Real-world observational data on olfactory dysfunction of the Smell & Taste Clinic of UZ Leuven (Belgium) from 2021-2024.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in olfactory dysfunction (OD), increasing the need for specialized care. Thi study explores the prevalence, characteristics, and clinical implications of OD in a specialized Smell & Taste Clinic established at the ENT-HNS department of the University Hospitals Leuven (UZ Leuven) in 2021.

Methodology: We included consecutive patients with OD in the observational longitudinal ProspeRo'Scent registry at UZ Leuven between September 2021 and April 2024.

Risk perception as a motivational resource during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of vaccination status and emerging variants.

Background: People's perceived risk of being infected and having severe illness was conceived as a motivational source of adherence to behavioral measures during the COVID-19 crisis.

Methods: We used online self-reported data, spanning 20 months of the COVID-19 crisis in Belgium (n = 221,791; 34.4% vaccinated; July 2020 - March 2022) to study the association between risk perception and motivation.

Psychological need fulfillment as a source of resilience: Its protective role in concerns and symptoms of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The essential role of the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in well-being has been demonstrated convincingly. Yet whether their fulfillment also serves as a source of resilience in the face of adversity has received limited attention. A longitudinal sample of Belgian citizens (N = 1869; M = 56.

Predictors and outcomes of sports coaches' athlete-invested contingent self-worth.

Some sports coaches not only invest considerable time and energy in their athletes, but also attach their self-worth to the successes and failures of their athletes. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the present study aimed to examine the theoretical predictors and outcomes of such Athlete-Invested Contingent Self-worth (AICS). Results from a cross-sectional study (Study 1; N = 740, M = 34.

How Do Late Adults Experience Meaning During the COVID-19 Lockdown? The Role of Intrinsic Goals.

Late adults differ in the degree to which their mental health is impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, with interindividual differences in their capacity to mobilize coping resources playing an important role. Therefore, the search for inner sources of resilience is important to understand late adults' adaptation to this crisis. Based on Goal Content Theory, a mini-theory within the broader Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to examine whether older adults' valuation and attainment of intrinsic goals represent such a source of resilience.

A moment of autonomy support brightens adolescents' mood: Autonomy support, psychological control and adolescent affect in everyday life.

This experience sampling study examined whether autonomy-supportive and psychologically controlling interactions with parents are intertwined with adolescents' momentary affect. For 7 days (in 2020), 143 adolescents (M  = 15.82; SD  = 1.

How the Stringency of the COVID-19 Restrictions Influences Motivation for Adherence and Well-Being: The Critical Role of Proportionality.

Background: The stringency of the measures taken by governments to combat the COVID-19 pandemic varied considerably across countries and time. In the present study, we examined how the proportionality to the epidemiological situation is related to citizens'behavior, motivation and mental health.

Methods: Across 421 days between March 2020 and March 2022, 273,722 Belgian participants ( = 49.

An examination of the reciprocal associations between physical activity and anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality during the first 9 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.

During the initial outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many countries imposed a total lockdown (containment at home). Although it was still allowed in Belgium to be physically active or exercise with people from your household in the vicinity of your home, engaging in sports or physical activity in a group or club context was no longer permitted. To examine whether a lack of physical activity was potentially threatening to the mental well-being of citizens and vice versa, the present study examined concurrent and reciprocal relationships between physical activity and anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality during the COVID-19 lockdown in a 9-week longitudinal design.

The role of emotion regulation in mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak: A 10-wave longitudinal study.

The COVID-19 pandemic elicited a lot of concerns among citizens, thereby potentially compromising their well-being. This study sought to examine the role of individuals' emotion regulation styles (i.e.

The Role of Communication Style and External Motivators in Predicting Vaccination Experiences and Intentions: An Experimental Vignette Study.

This vignette-based study examined in a sample of unvaccinated Belgian citizens ( = 1918;  = 45.99) how health care workers could foster reflection about and intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by experimentally varying their communication style (i.e.

How do vaccination intentions change over time? The role of motivational growth.

Objective: Across nationwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccination, people in Belgium differed widely in their vaccination intention. In the present study, we examined (a) how people's vaccination intentions changed during the vaccination rollout and (b) whether changes in motivation (i.e.

Saliva testing among teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Effects on health concerns, well-being, and precautionary behavior.

Rationale: At the start of 2021, several SARS-CoV-2 cluster outbreaks in schools threatened in-person education and created a fairly chaotic and frightening environment for school personnel. To keep the schools open while preventing COVID-19 outbreaks, intensive diagnostic testing in teachers and school personnel was strongly recommended but missing at the time.

Objectives: A project was launched in Belgian schools to weekly analyze the morning saliva of school personnel using PCR-testing to detect and prevent COVID-19 positive cases.

