RT journal article
T1 Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health: An international study
A1 Gloster, Andrew T.
A1 Lamnisos, Demetris
A1 Lubenko, Jelena
A1 Presti, Giovambattista
A1 Squatrito, Valeria
A1 Constantinou, Marios
A1 Nicolaou, Christiana
A1 Papacostas, Savvas
A1 Aydın, Gökçen
A1 Chong, Yuen Yu
A1 Chien, Tong
A1 Cheng, Ho Yu
A1 Ruiz, Francisco J.
A1 Garcia-Martin, Maria B.
A1 Obando-Posada, Diana P.
A1 Segura-Vargas, Miguel A.
A1 Vasiliou, Vasilis S
A1 McHugh, Louise
A1 Höfer, Stefan
A1 Baban, Adriana
A1 Dias Neto, David
A1 da Silva, Ana Nunes
A1 Monestès, Jean-Louis
A1 Álvarez Gálvez, Javier
A1 Paez-Blarrina, Marisa
A1 Montesinos, Francisco
A1 Valdivia-Salas, Sonsoles
A1 Ori, Dorottya
A1 Kleszcz, Bartosz
A1 Lappalainen, Raimo
A1 Ivanović, Iva
A1 Gosar, David
A1 Dionne, Frederick
A1 Merwin, Rhonda M.
A1 Kassianos, Angelos P.
A1 Karekla, Maria
A2 BiomedicinaBiotecnología y Salud Pública
AB BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic triggered vast governmental lockdowns. The impact of these lockdowns on mental health is inadequately understood. On the one hand such drastic changes in daily routines could be detrimental to mental health. On the other hand, it might not be experienced negatively, especially because the entire population was affected.MethodsThe aim of this study was to determine mental health outcomes during pandemic induced lockdowns and to examine known predictors of mental health outcomes. We therefore surveyed n = 9,565 people from 78 countries and 18 languages. Outcomes assessed were stress, depression, affect, and wellbeing. Predictors included country, sociodemographic factors, lockdown characteristics, social factors, and psychological factors.ResultsResults indicated that on average about 10% of the sample was languishing from low levels of mental health and about 50% had only moderate mental health. Importantly, three consistent predictors of mental health emerged: social support, education level, and psychologically flexible (vs. rigid) responding. Poorer outcomes were most strongly predicted by a worsening of finances and not having access to basic supplies.ConclusionsThese results suggest that on whole, respondents were moderately mentally healthy at the time of a population-wide lockdown. The highest level of mental health difficulties were found in approximately 10% of the population. Findings suggest that public health initiatives should target people without social support and those whose finances worsen as a result of the lockdown. Interventions that promote psychological flexibility may mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
PB PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
SN 1932-6203
YR 2020
FD 2020-12
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/24480
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/24480
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 11-nov-2026