ABSTRACT
Background: This study aims to longitudinally assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general Spanish population. It uses four assessment points: two weeks after the start of confinement, one month after, two months after, and one year after the first evaluation. Methods: Evaluations were conducted through an online survey, with a sample of 3,480 people at the first data collection and 1,041, 569, and 550 people at successive evaluation points. Depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), anxiety (GAD-2), post-traumatic stress (PCL-C-2), social support (EMAS), loneliness (UCLA-3), and discrimination (InDI-d) were evaluated. Results: Significant changes were found in the variables depression and anxiety with a greater presence of this kind of symptomatology after one year (p < .01). There were also significant changes in the variable social support, which showed a substantial reduction after one year (p < .001). Similarly, there were significant variations in the variable intersectional discrimination (p < .001), with greater levels of discrimination. The temporal models show no significant differences in terms of post-traumatic symptomatology (p = .12) or loneliness (p = .19). Conclusions: The pandemic had a negative impact on mental health and these effects were further exacerbated one year later. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Spanish) Antecedentes: el objetivo es evaluar el impacto psicologico de la pandemia generada por la COVID-19 en la poblacion general espanola longitudinalmente en cuatro momentos: tras dos semanas del inicio del confinamiento, al mes, a los dos meses y al ano. Metodo: las evaluaciones se realizaron mediante una encuesta online, se siguio a una muestra de 3.480 personas en la primera recogida de datos y de 1.041, 569 y 550 personas en los sucesivos momentos de evaluacion. Se evaluo la presencia de sintomas depresivos (PHQ-2), de ansiedad (GAD-2), de estres postraumatico (PCL-C-2), el apoyo social (EMAS), la soledad (UCLA-3) y la discriminacion (InDI-D). Resultados: se han producido cambios significativos en las variables de depresion y ansiedad con una presencia mayor de dicha sintomatologia al ano (p < .01), asi como en la variable de apoyo social, que muestra una reduccion significativa un ano despues (p < .001), y en la discriminacion interseccional, con una mayor discriminacion (p < .001). Los modelos temporales no muestran diferencias signi ficativas en cuanto a sintomatologia postraumatica (p = .12) ni soledad (p = .19). Conclusiones: la pandemia ha tenido un impacto negativo en la salud mental y estos efectos son todavia peores un ano despues. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
La pandemia de Covid-19 ha tenido un grave impacto en la salud mental de la población, que además ha visto mermado su acceso a atención psicológica por diversas barreras. El objetivo del presente estudio es comparar el estado de salud mental de la población española al inicio del confinamiento (N = 3480) y 12 meses después (N = 550), y describir el uso de servicios de atención psicológica y sus principales barreras de acceso. Los participantes completaron una encuesta online. El 40% de la muestra reveló haber tenido problemas de salud mental desde el inicio de la pandemia, de los cuales el 23.4% señalaron haber recibido algún tipo de atención. La mayor parte refirieron no haber buscado atención porque pudieron manejar los problemas por sí mismos, sus problemas mejoraron solos, o no pudieron costearse tratamiento. La atención de los problemas de salud mental debe ser una prioridad para abordar el impacto psicológico del Covid-19.Alternate : The COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the mental health of the population, which also has been affected by various barriers to access to psychological care. The aim of the current study is to compare the mental health status of the Spanish population between the onset of confinement (N = 3480) to 12 months later (N = 550), and to describe the use of psychological care services and the main barriers to access. Study participants completed an online survey. Forty percent of the sample reported experiencing a mental health problem since the pandemic’s onset, of which 23.4% reported having received some kind of care. The majority reported not seeking care because they could handle the problems on their own, their problems got better on their own, or they could not afford treatment. The psychological effects of the pandemic have been increasing since its onset, so attention to mental health problems should be a priority.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study aims to longitudinally assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general Spanish population. It uses four assessment points: two weeks after the start of confinement, one month after, two months after, and one year after the first evaluation. METHODS: Evaluations were conducted through an online survey, with a sample of 3,480 people at the first data collection and 1,041, 569, and 550 people at successive evaluation points. Depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), anxiety (GAD-2), post-traumatic stress (PCL-C-2), social support (EMAS), loneliness (UCLA-3), and discrimination (InDI-d) were evaluated. RESULTS: Significant changes were found in the variables depression and anxiety with a greater presence of this kind of symptomatology after one year (p < .01). There were also significant changes in the variable social support, which showed a substantial reduction after one year (p < .001). Similarly, there were significant variations in the variable intersectional discrimination (p < .001), with greater levels of discrimination. The temporal models show no significant differences in terms of post-traumatic symptomatology (p = .12) or loneliness (p = .19). CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic had a negative impact on mental health and these effects were further exacerbated one year later.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , Anxiety , Depression/epidemiology , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Spain/epidemiologyABSTRACT
COVID-19 disease control efforts and consequences are likely to be complicated by the impact of fear and stigmatization of the novel coronavirus. These complications may also worsen due to the potential compounding of COVID-19 related stigma with stigmatization associated with previously diagnosed conditions. This exploratory study analyzes the experiences of the stigma associated with COVID-19 lockdown in people with different previous diagnoses 2 and 5 weeks after the beginning of the state of emergency in Spain. Gender and age were controlled as covariables and 1,052 people participated in the study. The diagnosis groups were: Psychiatry and mental health (n = 71), Cardiovascular disease (n = 42), Neurological disease (n = 23), Lung disease (n = 53), and No diagnosis (n = 863). The instruments used to measure the stigma were the Intersectional Day-to-Day Discrimination Index and two items of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale. Analysis of covariance of repeated measures and analysis of variance, including Scheffe's post hoc test, were performed. We found significant differences in stigma among the first and second evaluation. Regarding the previous diagnosis, no differences were found at Time 1, but significant differences were found at Time 2, with those having a previous psychiatric or mental health diagnosis reporting higher levels of perceived discrimination and internalized stigmatization. Our results suggest that people with previous stigmatizing conditions might be more vulnerable to experiencing stigma in a confinement situation. In order to reduce the burden of the COVID-19 stigma, health interventions should also consider the resulting intersection of effects on internalized stigma and perceived discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).