Special Issue Call for Papers
International Journal of Psychology
(IJP is the official journal of IUPsyS - the global umbrella organization for psychology)

Psychological implications of the 2020 Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic around the world The unfolding 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic (World Health Organisation, 2020) has become a severe global crisis that is currently not under control (as of March 30, 2020). Coined as a “oncein-a-century pandemic” (Gates, 2020), societies and populations around the world are faced by massive, unprecedented challenges, disrupting essential aspects of public, economic, and private life. The crisis has quickly developed from being a local and then global health crisis to also being a massive global economic crisis, affecting both the physical and psychological wellbeing of humanity with a currently unclear time horizon (Bao et al., 2020; Duan & Zhu, 2020; Liu et al, 2020). Societies around the globe have declared a “war” against the pandemic and its psychosocial and economic consequences as an urgent priority for national and international policy making and research efforts (Cohen & Kupferschmidt, 2020; Van Bavel et al., 2020). Psychological researchers across sub-fields have much to contribute to these efforts.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to encourage and publish new research on the psychological implications of the unfolding crisis for society, populations, groups, and individuals, as well as prevention and intervention efforts. We particularly welcome empirical papers, but papers initiating and explicating new, pressing research agendas for global psychology are also applicable. Papers may include, but not be limited to the following topics associated with the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic: 

• Psychological crisis management for societies, populations, groups, and the individual.
• Cross-cultural studies including psychological epidemiology (e.g., global changes in anxiety and depression levels).
• Psychological prevention and intervention studies.
• Psychological implications of social distancing, isolation, and loneliness across culture and context.
• Psychological factors associated with individual compliance to prevention and treatment measures.
• Clinical psychological science applications to COVID-19 (e.g. trauma, stress, emotional processes, impact on anxiety and depression; loss, grief, and bereavement).
• The contribution of positive psychology (e.g., human strengths) in coping with the crisis.
• Psychological implications of work-related consequences of the crisis, for example associated with increased telework, (threat of) unemployment, and general economic uncertainty.
• Psychological implications for older people and others at risk (e.g., refugees, low income, those with existing disorders, frontline medical staff).
• Implications for the psychosocial development of children and youth.
• Links to psychological vulnerability and resilience in different age groups/generations.
• Psychological effects of, and coping with, misinformation.
• Stigmatisation and stereotypes.

Submission deadlines:

1) Please email an abstract (no more than 500 words) for your proposed submission by
May 1, 2020, to the Special Issue Editors, Martin Obschonka (martin.obschonka@qut.edu.au), Liqi Zhu (zhulq@psych.ac.cn ) or Abi Gewirtz
(agewirtz@umn.edu). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Special Issue editors and potential contributors will be selected based on the originality of the work, the overall diversity of topics, and the fit to the general theme of the Special Issue.

2) Successful authors will be notified within 15 days and invited to submit full manuscripts by July 31, 2020. All submissions for the special issue will undergo an expedited peer review, with no guarantee of acceptance. For further information concerning the Special Section, please contact Martin Obschonka by email. For further information concerning the International Journal of Psychology, visit the website or contact the Editor-in-Chief, Abigail Gewirtz at agewirtz@umn.edu.