Psychological Distress and COVID-19–Related Stressors Reported in a Longitudinal Cohort of US Adults in April and July 2020

Abstract

Serious psychological distress was reported by 13.6% of US adults in April 2020 vs 3.9% in 2018. 1 How psychological distress has changed over the course of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is unknown.

Attachment to Pets Moderates Transitions in Latent Patterns of Mental Health Following the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Survey of U.S. Adults

“…Although we found that an estimated 11% of participants transitioned to a subgroup with poorer psychological adjustment (e.g., well-adjusted to mild, moderate to severe), the majority of our sample (80%) remained in the same subgroup and did not transition to a more or less severe subgroup. Although pre-COVID psychological adjustment was measured retrospectively in the current study, prior studies have found evidence of an increase in mental health symptoms during approximately the same time period as our data were collected [ 4 , 7 , 8 ]. In many ways, the results of the current study corroborate these findings, as it is truly significant that an estimated 1 in 5 cat and/or dog owners in our sample experienced a change in their psychological adjustment following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and just over half of these individuals experienced worsening psychological adjustment.…”

“…Studies to date suggest that the experience of living through this unprecedented public health crisis is a new type of complex trauma characterized by fear and the threat of future infection and/or death; further, this stress is exacerbated by associated economic stressors, disturbance in routines, isolation, and related secondary traumas [ 3 ]. Unsurprisingly, there is increasing evidence that the pandemic has contributed to elevated rates of mental health problems and distress among the U.S. population, including increased levels of anxiety and depression symptoms, substance use, and suicidal ideation among adults [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. For example, Holman et al [ 6 ] found that as rates of COVID-19-positive cases and deaths increased across the U.S, there was a corresponding increase in COVID-19-related acute stress and depressive symptoms among U.S. adults.…”

“…Given the findings of Fernandez et al [ 45 ], we expected that we would identify at least three subgroups of psychological adjustment during the pandemic, including a subgroup with a low or “low symptomatology” profile (i.e., little to no symptoms of mental health problems), one with a mild symptom profile, and a subgroup with a severe symptom profile (i.e., symptoms highly elevated across BSI subscales). We also hypothesized that some of those with a less severe symptom profile (e.g., low, mild) at pre-COVID would transition to a more severe symptom profile, which is based on evidence that the pandemic has led to higher rates of depression and anxiety [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Finally, we expected that attachment to pets would predict changes in psychological adjustment based on prior research documenting both the negative and positive effects of HAI (e.g., [ 18 , 21 , 22 ]).…”

“…Because prior evidence suggests that people report higher levels of attachment to cats and dogs compared to other animal companion species [ 48 , 49 , 50 ], we restricted our study to individuals who reported on attachment to pet dogs and cats. In addition, given that sociodemographic factors, such as being younger in age; identifying as a racial/ethnic, gender, and/or sexual minority; having a lower income; and experiencing changes in employment status and wage loss, have been linked to psychological risk in the context of pandemic-related stress, we adjusted for the effects of these factors in our analyses [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 51 ].…”

Understanding different trajectories of mental health across the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…When considering the risk factors associated with membership of any class other than the largest, lowest symptom class (class 1), a number of the participant factors identified in this analysis echoed those reported in recent research conducted during the pandemic. Being younger and female has been associated with increased depression and anxiety in a number of studies (Fancourt et al, 2020a ; Shevlin et al, 2020 ; Xiong et al, 2020 ), while lower income, having children and physical health concerns have also been implicated in increased risk (Every-Palmer et al, 2020 ; McGinty, Presskreischer, Anderson, Han, & Barry, 2020 ; Shevlin et al, 2020 ). Many of these also reiterate risk factors for poorer mental health outside of pandemic circumstances (Allen, Balfour, Bell, & Marmot, 2014 ; Barnett et al, 2012 ; Riecher-Rössler, 2017 ).…”