ADS; working more than usual was associated with PTSS, Perceived stress and ADS. Having a loved one deceased by COVID-19 was associated with PTSS, depression, perceived stress, and insomnia. Conclusion We found high rates of negative mental health outcomes in the Italian general population 3 weeks into the COVID-19 lockdown measures and different COVID-19 related risk factors. These findings warrant further monitoring on the Italian population’s mental health.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: ConceptualizationRole: SupervisionRole: ValidationRole: Writing – original draftRole: Writing – review & editing
                Role: Data curationRole: InvestigationRole: Project administrationRole: ValidationRole: VisualizationRole: Writing – review & editing
                Role: ConceptualizationRole: InvestigationRole: Writing – review & editing
                Role: ConceptualizationRole: Writing – review & editing
                Role: Investigation
                Role: Writing – review & editing
                Role: Writing – review & editing
                Role: Funding acquisitionRole: Writing – review & editing
                Role: ConceptualizationRole: Formal analysisRole: Funding acquisitionRole: MethodologyRole: SupervisionRole: Writing – original draftRole: Writing – review & editing
                Role: Editor
                Journal
                PLoS One
                PLoS One
                plos
                plosone
                PLoS ONE
                Public Library of Science (San Francisco, CA USA )
                1932-6203
                18 May 2021
                2021
                18 May 2021
                : 16
                : 5
                : e0251393
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Institute of Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
                [2 ] Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
                [3 ] Chair of Social Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
                National Institutes of Health, UNITED STATES
                Author notes

                Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5584-154X
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8051-2756
                Article
                PONE-D-21-01304
                10.1371/journal.pone.0251393
                8130962
                34003836
                08213e4a-43ef-43cf-a635-6a3ff5aaf131
                © 2021 Biermann et al

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : 13 January 2021
                : 25 April 2021
                Page count
                Figures: 1, Tables: 1, Pages: 12
                Funding
                Funded by: funder-id http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft;
                Award ID: GRK2350/1
                Award Recipient :
                Funded by: ZI Publication Fund
                Award Recipient :
                A.S., F.U., K.A., P.W., M.B. and S.L. were supported by a grant of the German Research Foundation ( https://www.dfg.de/en/index.jsp), DFG grant ID GRK2350/1. Open Access funding enabled and organized by ZI Publication Fund. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
                Categories
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                Biology and Life Sciences
                Anatomy
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