January 20, 2021

Psychological Distress in North America during COVID-19: The Role of Pandemic-Related Stressors

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Mental Health and Personal Impact

Keywords (Tags): behavioral health impacts

US and Canadian participants who reported higher baseline (early in the COVID-19 pandemic) levels of personal threat to health and to the well-being of family members reported higher levels of depressive symptoms during subsequent surveys later in the pandemic, even after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. Secondary stressors (social isolation, financial insecurity, occupational difficulty, and resource scarcity) were also all independently associated with depressive symptoms at follow-up. 

Zheng et al. (Feb 2021). Psychological Distress in North America during COVID-19: The Role of Pandemic-Related Stressors. Social Science & Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113687