Although numerous studies have addressed the impact of the COVID-19 lock-downs on psychological distress, scarce data is available relating to the role of Present-Hedonistic (PH) time perspective and gender differences in the development of depressive symptoms and stress during the period of strict social distancing. We hypothesized that gender would moderate the relationship between PH and depressiveness or stress levels, such that PH would negatively correlate with psychological distress in women but correlate positively in men. The present study was online and questionnaire-based. N = 230 participants aged 15–73 from the general population took part in the study. The results of moderation analysis allowed for full acceptance of the hypothesis for depression as a factor, but for stress the hypothesis was only partially confirmed, since the relationship between PH time perspective and stress was not significant for men (although it was positive, as expected). The findings are pioneering in terms of including PH time perspective in predicting psychological distress during the COVID-19 lock-down and have potentially significant implications for practicing clinicians, who could include the development of more adaptive time perspectives and balance them in their therapeutic work with people experiencing lock-down-related distress.

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether a specific social perception of the pandemic—believing or not in COVID-19—predicts borderline personality organizations and whether this relationship is mediated by more primitive maladaptive mechanisms—splitting, denial, and dissociation. The online study included 720 organization aged 25–45. Participants were diverse in terms of place of residence, being in a relationship, and education level. Approximately 30% of the general population reported not believing in the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-believers scored slightly higher on borderline symptoms and used more maladaptive defense mechanisms than believers. Individuals who deny COVID-19 are more likely to show characteristics of borderline personality organization. Splitting is an important mechanism in this relationship.

Abstract. Narcissism, especially the vulnerable kind, is associated with anger and hostility. In a sample of outpatients, group psychotherapy ( N = 74) and community members ( N = 153), we replicated and extended previous work linking vulnerable, but not grandiose, narcissism to hostile attributions across different socio-relational contexts. We also examined if the level of ambiguity of social situations, assessed from the other-referent position, influences the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and attributing hostile intentionality, and whether narcissistic individuals distinguish hostile interpretations, depending on the level of ambiguity of the scene. In ambiguous vignettes, assessed from the self-referent position, higher levels of vulnerable narcissism were associated with a greater tendency to infer more attributions of hostile intentions with people with whom there was no close relationship (except for authority in the patient group). In the case of visual scenes, the positive relationship between vulnerable narcissism and attributed hostile intentionality appeared in accidental scenes, but not in hostile and ambiguous ones. In addition, the higher the vulnerable narcissism the lower the ability to differentiate between contextual nuances (e.g., the level of ambiguity). We replicated previous research indicating a relationship between vulnerable narcissism and hostile attribution bias, but shed new light on the phenomenon of this bias in that it appears to depend on the socio-relational context and the level of ambiguity of the situation.