Mental health among university employees during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of previous life trauma and current posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Abstract

Objective: Previous studies indicated that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has harmed the mental health of diverse samples. Adopting a trauma lens with a sample of university faculty and staff, this study examined risk conferred by previous exposure to traumatic life events (TLE) on pandemic-related mental health harm (MHH) and stress and the mediating influence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Method: In Spring 2021, employees (N = 641) of a public university in the United States completed an online cross-sectional survey, including validated scales of TLE and PTSD and single-item measures of MHH and stress taken from published COVID-19 studies. A structural probit model was used to estimate: (a) direct effects of cumulative TLE on PTSD, MHH, and stress; and (b) indirect effects of cumulative TLE via PTSD adjusting for age. Gender was tested as a moderating influence. Results: Nearly 36% of the sample reported positive PTSD screens along with high levels of MHH (22.5%) and stress (42.3%). Cumulative TLE was significantly and positively associated with MHH and stress. Both genders experienced a negative impact on mental health and stress either fully or partially through PTSD symptoms; however, the gender by trauma interaction term was not significant. As age decreased, PTSD and MHH increased. Conclusion: Results suggest that PTSD symptoms play a crucial role in the experience of MHH and stress during the pandemic for those who endured previous trauma. Implications for employer policies, public health messaging, and mental health services are explored. Clinical Impact StatementIt is important to be aware of the added burden, heightened sensitivity, and potentially increased susceptibility or vulnerability to mental health difficulties that certain past traumas may evoke for people. Findings from this study can be helpful to increase the awareness of employers, including those at public universities, to proactively and preventively implement programs and training that provide the necessary resources and stress management skills for faculty, staff, and students who have been previously exposed to significant trauma.

Longitudinal associations between COVID-19 stress and mental health symptoms among university faculty and staff in Canada.

“…That is, we did not find evidence for a stronger longitudinal association between COVID-19 stress and mental health symptoms in women than men. These results are consistent with results of previous studies that also failed to find a moderating effect of gender in the relation of COVID-19 stress and mental health (e.g., Goldstein et al, 2023) or in the relation of general types of stress and mental health (e.g., Kendler et al, 2003;van Loo et al, 2018). Similarly, in their multivariate model of university instructors' well-being during COVID-19, Jelińska and Paradowski (2021) failed to find a significant gender effect once other mental health and COVID-19 impacts were included.…”

“…In a survey of over 1,700 faculty, staff, and students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 51% of staff and 45% of faculty reported high levels of “stress,” loneliness, and physical health problems in the months following the onset of the pandemic (Deznabi et al, 2020). Similar reports of “stress” (42.3%) were found in a survey of 641 faculty and staff at the University of Chicago (Goldstein et al, 2023). In this latter study, 36% of employees screened positive for posttraumatic stress disorder.…”

“…These impacts are in addition to the general stressors associated with the pandemic, including threat of COVID-19 infection, disruption in relationships, increased caregiving burden, and working from home. A small handful of studies of university faculty and/or staff in Europe, Asia, and North America, have documented elevated levels of distress and mental health symptoms following the onset of the pandemic (e.g., Akour et al, 2020; Austin-Smith, 2020; Byrom, 2020; Goldstein et al, 2023; Jackman et al, 2022; Jelińska & Paradowski, 2021; Odriozola-González et al, 2020; Salazar et al, 2021). Further, surveys indicate that both faculty and staff have reported high levels of worry across domains of job security, job productivity, health, and personal and work relationships, and these worries are positively cross-sectionally associated with mental health symptoms (e.g., Craig et al, 2023; Deznabi et al, 2020; Docka-Filipek & Stone, 2021; Shen & Slater, 2021).…”

Understanding and Fostering Mental Health and Well-Being among University Faculty: A Narrative Review

“…Faculty, staff, and students had to quickly adjust to new circumstances, including how individuals teach and learn, how they collaborate with others, and how they juggle their personal and professional lives [ 125 , 126 ]. This along with the turbulence and uncertainty due to the pandemic did have its toll on the well-being of faculty, with reports of worrying symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress [ 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 ], sometimes with younger individuals, the female gender, and persons with caring responsibilities experiencing the most severe manifestations [ 131 ]. In a systematic review and meta-analysis of mental issues due to COVID-19, it was shown that stress levels associated with the pandemic were more prevalent in university faculty compared to other educators such as school teachers.…”

Understanding the role of COVID‐19–related workplace stress and institutional betrayal on mental health in nurses: Some heroes wear scrubs

“…Numerous reports have documented the psychological toll created by COVID‐19 on medical personnel, including elevated symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and anxiety using validated scores on self‐report measures (e.g., Marvaldi et al., 2021). There is consensus that the workplace during early months of COVID‐19 held many opportunities for trauma exposure for health care professionals given the experience of patient deaths and exposure to a life‐threatening virus which, if contracted, could be lethal for an individual and their household members (e.g., Ashby et al., 2021; Goldstein et al., 2022). A recent meta‐analysis examining studies of medical professionals suggested elevated rates of anxiety symptoms, with higher prevalence rates among nurses (27%) compared with physicians (17%; Santabárbara et al., 2021).…”