The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is not only a threat to physical health but is also having severe impacts on mental health. Although increases in stress-related symptomatology and other adverse psycho-social outcomes, as well as their most important risk factors have been described, hardly anything is known about potential protective factors. Resilience refers to the maintenance of mental health despite adversity. To gain mechanistic insights about the relationship between described psycho-social resilience factors and resilience specifically in the current crisis, we assessed resilience factors, exposure to Corona crisis-specific and general stressors, as well as internalizing symptoms in a cross-sectional online survey conducted in 24 languages during the most intense phase of the lockdown in Europe (22 March to 19 April) in a convenience sample of N = 15,970 adults. Resilience, as an outcome, was conceptualized as good mental health despite stressor exposure and measured as the inverse residual between actual and predicted symptom total score. Preregistered hypotheses (osf.io/r6btn) were tested with multiple regression models and mediation analyses. Results confirmed our primary hypothesis that positive appraisal style (PAS) is positively associated with resilience ( p < 0.0001). The resilience factor PAS also partly mediated the positive association between perceived social support and resilience, and its association with resilience was in turn partly mediated by the ability to easily recover from stress (both p < 0.0001). In comparison with other resilience factors, good stress response recovery and positive appraisal specifically of the consequences of the Corona crisis were the strongest factors. Preregistered exploratory subgroup analyses (osf.io/thka9) showed that all tested resilience factors generalize across major socio-demographic categories. This research identifies modifiable protective factors that can be targeted by public mental health efforts in this and in future pandemics.
Background: Previous studies have discussed attitudes of vitiligo patients toward their disease. However, no studies have addressed this issue from the public's point of view. Objective: To explore the perceptions, attitudes, and misconceptions of the public toward vitiligo. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to attendees of primary health care centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between January and August 2010. Results: Overall, 924 of the 1,000 distributed questionnaires were returned, and 429 were males (46.8%). Moreover, 33.1% (303 of 916) believed that vitiligo is contagious or did not know that it is not. The cause of vitiligo was thought to be infectious by 20.4% of respondents (182 of 894), inherited by 40.5% (365 of 902), autoimmune by 41.2% (370 of 899), and due to a lack of hygiene by 22.5% (199 of 883). Unmarried individuals and those with less education were more likely to state that vitiligo is caused by an infection ( p = .02, p = .03, respectively). Younger individuals and those with less education were more likely to think that vitiligo is caused by a lack of hygiene ( p = .01, p = .001, respectively). More than half of the participants (56.1%, 504 of 898) would be unwilling to marry a vitiligo patient. Younger individuals and males were less likely to marry a vitiligo patient ( p = .01, p = .05, respectively), whereas those of lower income were more likely to accept it ( p = .002). Conclusions: Various misconceptions and negative attitudes about vitiligo among the public are prevalent. Educating the public about vitiligo could ultimately lead to better psychosocial well-being of vitiligo patients. Contexte: Des études ont déjà porté sur la perception des personnes atteintes de vitiligo à l'égard de leur propre maladie, mais aucune étude n'a porté sur la perception du public à l'égard de cette maladie. Objectif: L'étude visait à analyser les perceptions, les attitudes, et les idées fausses du public à l'égard du vitiligo. Méthodes: Un questionnaire autoadministré a été remis à des personnes présentes dans des centres de soins primaires à Riyad, en Arabie saoudite, entre janvier et août 2010. Résultats: En tout, 924 questionnaires sur 1,000 ont été remis. Sur ce nombre, 429 avaient été remplis par des hommes (46.8%). De plus, 33.1% (303 sur 916) des répondants croyaient que le vitiligo était contagieux ou ne savaient pas qu'il ne l'était pas. Quant à la cause du vitiligo, 20.4% des participants (182 sur 894) croyaient que c'était une maladie contagieuse; 40.5% (365 sur 902), que c'était une maladie héréditaire; 41.2% (370 sur 899), que c'était une maladie auto-immune; et 22.5% (199 sur 883), que c'était une maladie due à un manque d'hygiène. Les personnes célibataires et celles moins instruites étaient plus portées à croire que le vitiligo était causé par une infection ( p = .02 et p = .03, respectivement). Les jeunes et les personnes moins instruites étaient plus susceptibles de croire que le vitiligo était causé par un manque d'hygiène ( p = .01 et p = .001, respectivement). Plus de la moitié des participants (56.1%, 504 sur 898) ne voulaient pas se marier avec une personne atteinte de vitiligo. Les jeunes et les hommes étaient moins disposés à se marier avec une personne atteinte de vitiligo ( p = .01 et p = .05, respectivement), tandis que ceux à faible revenu étaient plus susceptibles d'accepter le fait ( p = .002). Conclusions: Il existe plusieurs idées fausses sur le vitiligo au sein de la population, et la maladie suscite des réactions négatives. L'éducation du public sur le vitiligo pourrait peut-être améliorer le bien-être psychosocial des personnes atteintes de vitiligo.