ABSTRACT
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals have experienced disruptions in social, occupational, and daily life activities. Individuals with mental health difficulties, particularly those with elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), may be especially vulnerable to increased impairment as a result of COVID-19. Additionally, demographic factors, such as age, gender, and race/ethnicity, may impact individual difficulties related to the pandemic. The current study examined the concurrent and prospective associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, broader anxiety and depression symptoms, and COVID-19-related disability. Participants recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (N = 136) completed questionnaire batteries approximately 1 month apart during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., Wave 1 and Wave 2). The results indicated that PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were all associated with increased COVID-19-related disability across assessment points, rs = .44-.68. PTSD symptoms, specifically negative alterations in cognition and mood, significantly predicted COVID-19-related disability after accounting for anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as demographic factors, ßs = .31-.38. Overall, these findings suggest that individuals experiencing elevated PTSS are particularly vulnerable to increased functional impairment as a result of COVID-19 and suggest a need for additional outreach and clinical care among individuals with elevated PTSD symptoms during the pandemic.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/psychology , Disabled Persons/psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Adult , Anxiety/diagnosis , Anxiety/etiology , Anxiety/psychology , COVID-19/epidemiology , Crowdsourcing/methods , Depression/diagnosis , Depression/etiology , Depression/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiology , Surveys and Questionnaires , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a well-studied transdiagnostic risk construct that is believed to amplify responses to many forms of stress. The COVID-19 pandemic is a broad stressor with significant physical and social threats. In the current study, we were interested in ascertaining the degree to which AS would relate to distress and disability in the context of COVID-19. We hypothesized that AS would be associated with increased distress and disability. Moreover, we hypothesized that AS would be uniquely predictive while controlling for other relevant risk factors such as age, race, and perceived local COVID-19 infection rates. METHOD: Participants (N = 249) were U.S. adults assessed using online data resourcing and re-assessed one month later. RESULTS: At the first time point, during the beginning phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, AS was significantly related to COVID-19 distress and disability with a moderate effect size. AS was longitudinally associated with higher COVID-19 worry and depression. LIMITATIONS: Our findings are limited by the use of a relatively small online sample. Additionally, assessment of pre-pandemic and post-pandemic symptoms and functioning would be beneficial for future research. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the current study provided evidence consistent with AS as a causal risk factor for the development of distress and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.