Dataset Information

COVID-19 as a traumatic stressor is an indicator of mental health symptomatology.

ABSTRACT: The mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are gaining attention. While many are experiencing increased stress due to COVID-19, some perceive the pandemic as traumatic. This preliminary study identified respondents who endorsed a COVID-19-related trauma as their most stressful traumatic experience (i.e., index trauma). We analyzed data from an online Canadian survey (May-July 2020; N =1,018). Nearly 3% of participants endorsed a COVID-19-related index trauma. These individuals had increased posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms compared to the remaining sample. Results may inform targeted screening to identify those who may be at greater risk for COVID-19-related mental health sequelae.

SUBMITTER: Sommer JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8056974 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

COVID-19 as a traumatic stressor is an indicator of mental health symptomatology.

Sommer Jordana L JL Mota Natalie N Reynolds Kristin K El-Gabalawy Renée R

Psychiatry research 20210420

The mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are gaining attention. While many are experiencing increased stress due to COVID-19, some perceive the pandemic as traumatic. This preliminary study identified respondents who endorsed a COVID-19-related trauma as their most stressful traumatic experience (i.e., index trauma). We analyzed data from an online Canadian survey (May-July 2020; N =1,018). Nearly 3% of participants endorsed a COVID-19-related index trauma. These individuals had increa ...[more]

PMID: 33901973

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectiveA scoping review of studies published in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic focused on individuals with pre-existing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and specified stressor-related disorders, with the objective of mapping the research conducted.Eligibility criteria(1) direct study of individuals with pre-existing depressive, anxiety, and/or specified stressor-related (i.e., posttraumatic stress, acute stress) disorders/issues; (2) focus on mental health-related pandemic effects, and; (3) direct study of mental health symptoms related to depression, anxiety, or psychological distress.Sources of evidenceDatabase-specific subject headings and natural language keywords were searched in Medline, Embase, APA PsycInfo, and Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) up to March 3, 2021. Review of potentially relevant studies was conducted by two independent reviewers and proceeded in two stages: (1) title and abstract review, and; (2) full paper review.Data chartingStudy details (i.e., location, design and methodology, sample or population, outcome measures, and key findings) were extracted from included studies by one reviewer and confirmed by the Principal Investigator.Results66 relevant articles from 26 countries were identified. Most studies adopted a cross-sectional design and were conducted via online survey. About half relied on general population samples, with the remainder assessing special populations, primarily mental health patients. The most commonly reported pre-existing category of disorders or symptoms was depression, followed closely by anxiety. Most studies included depressive and anxiety symptoms as outcome measures and demonstrated increased vulnerability to mental health symptoms among individuals with a pre-existing mental health issue.ConclusionThese findings suggest that improved mental health supports are needed during the pandemic and point to future research needs, including reviews of other diagnostic categories and reviews of research published in subsequent years of the pandemic.

Project description:BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed a significant influence on public mental health. Current efforts focus on alleviating the impacts of the disease on public health and the economy, with the psychological effects due to COVID-19 relatively ignored. In this research, we are interested in exploring the quantitative characterization of the pandemic impact on public mental health by studying an online survey dataset of the United States.MethodsThe analyses are conducted based on a large scale of online mental health-related survey study in the United States, conducted over 12 consecutive weeks from April 23, 2020 to July 21, 2020. We are interested in examining the risk factors that have a significant impact on mental health as well as in their estimated effects over time. We employ the multiple imputation by chained equations (MICE) method to deal with missing values and take logistic regression with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) method to identify risk factors for mental health.ResultsOur analysis shows that risk predictors for an individual to experience mental health issues include the pandemic situation of the State where the individual resides, age, gender, race, marital status, health conditions, the number of household members, employment status, the level of confidence of the future food affordability, availability of health insurance, mortgage status, and the information of kids enrolling in school. The effects of most of the predictors seem to change over time though the degree varies for different risk factors. The effects of risk factors, such as States and gender show noticeable change over time, whereas the factor age exhibits seemingly unchanged effects over time.ConclusionsThe analysis results unveil evidence-based findings to identify the groups who are psychologically vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study provides helpful evidence for assisting healthcare providers and policymakers to take steps for mitigating the pandemic effects on public mental health, especially in boosting public health care, improving public confidence in future food conditions, and creating more job opportunities.Trial registrationThis article does not report the results of a health care intervention on human participants.

Dataset Information

COVID-19 as a traumatic stressor is an indicator of mental health symptomatology.

Publications

COVID-19 as a traumatic stressor is an indicator of mental health symptomatology.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets