Differences in depression, anxiety, and coping in emerging adults prior to versus during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Anxiety and depression symptoms were documented at high levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for emerging adults. However, most of the research thus far has lacked prepandemic longitudinal or well-matched comparison samples, and cannot determine the extent to which the pandemic increased internalizing symptoms in this population. Additionally, more research is necessary to understand which types of emotion regulation (ER) strategies were used in the pandemic, as these strategies are tightly linked to psychopathology risk and resilience. The current study tested for differences in depression and anxiety symptoms and ER strategy use in emerging adults between a typical prepandemic college semester, and the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S. (April 2020). Results showed higher depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as significant changes in ER strategies, during the pandemic compared to prepandemic levels in well-matched independent samples (N = 324) and a longitudinal sample (n = 54). Planning, positive reappraisal, and self-blame decreased, while catastrophizing and other-blame increased during the pandemic across samples. These findings demonstrate significant increases in internalizing symptoms for emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide important insights on how this population coped with the pandemic. The study was limited by examining levels at the beginning of the pandemic and cannot determine if such levels were maintained or fluctuated across the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement What is the significance of this article for the general public?-The present study demonstrates increases in depression and anxiety symptoms among emerging adults along with changes in emotion regulation strategy use during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight potential coping profiles to target in counseling and interventions to minimize the negative impacts of salient, life-altering stressors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)