TY - JOUR
T1 - Two Years of COVID-19 in Austria—Exploratory Longitudinal Study of Mental Health Outcomes and Coping Behaviors in the General Population
AU - Lueger-Schuster, Brigitte
AU - Zrnić Novaković, Irina
AU - Lotzin, Annett
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/7/5
Y1 - 2022/7/5
N2 - Since the long-term mental health impact of COVID-19 is not yet fully understood, the present study explored changes in mental health outcomes and pandemic-related coping behaviors across four pandemic stages. The main objective was to gain insights into the dynamics of mental health and coping, considering different pandemic features at different assessment waves. The final sample consisted of N = 243 adults from the Austrian general population. Data were collected at four timepoints (between June 2020 and December 2021) via LimeSurvey, an open-source online survey tool. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), adjustment disorder (AD), anxiety, and depression were assessed using validated instruments: Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), AD-New Module 8 (ADNM-8), and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ4). We also administered the Pandemic Coping Scale (PCS) to address pandemic-related coping behaviors. Cochran’s Q test and repeated measures ANOVAs were applied to assess changes over time. The results indicated that prevalence rates of AD (χ
2(2) = 16.88, p = 0.001), depression (χ
2(3) = 18.69, p < 0.001), and anxiety (χ
2(3) = 19.10, p < 0.001) significantly changed across four assessment waves. Changes in mean scores of the assessed mental health outcomes were also observed. For pandemic-related coping, we found differences in the subscales: healthy lifestyle: F(3, 651) = 5.11, prevention adherence: F(2.73, 592.35) = 21.88, and joyful activities: F(3, 651) = 5.03. Taken together, our study showed a higher mental health burden in wintertime than in summertime, indicating an increased need for psychosocial support in times of stricter measures, higher incidences, and higher death rates. Furthermore, the observed decrease in adaptive coping behaviors suggests that easy-to-im-plement coping strategies should be actively promoted in order to maintain mental health during and in the aftermath of pandemics.
AB - Since the long-term mental health impact of COVID-19 is not yet fully understood, the present study explored changes in mental health outcomes and pandemic-related coping behaviors across four pandemic stages. The main objective was to gain insights into the dynamics of mental health and coping, considering different pandemic features at different assessment waves. The final sample consisted of N = 243 adults from the Austrian general population. Data were collected at four timepoints (between June 2020 and December 2021) via LimeSurvey, an open-source online survey tool. Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), adjustment disorder (AD), anxiety, and depression were assessed using validated instruments: Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), AD-New Module 8 (ADNM-8), and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ4). We also administered the Pandemic Coping Scale (PCS) to address pandemic-related coping behaviors. Cochran’s Q test and repeated measures ANOVAs were applied to assess changes over time. The results indicated that prevalence rates of AD (χ
2(2) = 16.88, p = 0.001), depression (χ
2(3) = 18.69, p < 0.001), and anxiety (χ
2(3) = 19.10, p < 0.001) significantly changed across four assessment waves. Changes in mean scores of the assessed mental health outcomes were also observed. For pandemic-related coping, we found differences in the subscales: healthy lifestyle: F(3, 651) = 5.11, prevention adherence: F(2.73, 592.35) = 21.88, and joyful activities: F(3, 651) = 5.03. Taken together, our study showed a higher mental health burden in wintertime than in summertime, indicating an increased need for psychosocial support in times of stricter measures, higher incidences, and higher death rates. Furthermore, the observed decrease in adaptive coping behaviors suggests that easy-to-im-plement coping strategies should be actively promoted in order to maintain mental health during and in the aftermath of pandemics.
KW - adjustment disorder
KW - anxiety
KW - coping
KW - COVID-19
KW - depression
KW - longitudinal study
KW - mental health
KW - pandemic
KW - posttraumatic stress disorder
KW - PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES
KW - ANXIETY
KW - DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS
KW - SCREENING SCALE
KW - ADJUSTMENT DISORDER
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133313445&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19138223
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19138223
M3 - Article
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 19
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 13
M1 - 8223
ER -