Hitting Close to Home: The Effect of COVID-19 Illness in the Social Environment on Psychological Burden in Older Adults.

ABSTRACT: This study examines the impact of COVID-19 experience of infection in the individual's social environment on psychological burden controlling for a broad range of factors using data on an older population (50+ years). Based on the empirical evidence of preexisting studies, it is hypothesized that psychological burden will increase concurrent to the severity of COVID-19 experience (tested positive, hospitalized, and death) independent of the other stressors resulting from the pandemic, such as a subjective sense of uncertainty or financial burden. Data of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in EUROPE, and a European cross-national panel study were used to examine this hypothesis. Besides Chi² test and Spearman's rho, a logistic regression model was constructed to test the

SUBMITTER: Richter L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8502856 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature