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https://www.doi.org/10.32320/978-961-270-357-8.161-181

Longitudinal Analysis of COVID-19 Anxiety

and Mental Well-being during Lockdown:
The Role of Emotional Self-efficacy

and Mindfulness Practices in Slovenian
Adults - Insights for Post-Pandemic

Mental Health and Education

Maša Vidmar, Ana Kozina, Manja Veldin, Tina Pivec, Igor Peras

1 COVID-19 and mental health
Even though COVID-19 pandemic is no longer present, the data collect-
ed at the time of the pandemic are still be used in studies and can provide
valid insights. Findings from such studies may be used to inform education
as well as public mental-health policies about relevance of certain topics.
These findings are particularly relevant for the design of future educational
strategies and programs which will help to ensure that pupils, students and
teachers have the necessary tools to face potential future challenges, while
at the same time being better able to contribute to creating an encouraging
and supportive learning environment.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed by govern-
ments, in order to prevent the spread of the virus, have created an enor-
mous health and economic burden, and challenged our mental health and
well-being. There is evidence of this from research focusing on the negative
aspects of psychological functioning, such as stress, anxiety, and depres-
sion during the pandemic (e.g., Elmer et al., 2020; Moccia et al., 2020; Wang
et al., 2020a). Less research (e.g., Pellerin & Raufaste, 2020) has focused on
the positive aspects of human functioning and how this has changed dur-
ing the COVID-19 pandemic, and even less on protective factors for bet-
ter coping with the challenges of the pandemic. In the current paper, we
focus on both negative and positive aspects of psychological functioning,
namely COVID-19 anxiety and mental well-being, as well as on potential

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