Personal and contextual determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention: a vignette study.

Background: This vignette study explores which factors contribute to higher COVID-19 vaccination intentions.

Methods: Between the 4-11 January 2021, we recruited 15,901 Belgian citizens ( = 50.11 years, range 18-100) through convenience sampling to participate in a vignette study.

The relation between conspiracism, government trust, and COVID-19 vaccination intentions: The key role of motivation.

Rationale: Vaccination willingness is a critical step in the effort to reach herd immunity and control the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, many people remain reluctant to be vaccinated.

Objective: Integrating the literature on Self-Determination Theory, trust in authorities, and conspiracy theories, this research examines (a) the direct and indirect effect of government trust and conspiracism via underlying forms of motivations for (not) getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and (b) whether these associations differ across the two largely politically independent Belgian linguistic groups.

Emotion regulation in times of COVID-19: A person-centered approach based on self-determination theory.

Although the COVID-19 crisis is a worldwide threat to individuals' physical health and psychological well-being, not all people are equally susceptible to increased ill-being. One potentially important factor in individuals' vulnerability (versus resilience) to ill-being in the face of stress is emotion regulation. On the basis of Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the role of three emotion regulation styles in individuals' mental health during the COVID-19 crisis, that is, integration, suppression, and dysregulation.

Predicting vaccine uptake during COVID-19 crisis: A motivational approach.

The present research examined which motivational factors contribute to individuals' intention to take a vaccine that protects against SARS-CoV-2-virus and their self-reported vaccine uptake several months later. The role of different types of motivation was investigated (i.e.

Mental Health Outcomes Among Parents of Children With a Chronic Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Parental Burn-Out.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated quarantine measures highly impacted parental psychological well-being. Parents of children with chronic diseases might be specifically vulnerable as they already face multiple challenges to provide adequate care for their child. The research questions of the current study were twofold: (a) to examine whether parents of children with a chronic disease experienced more anxiety and depression compared to parents of healthy children and (b) to examine a series of risk factors for worsened well-being (i.

Parental identity as a resource for parental adaptation during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The lockdown measures that were taken to contain the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 caused many parents to stay at home with their children. This unusual situation created both risks and opportunities for families. In the present study, we examined the role of parental identity as a resource for parental adaptation during this challenging period, thereby considering both parenthood experiences and parents' general mental health while also taking into account the cumulative risk to which parents were exposed (e.

"How to unlock myself from boredom?" The role of mindfulness and a dual awareness- and action-oriented pathway during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Although the COVID-19 crisis is a distressing situation entailing greater boredom and lower life satisfaction, there is considerably heterogeneity in people's reaction patterns. In a sample of 1455 participants (  = 50.70, 70% female), collected during the second lockdown in Belgium, we sought to examine an integrative process model, thereby distinguishing between an awareness- (i.

Do Psychological Needs Play a Role in Times of Uncertainty? Associations with Well-Being During the COVID-19 Crisis.

Across the world, measures were taken to contain the spreading of the COVID-19 virus. Many of these measures caused a sudden rupture in people's daily routines, thereby eliciting considerable uncertainty and potentially also hampering the satisfaction of individuals' psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Drawing upon Maslow's Hierarchical Need Theory and Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the unique role of felt insecurity and the psychological needs, as well as their dynamic interplay, in the prediction of mental health.

The role of ego integrity and despair in older adults' well-being during the COVID-19 crisis: the mediating role of need-based experiences.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people across the world, with important heterogeneity among older adults in how they respond to the challenges associated with this crisis. Relying on a cross-fertilization between Erikson's personality theory and self-determination theory, this study aimed to examine possible sources of resilience (i.e.

The effects of experimentally induced choice on elementary school children's intrinsic motivation: The moderating role of indecisiveness and teacher-student relatedness.

Although the effects of choice provision on intrinsic motivation have been intensively studied, the number of experimental studies, in particular with elementary school children, is limited. Moreover, many questions regarding the boundary conditions of the effects of choice remain unresolved. Grounded in self-determination theory, the current experimental field study examined the effect of choice provision, versus choice deprivation, on the intrinsic motivation of elementary school children, thereby also addressing the role of child-teacher relatedness and children's indecisiveness as potential moderators.

Low resolution 1H NMR assignment of proton populations in pound cake and its polymeric ingredients.

Based on a model system approach, five different proton populations were distinguished in pound cake crumb using one dimensional low resolution (1)H NMR spectroscopy. In free induction decay (FID) measurements, proton populations were assigned to (i) non-exchanging CH protons of crystalline starch, proteins and crystalline fat and (ii) non-exchanging CH protons of amorphous starch and gluten, which are in little contact with water. In Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) measurements, three proton populations were distinguished.