TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 Pandemic Mental Health Trajectories
T2 - Patterns From a Sample of Canadians Primarily Recruited From Alberta and Ontario
AU - Lowe, Catherine
AU - Keown-Gerrard, Janine
AU - Ng, Cheuk
AU - Gilbert, Trevor H.
AU - Ross, Kharah M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Canadian Psychological Association
PY - 2022/1/27
Y1 - 2022/1/27
N2 - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly contagious and novel virus that has prompted government officials to implement restrictive public health orders. It is hypothesized that pandemic-related restrictions may have a detrimental impact on mental health. Longitudinal data were collected through 13 assessments, repeated every 2 weeks for the initial 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were recruited through [Masked] University and social media. The final sample consisted of 280 adults from across Canada, with the majority of participants residing in Alberta (63%) and Ontario (20%). Sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 related risk factors, prepandemic and pandemic physical activity, and COVID-19 related risk factors were collected at study entry, and mental health (depressive symptoms, anxiety, and loneliness) were collected at each assessment. Multilevel modeling was used to identify mental health trajectories during the initial 6 months of the pandemic. Mental health symptoms tracked with rising cases of infection and subsequent public health restrictions during the pandemic. Specifically, anxiety and depressive symptoms demonstrated strong longitudinal quadratic trends. Both anxiety and depressive symptoms were high at study entry (May 2020) and decreased over the summer, followed by an increase in the fall and winter months. Loneliness was stable over the follow-up period. Age, sex, living alone, socioeconomic factors, and preexisting mental health conditions correlated with mental health symptoms during the pandemic’s initial 6 months. This study characterizes within-person changes to mental health (anxiety, depressive symptoms, and loneliness) in a Canadian sample from May 2020 to January 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AB - Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly contagious and novel virus that has prompted government officials to implement restrictive public health orders. It is hypothesized that pandemic-related restrictions may have a detrimental impact on mental health. Longitudinal data were collected through 13 assessments, repeated every 2 weeks for the initial 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were recruited through [Masked] University and social media. The final sample consisted of 280 adults from across Canada, with the majority of participants residing in Alberta (63%) and Ontario (20%). Sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 related risk factors, prepandemic and pandemic physical activity, and COVID-19 related risk factors were collected at study entry, and mental health (depressive symptoms, anxiety, and loneliness) were collected at each assessment. Multilevel modeling was used to identify mental health trajectories during the initial 6 months of the pandemic. Mental health symptoms tracked with rising cases of infection and subsequent public health restrictions during the pandemic. Specifically, anxiety and depressive symptoms demonstrated strong longitudinal quadratic trends. Both anxiety and depressive symptoms were high at study entry (May 2020) and decreased over the summer, followed by an increase in the fall and winter months. Loneliness was stable over the follow-up period. Age, sex, living alone, socioeconomic factors, and preexisting mental health conditions correlated with mental health symptoms during the pandemic’s initial 6 months. This study characterizes within-person changes to mental health (anxiety, depressive symptoms, and loneliness) in a Canadian sample from May 2020 to January 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
KW - COVID-19
KW - anxiety
KW - depression
KW - loneliness
KW - mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125036596&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/cbs0000313
DO - 10.1037/cbs0000313
M3 - Journal Article
AN - SCOPUS:85125036596
SN - 0008-400X
VL - 55
SP - 113
EP - 129
JO - Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science
JF - Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science
IS - 2
ER -