The Covid-19 pandemic highly impacts mental health worldwide. Patients with psychiatric disorders are a vulnerable risk population for worsening of their condition and relapse of symptoms. This study investigates the pandemic-related course of psychosocial burden in patients with pre-existing mental disorders. With the newly developed Goettingen psychosocial Burden and Symptom Inventory (Goe-BSI) psychosocial burden has been traced retrospectively (1) before the pandemic (beginning of 2020), (2) at its beginning under maximum lockdown conditions (March 2020), and (3) for the current state after maximum lockdown conditions (April/May 2020). The Goe-BSI also integrates the Adjustment Disorder New Module (ADNM-20), assesses general psychiatric symptoms, and resilience. A total of 213 patients covering all major psychiatric disorders (ICD-10 F0-F9) were interviewed once in the time range from April, 24th until May 11th, 2020. Across all diagnoses patients exhibited a distinct pattern with an initial rise followed by a decline of psychosocial burden (p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.09; Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons between all three time-points: p < 0.05 to 0.001). Female gender and high ADNM-20 scores were identified as risk factors for higher levels and an unfavorable course of psychosocial burden over time. Most psychiatric symptoms remained unchanged. Trajectories of psychosocial burden vary in parallel to local lockdown restrictions and seem to reflect an adaptive stress response. For female patients with pre-existing mental disorders and patients with high-stress responses, timely and specific treatment should be scheduled. With the continuation of the pandemic, monitoring of long-term effects is of major importance, especially when long incubation times for the development of mental health issues are considered.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, patients with pre-existing mental disorders are increasingly recognized as a risk group for adverse outcomes. However, data are conflicting and cover only short time spans so far. Here, we investigate the medium-term and peri-lockdown-related changes of mental health outcomes in such patients in a longitudinal study. A cohort of 159 patients comprising all major mental disorders (ICD-10 F0-F9) were interviewed twice with the Goettingen psychosocial Burden and Symptom Inventory (Goe-BSI) to evaluate psychosocial burden, psychiatric symptoms and resilience at the end of the first (April/May 2020) and the second lockdown in Germany (November/December 2020). For the primary outcome “psychosocial burden” ratings also comprised retrospective pre-pandemic (early 2020) and very early states during the pandemic (March 2020). For all diagnostic groups, psychosocial burden varied significantly over time (p < 0.001) with an increase from the pre-pandemic to the initial phase (p < 0.001), followed by a steady decrease across both lockdowns, normalizing in November/December 2020. Female gender, high adjustment disorder symptom load at baseline and psychiatric comorbidities were risk factors for higher levels and an unfavorable course of psychosocial burden. Most psychiatric symptoms changed minimally, while resilience decreased over time (p = 0.044 and p = 0.037). The longitudinal course of psychosocial burden indicates an initial stress response, followed by a return to pre-pandemic levels even under recurrent lockdown conditions, mimicking symptoms of an adjustment disorder. Strategies for proactive, specific and continuous treatment have to address resilience capacities before their depletion in the pandemic aftermath, especially for patients with additional risk factors.

Mental health is severely challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic due to a variety of restrictions in public and private life. Students in particular may face additional and unique stressors: face-to-face classes have been largely replaced by digital formats, leading to further reduced social contacts, thus facilitating the development of psychological symptoms. In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of the current peri-pandemic situation on students’ 1) locus of control and 2) sense of coherence, both of which have been linked to mental health in previous work. A total of 403 social work students from Germany participated, providing both retrospective (pre-pandemic) and current (February/March 2021) ratings. Furthermore, 324 social work professionals were included to analyze differences between both groups. Locus of control shifted significantly from internal to external during the pandemic for students and professionals. Furthermore, high mental burden correlated with increased external and decreased internal locus of control. Sense of coherence decreased during the pandemic for the entire sample and correlated with high mental burden. Overall, students showed a stronger drop compared to professionals, primarily due to a more pronounced decrease in perceived meaningfulness (all p &lt; 0.001). In summary, students and professionals responded with increased feelings of powerlessness in the absence of sufficient coping strategies—this could lead to further deterioration of mental health as the pandemic continues. In this context, students appear to be particularly vulnerable to a reduction in sense of coherence. We conclude that interventions to improve coping strategies are urgently needed.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology, comorbid diseases, and pharmacological treatment with antidepressants can have a negative impact on sexual function, which in turn increases the likelihood of sexual dysfunction in people with ADHD. The objective of this pilot study was to differentiate and delineate possible sexual dysfunction in adults with ADHD. Adult ADHD patients (n = 32, cisgender / heterosexual) and healthy controls (n = 32, cisgender / heterosexual) filled out the DÄS-Zuf questionnaire with 59 items (Krieger, 2013). This questionnaire is divided into the scales “general contentment with life,” “anxiety/depression,” “sexual dysfunction” and “sexual satisfaction.” Patients with ADHD had significantly higher scores on single items measuring various aspects of sexual dysfunction as well as higher scores on the “anxiety/depression” scale and lower scores on the “general contentment with life” scale. Following repeated measures analyses of covariance in which the scale “anxiety/depression” was controlled as covariate, none of the previously differences for single items between ADHD patients and controls remained significant. ADHD patients with methylphenidate showed stronger physical sexual arousal compared to those without methylphenidate. The results of this pilot study suggest several explanations for sexual dysfunction among adults with ADHD and offer tentative routes for practical treatment approaches.