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The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the United States.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic is a collective stressor unfolding over time; yet, rigorous empirical studies addressing its mental health consequences among large probability-based national samples are rare. Between 18 March and 18 April 2020, as illness and death escalated in the United States, we assessed acute stress, depressive symptoms, and direct, community, and media-based exposures to COVID-19 in three consecutive representative samples from the U.S. probability-based nationally representative NORC AmeriSpeak panel across three 10-day periods (total N = 6514). Acute stress and depressive symptoms increased significantly over time as COVID-19 deaths increased across the United States. Preexisting mental and physical health diagnoses, daily COVID-19-related media exposure, conflicting COVID-19 information in media, and secondary stressors were all associated with acute stress and depressive symptoms. Results have implications for targeting public health interventions and risk communication efforts to promote community resilience as the pandemic waxes and wanes over time.

SUBMITTER: Holman EA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7556755 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the United States.

Holman E Alison EA Thompson Rebecca R RR Garfin Dana Rose DR Silver Roxane Cohen RC

Science advances 20201014 42

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic is a collective stressor unfolding over time; yet, rigorous empirical studies addressing its mental health consequences among large probability-based national samples are rare. Between 18 March and 18 April 2020, as illness and death escalated in the United States, we assessed acute stress, depressive symptoms, and direct, community, and media-based exposures to COVID-19 in three consecutive representative samples from the U.S. probability-based n ...[more]

PMID: 32948511

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Project description:IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a prolonged impact on mental health (MH); however, the long-term MH effects of the COVID-19 pandemic remain unknown. The Serbian national survey-CoV2Soul.RS-was launched to document the MH status of the Serbian population following the COVID-19 pandemic and to contribute to an international evidence base about MH prevalence rates during different phases of the pandemic.Methods and analysisThis cross-sectional study was designed to collect a nationally representative sample (N=1200; age 18-65 years; estimated start/end-June/November 2021) using multistage probabilistic household sampling. Trained staff will conduct in-person diagnostic interviews. A battery of self-report instruments will be administered to assess the quality of life (QoL), general distress and associated protective and harmful psychological and societal factors. Analyses will be conducted to delineate the prevalence rates of MH disorders, how MH conditions and QoL vary with respect to sociodemographic variables, personality, health status and traumatic events during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to test how these relations depend on geographical region. Moreover, this study was designed to explore mechanisms linking personality and the perception of pandemic consequences and associated distress. Prevalence rates of MH disorders will be calculated using descriptive statistics. For additional analyses, we will use correlations, analysis of variance and regression analyses. The hierarchical structure of the data will be explored using multilevel random coefficient modelling. Structural equation modelling will be used to investigate the indirect effects of personality on distress through relevant variables.Ethics and disseminationEthical Committees of the Faculty of Medicine (1322-VII/31) and Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade (02-33/273) and Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad (05-27, br.893/1) approved the protocol. Only respondents able to provide informed consent will participate in the study. Research reports will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and the results will be placed on the website www.cov2soul.rs to be available to funders, researchers, policy-makers and interested laypeople, and will be advertised through social media.Trial registration numberNCT04896983.

Project description:Despite ongoing calls for a more even global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, there remains a great disparity between high- and low-income countries. We conducted representative surveys among the adult populations in the United States (N = 1,000) and Germany (N = 1,003) in June 2021 to assess public opinion in these countries on the distributive justice of COVID-19 vaccines. We conducted two instances of analytic hierarchy processes (AHP) to elicit how the public weighs different principles and criteria for vaccine allocation. In further discrete choice experiments, respondents were asked to split a limited supply of vaccine doses between a hypothetical high-income and a hypothetical low-income country. AHP weights in the United States and Germany were 37.4% (37.2-37.5) and 49.4% (49.2-49.5) for "medical urgency", 32.7% (32.6-32.8) and 25.4% (25.2-25.5) for "equal access for all", 13.7% (13.6-13.8) and 13.3% (13.2-13.4) for "production contribution", and 16.3% (16.2-16.4) and 12.0% (11.9-12.1) for "free market rules", respectively, with 95% CI shown in parentheses. In the discrete choice experiment, respondents in the United States and Germany split available vaccine doses such that the low-income country, which was three times more populous than the high-income country, on average received 53.9% (95% CI: 52.6-55.1) and 57.5% (95% CI: 56.3-58.7) of available doses, respectively. When faced with a dilemma where a vulnerable family member was waiting for a vaccine, 20.7% (95% CI: 18.2-23.3) of respondents in the United States and 18.2% (95% CI: 15.8-20.6) in Germany reduced the amount they allocated to the low-income country sufficiently to secure a vaccine for their family member. Our results indicate that the public in the United States and Germany favours utilitarian and egalitarian distribution principles of vaccines for COVID-19 over libertarian or meritocratic principles. This implies that political decisions favouring higher levels of redistribution would be supported by public opinion in these two countries.

Dataset Information

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the United States.

Publications

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the United States.

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