The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading rapidly, bringing pressure and challenges to nursing staff. To explore the psychology of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients. Using a phenomenological approach, we enrolled 20 nurses who provided care for COVID-19 patients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology from January 20, to February 10, 2020. The interviews were conducted face-to-face or by telephone and were analysed by Colaizzi's 7-step method. The psychological experience of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients can be summarized into 4 themes. First, negative emotions present in early stage consisting of fatigue, discomfort, and helplessness was caused by high-intensity work, fear and anxiety, and concern for patients and family members. Second, self-coping styles included psychological and life adjustment, altruistic acts, team support, and rational cognition. Third, we found growth under pressure, which included increased affection and gratefulness, development of professional responsibility, and self-reflection. Finally, we showed that positive emotions occurred simultaneously with negative emotions. During an epidemic outbreak, positive and negative emotions of the front-line nurses interweaved and coexisted. In the early stage, negative emotions were dominant and positive emotions appeared gradually. Self-coping styles and psychological growth played an important role in maintaining mental health of nurses.

Social skills acquired during early childhood are often the foundation for success later in life. Using a nationwide survey dataset in Japan, this study aims to explore the multiple growth trajectories of social skills among children in kindergarten by using a latent class growth modeling approach. It also examines whether, and to what extent, the home-rearing environment at early age predict trajectories of social skills development. Children in this study were assessed on social skills at three waves, four home-rearing environment dimensions (human stimulation, social stimulation, avoidance of punishment, and social support for parenting) and demographic background were measured at wave 1. The results indicated that three distinct growth trajectories of social skills existed during kindergarten: high increase levels, moderate increase levels, and decreased levels. The avoidance of punishment and children’s gender significantly predicted the growth trajectories of social skills. Thus, the results suggest that more attention should be paid to the home-rearing environment and boys.

Background: Social relationships are associated with physical function. However, little scholarly attention has been focused on the effect of changing social factors on physical function. Purpose: This study was designed to examine the effects on physical function of changes in social relationships in adults aged 65 years and older. Methods: This study is part of a longitudinal, prospective cohort study that was conducted on community-dwelling older adults in a suburban area of central Japan. Baseline self-report data were collected in 2011, and a follow-up survey was conducted in 2017. Social relationships were assessed using the Index of Social Interaction, and physical function was evaluated using a subscale of the Kihon Checklist. Chi-square tests, Mann–Whitney U tests, and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to analyze data from 442 older adults who were functionally independent at baseline. Results: After controlling for covariates in 2011, negative changes in social relationships (odds ratio [OR] = 3.20, 95% CI [1.18, 8.69]) were found to be associated with physical function decline. Moreover, 1-point increases in the different social-relationship values between baseline and follow-up were associated with protective effects against functional decline (OR = 0.71, 95% CI [0.63, 0.80]). Furthermore, median trends between baseline and follow-up revealed associations between decreasing (OR = 4.18, 95% CI [1.53, 11.39]) and continuously low (OR = 2.98, 95% CI [1.42, 6.28]) social relationships and physical function decline. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: The findings support a strong association between negative changes in social relationships and physical function decline and highlight the importance of promoting social relationships to delay physical function decline in older adults.