The Importance of Perceived School Climate and Personal Strengths Use for Psychological Functioning among High School Students

The aim of this study was to determine the importance of high school students’ personal strengths use and the perceived school climate on their psychological functioning. The sample of 258 students from a gymnasium filled in measures for adolescent psychological functioning, strengths use and perceived school climate. Contrary to what was expected, the results revealed that personal strengths use did not moderate the relationship between students’ perceived school climate and their psychological functioning. However, both factors – perceived school climate and strengths use – independently of each other, significantly predicted students’ psychological functioning. Therefore, in order to achieve more positive developmental outcomes, it is not enough to create a good climate at school, it is also important to create opportunities for students to use their personal strengths.

The Link Between Personal Factors and Workaholism: The Role of Remote Working During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the way of doing work for the relationship between employees’ perfectionism, type A personality and workaholism during COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 668 Lithuanian employees participated in a study. The sample included employees who worked in the workplace (n = 331), as well as those who worked completely from home (n = 337). The levels of workaholism were measured using DUWAS-10 (Schaufeli et al., 2009). A multidimensional perfectionism scale (Hewitt et al., 1991) was used for the measurement of perfectionism. Type A personality was assessed with the help of the Framingham type A personality scale (Haynes et al., 1980). It was revealed in a study that the positive relationship between perfectionism and workaholism was stronger in the group of complete remote workers. It was further found that the moderating role of the way of doing work was not significant for the relationship between type A personality and workaholism. Overall, the findings support the idea that remote work is an important variable determining the development of health-damaging working behaviors among those employees who excel perfectionistic attributes. Therefore, the way of doing work must be considered when addressing the well-being of employees.

Features of Mental Health Service Provision During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Specialists Who Work with Suicide Prevention in Rural Areas

The COVID-19 pandemic can influence the situation of suicide rates and mental health in rural regions even more than in major cities. The aim of the current study was to explore the functioning of mental health service provision during the COVID-19 pandemic through interviews with mental health professionals and other specialists who work with suicide prevention in rural areas. Thirty specialists were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. The following codes were identified during the thematic analysis: providing help during the pandemic (mental health professionals and institutions adapted to the conditions of the pandemic, remote counselling makes providing help more difficult, the help is less reachable); help-seeking during the pandemic (people seek less help because of the pandemic, seeking remote help is easier, the frequency of help seeking didn’t change); the effects and governing of the pandemic situation (the pandemic can have negative effects on mental health; after the pandemic mental health might get worse; the governing of the pandemic situation in Lithuania could be more fluent). The current study reveals positive aspects of mental health professionals’ adaptivity during the pandemic, as well as severe problems which are related to the access to the mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reconciling Home and Work During Lockdown: The Role of Organisational Segmentation Supplies for Psychological Detachment and Work-Home Conflict

When the lockdown was introduced to limit the spread of the coronavirus, many employees were forced to work from home, thus facing challenges to detach from work and balance work and home responsibilities. As physical boundaries between work and non-work became non-existent, organisational norms supporting segmentation between the two domains became more important than ever before. This study aimed to examine the effect of organisational segmentation supplies for psychological detachment and work-home conflict among employees with different boundary management preferences. A sample of 172 employees from one private sector organisation responded to a questionnaire measuring segmentation supplies, segmentation preferences, psychological detachment and work-home conflict. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that segmentation supplies had a protective effect on the work-home conflict, which was partly mediated by psychological detachment. Employees’ segmentation preferences did not moderate this effect. Results show segmentation supplies by the organisation to be a valuable resource when working from home that helps to psychologically detach from work and balance work and home responsibilities even for employees who prefer to integrate work and home life.

Pre-schoolers’ Behavioural and Emotional Problems During the First Quarantine Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Parental Distress and Screen Time

Lithuania was one of the countries that applied quarantine during the rise of COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, the duration of which was three months (from March 16th, 2020 to June 16th, 2020). Despite emerging literature showing negative effects of quarantine on children’s mental health, insight into specific risk factors is lacking due to limited longitudinal data. The aim of the present study was to analyse changes in Lithuanian pre-schoolers’ emotional and behavioural problems during the first quarantine due to COVID-19 pandemic and their relations to the potential risk factors such as parental distress and increase in daily screen time. Parents of 78 children aged 4 to 6 (31% girls and 69% boys, mean age at the first measurement 66.1 months (SD = 10.33)) completed Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL/1½-5), questions on children’s screen time and physical activity and reported their distress before the quarantine (November 2019–February 2020) and at the end of it (May–June 2020). Results showed that children had more behavioral problems, spent more time on screens and were less physically active during the quarantine, and their parents were experiencing more distress than before. However, parental distress emerged as the only variable that predicted preschoolers’ emotional and behavioral problems during the quarantine after a child’s previous problems were taken into account. This highlights the importance of targeting support towards families raising children with behavioral problems, as the challenges they were already facing increase during quarantine and their parents may be more susceptible to less desirable practices such as providing children with more screen time as a way to cope with this situation.

