How are adversities during COVID-19 affecting mental health? Differential associations for worries and experiences and implications for policy

Liam Wright; Andrew Steptoe; Daisy Fancourt

doi:10.1101/2020.05.14.20101717

Abstract

Background There are concerns that COVID-19 is having adverse effects on mental health. But it remains unclear whether this is being caused by worries over potential adversities due to the pandemic, or the toll of experiencing adverse events.

Aims To explore the time-varying longitudinal relationship between (i) worries about adversity, and (ii) experience of adversity, and both anxiety and depression and test the moderating role of socio-economic position.

Methods Data from 35,784 UK adults in the UCL COVID –19 Social Study (a panel study collecting data weekly during the Covid-19 pandemic) were analysed from 01/04/2020–28/04/2020. The sample was well-stratified and weighted to population proportions of gender, age, ethnicity, education and geographical location. Fixed effects regression was used to explore within-person variation over time.

Results Cumulative number of worries and experience of adversities were both related to higher levels of anxiety and depression. Number of worries were associated more with anxiety than depression, but number of experiences were equally related to anxiety and depression. Individuals of lower socio-economic position were more negatively affected psychologically by adverse experiences.

Conclusions Measures over the first few weeks of lockdown in the UK appear to have been insufficient at reassuring people given we are still seeing clear associations with poor mental health both for cumulative worries and also for a range of specific worries relating to finance, access to essentials, personal safety and COVID-19. Interventions are required that both seek to prevent adverse events (e.g. redundancies) and that reassure individuals and support adaptive coping strategies.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

This Covid-19 Social Study was funded by the Nuffield Foundation [WEL/FR-000022583], but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the Foundation. The study was also supported by the MARCH Mental Health Network funded by the Cross-Disciplinary Mental Health Network Plus initiative supported by UK Research and Innovation [ES/S002588/1], and by the Wellcome Trust [221400/Z/20/Z]. DF was funded by the Wellcome Trust [205407/Z/16/Z]. The funders had no final role in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. All researchers listed as authors are independent from the funders and all final decisions about the research were taken by the investigators and were unrestricted.

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How are adversities during COVID-19 affecting mental health? Differential associations for worries and experiences and implications for policy