Association between mental health trajectories and somatic symptoms following a second lockdown in Israel: a longitudinal study

ObjectivesTo identify mental health prospective trajectories before and after a second lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associations with somatic symptoms.DesignProspective Study.SettingPopulation-based study drawn from a probability-based internet panel of over 100 000 Israelis.ParticipantsAdults aged 18 years or more, representative of the adult Israeli population. The participants were measured at two time points (time 1 (T1) pre-second lockdown N=1029;response rate=76.17%;time 2 (T2) post-second lockdown N=764;response rate=74.24%).Main outcome measuresTrajectories of anxiety and adjustment disorder based on clinical cut-off score for probable diagnoses across T1-T2, somatic symptoms at T2. The four trajectories: stable-low, (no probable diagnosis), stable-high (stable probable diagnosis), exacerbation (no probable diagnosis at T1, probable diagnosis at T2), recovery (probable diagnosis at T1, no probable diagnosis at T2).ResultsThree anxiety trajectories predicted probable somatic symptoms (stable-high OR=6.451;exacerbation OR=5.379;recovery OR=2.025) compared with the stable-low trajectory. The three adjustment disorder trajectories also predicted somatic symptoms (stable-high OR=4.726;exacerbation OR=6.419;recovery OR=4.666) compared with the stable-low trajectory.ConclusionsOur data show elevated somatic symptoms among those whose mental health trajectories were poor, exacerbated and those who recovered following the second lockdown. The presentation of somatic symptoms may mask psychological vulnerabilities, even among those who appear to have recovered from the stressor. This indicates that lockdown may be a double-edged sword and should be carefully administered given these populations vulnerabilities.

Social Workers during COVID-19: Do Coping Strategies Differentially Mediate the Relationship between Job Demand and Psychological Distress?

The consequences of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have raised many challenges in the social services workforce. The current study aimed to examine the associations between job demands, coping strategies (i.e. emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping) and psychological distress exhibited by social workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the mediating role of different coping strategies was investigated for the associations revealed. The participants were 615 social workers, working in various organisations and with diverse populations in Israel. Each completed a validated self-report questionnaire. Results revealed that job demands were significantly associated with higher psychological distress, and that coping strategies, especially emotion-focused coping was associated with higher psychological distress and with job demands. In addition, emotion-focused coping strategies were found to mediate the association between job demands and psychological distress, especially ventilation of emotion beyond other strategies, which relate to emotion-focused coping. These findings are discussed with relation to a stress and coping theory, suggesting that in social work practice there is a need for intervention measures to improve social workers’ coping strategies during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.