Taking on the “new normal”: emerging psychologists' reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose Coronavirus (COVID-19) rapidly became the “new normal” with profound implications for everyone's daily life. In this paper, emerging psychologists from diverse cultural backgrounds discuss four main ways in which COVID-19 impacted diverse psychological populations. Design/methodology/approach This paper was written as a reflection on how COVID-19 has impacted diverse psychological populations using authors' academic and personal experiences. Findings First, the authors explore inaccessible populations with a focus on domestic violence victims living in rural areas. Second, the authors consider consequences of social isolation with a focus on remote workers. Third, the authors investigate the consequences of public (dis)trust in the pandemic with a focus on migrant worker communities. Finally, the authors discuss pandemic-relevant subcultures with a focus on “anti-vaxxers”. Social implications The paper concludes with a discussion of negative implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on diverse psychological populations, both for the present and the future, and ends with an action plan of possible interventions to overcome these limitations. Originality/value Overall, the current paper provides a broad overview of how the pandemic has shaped and will continue to shape diverse psychological populations.