Ongoing traumatic stress during a global pandemic.

Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has been conceptualized as a potentially traumatic event, although heterogeneity in experience (e.g., isolation) and in type and severity of traumatic stress response (e.g., hygiene hypervigilance) query the applicability of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnostic construct. Parallels may be drawn to chronic illness and continuous traumatic situations (CTS) literature, which suggests unique symptom presentations that may occur during cumulative, ongoing traumas. Method: Eighty-four adults completed the PTSD Checklist with appended questions evaluating pandemic index events, temporality of intrusive symptoms, self-appraised abnormality, and context dependence of symptoms. Using exploratory latent profile analysis, we modeled the latent structure of traumatic stress response to COVID-19 in order to evaluate possible nuanced patterns of symptoms differentiating PTSD from a transient ongoing trauma response. Results: Two profiles broadly delineated by severity across all variables emerged, suggesting the framework of PTSD is apt when applied to COVID-19. However, secondary analyses revealed subtle signals supporting chronic illness and CTS frameworks. Specifically, some participants who met criteria for PTSD did not endorse index events meeting Criterion A, most endorsed intrusive symptoms related to a present or future threat (versus a past trauma), and 30% reported their symptoms to be context dependent. Conclusion: Results highlight a need for improved assessment and opportunities for treatment modification. Clinical Impact StatementFindings from this study shed light onto those who may be especially at risk for development of traumatic stress during the pandemic by identifying particular events (e.g., death of a loved one) as predictors of increased PTSD. Based on results, this article also provides recommendations on specific ways in which PTSD treatments may need to adapt to help clients make sense of a stress response to the ongoing threat of the pandemic, which is distinct from a posttraumatic response to a past threat.

The Short-Term Consequences of COVID-19 on Mental Health: State of the Art from Available Studies

“…All of these papers (about 130 at the time when we are submitting this Editorial for the Special Issue) further confirm that the COVID-19 pandemic has represented an unprecedent traumatic event, for which health care professionals were not adequately equipped to manage but have been able to promptly reorganize health care services and the types of interventions offered in order to contain its detrimental impact on mental health [ 61 ]. Recognizing and understanding the different pathways underlying the detrimental impact of the pandemic is essential for developing tailored mental health interventions and promoting best practices in healthcare services [ 62 , 63 , 64 ].…”