This study investigates psychosocial aspects related to preventive behavior and social representations (SR) of COVID-19 for elderly females. The method used to understand these features was an online questionnaire for 326 women over 60 years old. In general, participants are afraid of COVID-19, believe that may kill them, and perceive that they do not venture themselves much. They consider themselves to be moderately informed about COVID-19. Right-winged participants believed more in the hydroxychloroquine efficacy with a greater belief that viruses and diseases may have been manufactured by organizations. Left-winged participants believe more in the truth of media information and also have a greater belief in science. Concerning the SR of COVID-19, a possible central core was observed around the following elements: fear, isolation, suffering, and danger. The conclusion is that there is an intense political polarization around the theme due to the political positioning of the participants KeywordsSocial representations • Elderly • Political polarization • COVID-19 COVID-19 e mulheres idosas -Um estudo de Representações Sociais no Brasil Resumo Este estudo investigou aspectos psicossociais relacionados à comportamentos de prevenção, e as Representações Sociais (RS) da COVID-19 para mulheres idosas Translated by members of the Voluntary translation of informative materials related to COVID-19 project, offered by NUPEL /UFBA and supervised by professors M. Daniel Vasconcelos B.

This study analyzed the relations between social representations of the body and the body care practices of older adults. Forty older adults, with ages varying from 60 to 84 years (M = 69; SD = 7), matched by sex, took part in the study. The data were collected by means of in-depth thematic interviews, with the corpus analyzed using the IRaMuTeQ software. Differences between men and women were verified in representational contents and body practices. The male participants’ social representations of the body were associated with biological functionality and health concerns, while the women emphasized the importance of physical appearance in their social relationships. Regarding body care practices, there was a higher incidence of food concerns in the men and the performance of physical activities in the women. Therefore, the results indicated that the body care practices vary according to the socials representations of the body and the sex of the participant.

A qualitative, exploratory-descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out, featuring 50 semi-structured interviews with patients (45 males and 5 females) hospitalized due to traffic accidents. In most cases, the vehicle was a motorcycle and the interviewee was the driver going to work or returning home. It was not rainy in forty cases. Participants´ representation on traffic violence comprises the conception that society as a whole is violent, whilst traffic is another manifestation of such phenomenon within a society where education and respect for life are lacking. These aspects mainly refer to car drivers who, in a certain way, would disregard motorcyclists.

This research aimed to study left-wing and right-wing groups' political polarization and their Social Representations (SR) of each other, as well as to investigate the experience of political violence and the belief in a just world (BJW). An online survey was conducted. The left-wing groups used the terms equality, empathy, and justice to describe themselves, while the rightwing groups used freedom, conservatism, and justice. Both groups used negative terms to describe their opponents; left-wingers described right-wingers as selfish, ignorant, and intolerant and right-wingers described left-wingers as corrupt, intolerant, and extremist. Regarding violence, 72% stated that they knew someone who had suffered political violence in the last two years, especially through social media. As for the means on the BJW scale, left-wingers had a lower mean than right-wingers. There are significant differences in SRs and positions between the groups, which may be at the core of violence.

Estudos apontam que os homens idosos são o grupo de maior risco de agravo e morte pela COVID-19, em decorrência de fatores biopsicossociais. As Representações Sociais (RS) possuem um papel importante nas práticas sociais pois orientam as ações de grupos. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo propôs-se a investigar as RS de homens idosos brasileiros sobre a COVID-19 de acordo com seu pertencimento grupal e sentimentos gerados pela pandemia. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo de caráter exploratório-descritivo e comparativo lastreado pela TRS, com a participação de 102 homens. Os resultados apontaram para um possível núcleo central composto pelos elementos  cuidados, medo e vírus. Ao comparar as RS de acordo com pertencimento grupal politico, observa-se RS polêmicas, pois o grupo de direita ainda que compreenda a necessidade de cuidados e tenha medo, possui incertezas sobre a doença, enquanto que os demais grupos trouxeram elementos mais ligados a prevenção. Por fim, os sentimentos de mal-estar, saudades, preocupações, resiliência e esperança foram os mais gerados nos idosos por conta da pandemia.