ABSTRACT
The babies born in Europe and North America between 1939 and 1945 (World War II babies) did not come into the world of humans at the best of times. Their parents were living in what could then be considered the most civilized cultures ever. However, these highly civilized cultures were creating the worst carnage ever. Between 70 and 85 million humans were killed during World War II, including 6 million Jewish people in extermination camps, through mass shootings, and in gas chambers. The parents and grandparents of World War II babies suffered from this Second World War before they had recovered from the numerous negative impacts of World War II. They most certainly could not foresee that their World War II babies would have the exceptional good fortune of growing up, with their own children and grandchildren, in a world that would manage to maintain the longest relative peace yet achieved among the major countries involved in World War II. From that perspective, the World War II babies born in Europe and North America can probably be considered the luckiest humans who have ever lived ... until the COVID-19 pandemic! (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Prospective research is needed to better-understand changes in substance use from before to during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, among emerging adults (18-25 years), a high-risk group for substance use. METHOD: N = 1,096 (weighted sample N = 1,080; 54% female) participants enrolled in the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, who completed prepandemic (2019; 21 years) and COVID-19 (mid-March to mid-June 2020) surveys. COVID-19-related and preexisting factors were examined as moderators of change in substance use. RESULTS: Full sample analyses revealed decreased binge drinking (p < .001, Bayes factor [BF] = 22, Cohen's f² = 0.02), but no changes in alcohol and cannabis use. Stratified analyses revealed emerging adults who reported < monthly use prepandemic increased their alcohol use (p < .001, BF > 150, f² = 0.05) and binge drinking (p < .001, BF = 27, f² = 0.01), but not their cannabis use. Conversely, emerging adults who reported >monthly use prepandemic decreased their binge drinking (p < .001, BF > 150, f² = .12) and cannabis use (p < .001, BF > 150, f² = .06), but did not change their alcohol use frequency. Several factors moderated change in substance use, including employment loss (p = .005, BF > 39, f² = .03) and loneliness (p = .018, BF > 150, f² = .10) during COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in alcohol and cannabis use frequency among emerging adults in the first 3 months of COVID-19 largely differed according to prepandemic substance use, COVID-19-related factors, and preexisting factors. While some youth with preexisting vulnerabilities (e.g., more frequent substance use prepandemic) remained stable or decreased their substance use during COVID-19, emerging adults who experienced employment loss, loneliness, and financial concerns during COVID-19 increased their substance use, highlighting the need for increased supports for vulnerable populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Subject(s)
Binge Drinking , COVID-19 , Cannabis , Substance-Related Disorders , Adult , Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Pandemics , Binge Drinking/epidemiology , Longitudinal Studies , Prospective Studies , Bayes Theorem , Birth Cohort , Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Concerns have been raised that the COVID-19 pandemic could increase risk for adverse mental health outcomes, especially in young adults, a vulnerable age group. We investigated changes in depression and anxiety symptoms (overall and severe) from before to during the pandemic, as well as whether these changes are linked to COVID-19-related stressors and pre-existing vulnerabilities in young adults followed in the context of a population-based cohort. METHOD: Participants (n = 1039) from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development reported on their depression (Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, short form) and anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale) symptoms and completed a COVID-19 questionnaire during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 (age 22 years). Assessments at age 20 (2018) were used to estimate pre-pandemic depression and anxiety symptom severity. RESULTS: While mean levels of depression and anxiety symptoms did not change from before to during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., the mean of depressive symptoms was 9.30 in 2018 and 9.59 in 2020), we observed a slight increase in rates of severe depression (scores ≥ 21) from before (6.1%) to during (8.2%) the pandemic. Most COVID-19-related variables (e.g., loss of education/occupation, frequent news-seeking) - except living alone - and most pre-existing vulnerabilities (e.g., low SES, low social support) were not associated with changes in depression or anxiety symptoms. However, results varied as a function of pre-pandemic levels of depression and anxiety: depression and anxiety symptoms increased among adults with the lowest levels of symptoms before the pandemic, while they decreased among those with the highest levels of symptoms, possibly reflecting a regression to the mean. CONCLUSIONS: Depression and anxiety symptoms in young adults from Québec in Summer 2020 were mostly comparable to symptoms reported in 2018. Most COVID-19-related stressors and pre-existing vulnerabilities were not associated with changes in symptoms, except living alone and pre-existing symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, the increased rate of severe depression warrants further investigation.