Depression, Anxiety and Stress of Adolescents before and during the Fourth Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This cross-sectional trend study compared the intensity of internalised problems of adolescents in the City of Zagreb before the COVID-19 pandemic and during its 4th wave. Two groups of secondary school students participated in the research: (1) 1st grade secondary school students in 2016 (N=267, Mage= 15.16, SDage= 0.468, 61.6% females) and (2) 1st grade secondary school students in 2021 (N =353, M age =14.78, SDage= 0.468, 45.9% females). Using the DASS-21 questionnaire, a growing trend of internalised problems was identified. In December 2021, 20.6% of students had severe and very severe symptoms of depression compared to 15.0% of students in 2016. In 2016 and 2021, 13.4% and as many as 33.0% of students, respectively, had severe and very severe symptoms of anxiety. Symptoms of this level of stress were present in 20.2% of students in 2016, and in 25.4% in 2021. A higher level of depression, anxiety and stress was found in females, as well as in students whose families suffered material damage in the Zagreb earthquake. Students of lower financial status reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and stress. Maladaptive coping strategies are significant predictors of depression, anxiety and stress. A significant predictor of depression is also lower self-esteem, parental rejection and greater dissatisfaction with physical appearance predict higher anxiety, and female gender higher stress. The data show that the mental health of Zagreb secondary school students was at high risk even before the COVID-19 pandemic and earthquakes, and these adverse circumstances increased that risk.Copyright © 2023 Medicinska Naklada Zagreb. All rights reserved.

Anxiety and depressive symptoms among migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway: A two-wave longitudinal study.

This study was designed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of migrants living in Norway. We conducted a longitudinal two-waves survey among a sample of 574 migrants and multilevel modelling was used to analyse anxiety, health anxiety and depressive symptoms. Demographic and psychological predictors were investigated. The levels of anxiety, health anxiety and depressive symptoms among migrants decreased from the lockdown (strict social distancing protocols) to phaseout. Reductions in maladaptive coping strategies were related to parallel reductions in anxiety, health anxiety, and depression, and a reduction in loneliness was related to a reduction in depression. The results indicate that the elevated levels of anxiety, health anxiety and depressive symptoms among migrants in the first phase of the pandemic may be temporary.

The Relationship between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Problematic Social Media Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Serial Mediation Model.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant interruptions to life certainty, and there has been a lack of research on the influence of uncertainty. The present research aimed to explore how intolerance of uncertainty, maladaptive coping strategies, and fear of missing out affect social media use in a Chinese community sample (N = 311) during the pandemic. Serial mediation analysis was applied, integrating the mediating role of maladaptive coping strategy and fear of missing out. Intolerance of uncertainty, maladaptive coping strategies, and fear of missing out was positively related to PSMU. Based on the mediation analysis, when age and gender were controlled, the direct effect of intolerance of uncertainty on PSMU was significant. The total indirect effect was also significant. The effect of intolerance of uncertainty on PSMU was mediated by maladaptive coping strategies and fear of missing out. Taken together, maladaptive coping strategies and fear of missing out played a serial mediating role between intolerance of uncertainty and PSMU. The findings imply that strategies to improve the tolerance of uncertainty, reduce fear of missing out, and relevant coping strategies could be potentially helpful in mitigating problematic social media use, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Metacognitive beliefs, maladaptive coping strategies, and depressive symptoms: A two-wave network study of the COVID-19 lockdown and reopening.

To address the increased levels of depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 and other pandemics, it is useful to identify the psychological processes that may explain the relationship between pandemic-related stressors and symptoms. In this study, both the combined network of metacognitions and maladaptive coping strategies-derived from the metacognitive therapy model-and the depressive symptoms were studied during the COVID-19 related lockdown and the partial reopening of the Norwegian society about 3 months later. In an online survey, 4936 participants responded at both these time points. They completed the Cognitive Attentional Syndrome-1 and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The combined process and symptom networks were estimated. The maladaptive coping strategies worry/rumination, avoidance, and thought suppression and the symptoms depressed mood and worthlessness showed both high strength centrality at the lockdown and, at least, moderate correlations between their change and overall symptom change from the lockdown to the reopening. None of the metacognitive beliefs attained these criteria. From the lockdown to the reopening, no change in strength centrality was observed. The network structure, however, was significantly different across the periods and several different connections (edge weights) between variables were revealed. For instance, low energy showed a stronger connection to anhedonia and a weaker connection to sleep problems during the reopening than during the lockdown. In conclusion, worry/rumination, avoidance, and thought suppression may maintain central depressive symptoms such as depressed mood and worthlessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. These propositions are actionable as they give access to well-established interventions.

Loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: change and predictors of change from strict to discontinued social distancing protocols.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing protocols designed to impede transmission of the corona virus have severe mental health consequences. This study examine changes in loneliness in the general adult population when the corona-related social distancing protocols were largely discontinued (T2) following a period of strict protocols (T1), predictors and correlates of these changes, and the associations between loneliness and depression and anxiety symptoms. DESIGN: In an online survey, 10,061 responded at T1. At T2, these respondents were asked to complete the survey again, and 4936 (49.1%) of them responded. RESULTS: Loneliness decreased from T1 to T2, but only to a minor extent. Using a multilevel approach, younger age was found to be related to more reduction of loneliness from T1 to T2. Higher health anxiety was found to predict less reduction of loneliness across time. Reduction of maladaptive coping strategies and negative metacognitive beliefs from T1 to T2 were both associated with reduction in loneliness. In turn, reductions in loneliness were associated with reductions of depression and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that health anxiety, maladaptive coping strategies and negative meta-beliefs are potential targets of intervention to alleviate loneliness. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04444115.