Risk of Behavioural and Emotional Disorders in Lithuanian School Aged Children as Assessed with SDQ During the Second Lockdown due to COVID-19

As a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 and consequent restrictions, the distance education was introduced in Lithuania in 2020 spring (the first lockdown, lasted for around 3 months) and 2020 autumn (the second lockdown, still lasting, June 2021). The prevalence of children’s mental health problems during the first lockdown was similar to pre-epidemic rates in Lithuania, but the prolonged lockdown (and therefore school closure) might have more negative consequences on children’s mental health. This study aimed to reveal the incidence of mental health problems as rated by parents with a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire during the second lockdown in school aged children. This research sample included data of 514 children (46% girls), aged 7 to 14 years old (mean age 10.15 years, SD = 3.47). The children’s mental health problems were assessed using a Lithuanian version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, parental form, in April–May 2021. Results revealed that 29.6% of Lithuanian children had scores in the clinical (abnormal) range of emotional problems and 21.6% – of conduct problems. Based on total difficulties score, 31.6% of children get in clinical range of emotional and behavioural problems, as rated by parents by the end of the second lockdown. The results are compared to pre-pandemic epidemiological rates of emotional and behavioural problems reported and those documented after the first quarantine in Lithuania and highlight important findings for professionals and policy makers about the detrimental effects of prolonged lockdown and school closure on children’s mental health.

Associations Between COVID-19 Difficulties, Well-Being, and Personality Traits

During the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, everyday life has changed; people faced various difficulties and overcame them differently. This study aimed to identify how subjectively named difficulties, the ability to cope with these difficulties, and psychological well-being reported by individuals during the first quarantine of COVID-19 in Lithuania were related to gender, age, and personality traits. Three hundred fifty-one participants aged 18 to 70 years completed an online questionnaire. Results revealed that half of the respondents reported various difficulties, classified into six categories, related to the first COVID-19 quarantine. Furthermore, 51% of the participants indicated poor well-being; the well-being of women and young adults (aged 18–29) was significantly lower compared to the other groups. Those who indicated COVID-19 pandemic difficulties showed higher levels of Neuroticism, and Neuroticism was positively related to the severity of the difficulties. Coping with these difficulties and well-being were positively related to Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness, and negatively associated with Neuroticism. The manifestation of the particular personality traits in different groups of indicated difficulties is discussed in the article.

The Right to Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The relationship between mental health and human rights is integral and interdependent. There are clinical, social and economic reasons, as well as moral and legal obligations to advance mental health care as fundamental to human rights. Significant considerations for this matter are especially crucial when addressing the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. The aim of this research study was to analyse the responses to the ongoing pandemic, concerning the human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and the right to the mental health of the general population, in Lithuania. Methods included online surveys, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. This article presents the results as a complex picture containing lived experiences of mental health difficulties of the general population, barriers to accessing the needed support and services, as well as analysis of violations of human rights. It also highlights the need for more research on the long-term consequences of the pandemic and lockdowns on the mental health of the population; also, on how human rights of persons with mental health conditions, and especially those with psychosocial disabilities, can be better ensured and protected in Lithuania.

“Everything Seems Unreal”: How Adolescents Cope with COVID-19 Quarantine Experience

Adolescents were a particularly vulnerable group at the time of the pandemic. Restrictions applied during quarantine brought a lot of stress and challenges for the youth. The aim of this study was to reveal how adolescents cope with challenges faced during the lockdown due to COVID-19. Twenty four 13–17-year-old adolescents participated in a qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews via Zoom. Findings revealed seven themes related to youth coping behavior during lockdown: 1. withdrawal behavior, 2. focus on particular activities, 3. social support seeking within family and via the internet with friends, 4. expression of overwhelming emotions, 5. protest against quarantine restrictions, 6. attempts to maintain “active oneself”, 7. search for the personal meaning of the lockdown. Understanding the coping behaviors and helping adolescents reflect their mental states in stressful situations could be effective interventions in order to reduce the risk of future psychological problems.

Change in the Definition of Personality Disorder in Transition to ICD-11: A Look from Clinical and Developmental Perspectives

The recent body of research reveals fundamental limitations to the categorical concept of a personality disorder that has led researchers to adopt a new personality disorder concept. During the last decade DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnostic classifications have accepted the dimensional view towards personality pathology. Despite the differences between the two classifications, the joint aspect of both models is the construct of Levels of personality functioning. The construct of personality functioning involves personality (dys)function in the self and interpersonal domains. This two-step conceptualization includes (a) impairments of self and interpersonal functioning, indicating general signs and severity of personality disorder, and (b) pathological personality traits, reflecting ‘stylistic’ differences in the expression of personality disorder. The new conceptualization of personality disorder reflects the innovative multi-theoretical integration of known, empirically-based personality assessment paradigms. The relationship between personality functioning and interpersonal, psychodynamic, and personological paradigms provides the theoretical integrity and empirically-based structure necessary to understand the overall severity of personality pathology. Many methods (interviews, self-assessment scales, and questionnaires) have already been developed for the assessment of personality functioning, and their development will be encouraged by the ICD-11 classification established in 2022. At present, only one instrument has been developed in Lithuania for assessing the level of personality functioning in young people aged 12–18 (Barkauskienė & Skabeikytė, 2020). The empirical data about the validity of this construct and its capability to differentiate between the normal and impaired personality in adults and adolescents provide promising results, but are still accumulating. Research suggests that adolescence is a stage in development when personality pathology can fully unfold and be validly confirmed, which opens up opportunities for early intervention. Although the dimensional personality disorder model needs to further prove its importance, there is already evidence that it is less stigmatizing and returns psychology and personality into the concept of a personality disorder. This review presents changes in the conceptualization of personality disorders by discussing them from both clinical and developmental perspectives and highlighting the results of key research in recent years.