Lockdown, quarantine measures, and social distancing: Associations with depression, anxiety and distress at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic among adults from Germany.
Psychiatry Res
; 293: 113462, 2020 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-779557
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic is suggested to have a negative impact on mental health. To prevent the spread of Sars-CoV-2, governments worldwide have implemented different forms of public health measures ranging from physical distancing recommendations to stay-at-home orders, which have disrupted individuals' everyday life tremendously. However, evidence on the associations of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health measures with mental health are limited so far. In this study, we investigated the role of sociodemographic and COVID-19 related factors for immediate mental health consequences in a nationwide community sample of adults from Germany (N = 4335). Specifically, we examined the effects of different forms and levels of restriction resulting from public health measures (e.g. quarantine, stay-at-home order) on anxiety and depression symptomatology, health anxiety, loneliness, the occurrence of fearful spells, psychosocial distress and life-satisfaction. We found that higher restrictions due to lockdown measures, a greater reduction of social contacts and greater perceived changes in life were associated with higher mental health impairments. Importantly, a subjectively assumed but not an officially announced stay-at-home order was associated with poorer mental health. Our findings underscore the importance of adequate risk communication and targeted mental health recommendations especially for vulnerable groups during these challenging times.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Anxiety
/
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Stress, Psychological
/
Quarantine
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Depression
/
Betacoronavirus
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Psychiatry Res
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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