leidenpsychologyblog

Dossier

Psychology & Corona

The global outbreak of the coronavirus and the measures to slow its spread are having a huge impact on society. Our staff and students reflect on this impact from the perspective of their own discipline.

Blogs

COVID-19 and student mental health: A secondary crisis of the pandemic?

Even under normal circumstances students experience higher levels of mental health issues, but this became worse during the pandemic. International students may be especially at risk, due to travel constraints and inability to form a social life during lockdowns.

Liia Kivelä • February 17, 2022

Building Resilience in Young People

Effectively supporting young people in coping better with COVID-19 related stress requires detailed understanding of the factors that influence resilient functioning. But what are those factors and what concrete actions can be taken to support young people in building resilience?

Anne-Laura van Harmelen and Maximilian Scheuplein • April 30, 2021

About rioters, mayors, judges, politicians, and our human brain

The introduction of the corona curfew on January 23, 2021 resulted in riots and chaos in a number of Dutch cities: shops were looted; people threw stones at the police; streets looked like war zones.

Fieke Harinck • March 05, 2021

No need to be scared; appealing to fear to change behavior

Showing gory pictures of cancerous lungs, videos of forest fires, and graphs of exponentially increasing infection rates are familiar tactics to scare people into different behavior. But how effective are fear appeals? Six decades of research provides some answers.

Lotte van Dillen • December 14, 2020

Pandemics: Survival of the ‘most anxious’?

When people in movies shake hands or crowd into elevators, do you think 'No! Keep back!'? I do. And it’s not just me. Apparently the Corona-induced fear of human contact is already wired in our brains. In this pandemic, will it be a case of survival of the most anxious?

Marieke Tollenaar • November 09, 2020

Putting the numbers to the COVID test

A proper assessment of test results involves the consideration of the test’s reliability in light of the prevalence (risk) of Covid-19 in the population. This leads to some surprising insights.

Lotte van Dillen • July 02, 2020

Family Fears: 'Stay at home! If you leave the house you will catch COVID-19'

Children are exposed not only to a novel virus but also to their parents’ fears of the virus. Parents’ fears can easily be passed on to their children. How does this happen and can we prevent it?

Cosima Nimphy • June 25, 2020

The importance of coffee breaks

Coffee breaks with colleagues – what a blast! In the midst of the corona crisis and having to work from home, I realize again how important these small moments are. But why is it so important to have breaks with our colleagues?

Susanne Asscheman • June 22, 2020

Government, media and people: it’s time to shift our attention to the Corona placebo effect!

All of us have spent recent months tackling the crisis and steeling ourselves to deal within the struggle against Corona. Some people have called it a war; many have classed it as the most serious crisis we have ever had to face, and one that is likely to have disastrous and unpredictable effects.

Andrea Evers • June 10, 2020