The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to other potentially traumatic events up to old age.

We investigated whether the impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) on trauma-related symptoms changes across the transitional adult lifespan (i.e., 16-100 years old) and if this association differs for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs. A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 7,034 participants from 88 countries between late April and October 2020. Participants completed the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a self-report questionnaire assessing trauma-related symptoms. Data were analyzed using linear and logistic regression analyses and general linear models. We found that older age was associated with lower GPS total symptom scores, B = -0.02, p < .001; this association remained significant but was substantially weaker for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs, B = 0.02, p = .009. The results suggest an association between older age and lower ratings of trauma-related symptoms on the GPS, indicating a blunted symptom presentation. This age-related trend was smaller for self-reported COVID-19-related PTEs compared to other PTEs, reflecting the relatively higher impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults.

Effects of Socioeconomic Status, Parental Stress, and Family Support on Children's Physical and Emotional Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In the current study, we conduct an exploratory study on children's emotional and physical health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The direct and interactive effects of parental stress, family socioeconomic status (SES), and family support on child adjustment were investigated. A total of 116 children of varied socioeconomic and their parents were interviewed. Parents with low household income perceived greater distress related to uncertainty and health worries compared to those with higher household income. However, it was among high-SES families that parental distress was associated with child difficulties. At a multivariate level, children's health was associated with SES, family support, and parental COVID-19 stress. Among families with low household income, when parents perceived low/average COVID-19 stress, family support worked as a protective factor for children's adjustment. Understanding how COVID-19 relates with children's emotional and physical health within families with low and high household income may help to inform recommendations for best practices, for example through family support interventions.

Stress and Emotional Intelligence Shape Giving Behavior: Are There Different Effects of Social, Cognitive, and Emotional Stress?

Acute stress has been linked with prosocial behavior, yet it is entirely unexplored how different types of stressors may affect individuals' willingness to help: This is particularly relevant while people is experiencing multiple sources of stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we explore whether different types of stress influence peoples' giving behavior and the moderating role of emotional intelligence (EI). Undergraduate students were exposed to experimentally induced social, cognitive, or emotional stress and were asked to self-report on their willingness to help and donate to a charity raising funds for COVID-19 and flu patients. Results showed that when compared to a control condition, after being exposed to a social stress, participants were more willing to help a person in need. Our results also provide evidence that, after experiencing a social stress, participants with high (vs low) trait EI were more willing to help, and, as a result, donated more. Findings indicate that moderate levels of distress are associated with increased donations. Interestingly, when stress is not too threatening, high EI can regulate it and promote prosocial behaviors.

Symptom networks of COVID-19-related versus other potentially traumatic events in a global sample.

The potential mental health consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are widely acknowledged; however, limited research exists regarding the nature and patterns of stress responses to COVID-19-related potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and the convergence/divergence with responses to other (non-COVID-19-related) PTEs. Network analysis can provide a useful method for evaluating and comparing these symptom structures. The present study includes 7034 participants from 86 countries who reported on mental health symptoms associated with either a COVID-19-related PTE (n = 1838) or other PTE (n = 5196). Using network analysis, we compared the centrality and connections of symptoms within and between each group. Overall, results show that the COVID-19-related network includes transdiagnostic symptom associations similar to networks tied to PTEs unrelated to the pandemic. Findings provide evidence for a shared centrality of depression across networks and theoretically consistent connections between symptoms. Network differences included stronger connections between avoidance-derealization and hypervigilance-depression in the COVID-19 network. Present findings support the conceptualization of psychological responses to pandemic-related PTEs as a network of highly interconnected symptoms and support the use of a transdiagnostic approach to the assessment and treatment of mental health challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health responses to COVID-19 around the world.

Background: The mental health impact of the COVID-19 crisis may differ from previously studied stressful events in terms of psychological reactions, specific risk factors, and symptom severity across geographic regions worldwide. Objective: To assess the impact of COVID-19 on a wide range of mental health symptoms, to identify relevant risk factors, to identify the effect of COVID-19 country impact on mental health, and to evaluate regional differences in psychological responses to COVID-19 compared to other stressful events. Method: 7034 respondents (74% female) participated in the worldwide Global Psychotrauma Screen - Cross-Cultural responses to COVID-19 study (GPS-CCC), reporting on mental health symptoms related to COVID-19 (n = 1838) or other stressful events (n = 5196) from April to November 2020. Results: Events related to COVID-19 were associated with more mental health symptoms compared to other stressful events, especially symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and dissociation. Lack of social support, psychiatric history, childhood trauma, additional stressful events in the past month, and low resilience predicted more mental health problems for COVID-19 and other stressful events. Higher COVID-19 country impact was associated with increased mental health impact of both COVID-19 and other stressful events. Analysis of differences across geographic regions revealed that in Latin America more mental health symptoms were reported for COVID-19 related events versus other stressful events, while the opposite pattern was seen in North America. Conclusions: The mental health impact of COVID-19-related stressors covers a wide range of symptoms and is more severe than that of other stressful events. This difference was especially apparent in Latin America. The findings underscore the need for global screening for a wide range of mental health problems as part of a public health approach, allowing for targeted prevention and intervention programs.

Antecedentes: El impacto de la crisis por la COVID-19 sobre la salud mental podría diferir de otros eventos estresantes estudiados con anterioridad en relación con reacciones psicológicas, factores de riesgo específicos y severidad de síntomas en diferentes regiones geográficas alrededor del mundo. Objetivo: Evaluar el impacto de la COVID-19 sobre una amplia variedad de síntomas de salud mental, identificar los factores de riesgo relevantes, identificar el efecto que el impacto de la COVID-19 sobre un país ejerce, a su vez, sobre la salud mental, y evaluar las diferencias regionales en las respuestas psicológicas a la COVID-19 comparadas con otros eventos estresantes. Método: 7034 encuestados (74 % mujeres) participaron en el Mapeo Global de Psicotrauma ­ Estudio de Respuestas Transculturales frente a la COVID-19(GPS­CCC, por sus siglas en ingles), reportando síntomas de salud mental relacionados a la COVID-19 (n = 1838) u otros eventos estresantes (n = 5196) de abril a noviembre del 2020. Resultados: Los eventos relacionados a la COVID-19 se asociaron con un mayor número de síntomas de salud mental comparados con otros eventos estresantes, especialmente con síntomas del trastorno de estrés postraumático, ansiedad, depresión, insomnio, y disociación. La falta de apoyo social, los antecedentes psiquiátricos, el trauma infantil, los eventos estresantes adicionales ocurridos en el último mes y una baja resiliencia predijeron tener mayores problemas de salud mental por la COVID-19 y otros eventos estresantes. Un impacto más alto ejercido por la COVID-19 sobre un país se asoció, a su vez, con un mayor impacto sobre la salud mental, tanto por la COVID-19 como por otros eventos estresantes. Un análisis de las diferencias entre regiones geográficas reveló que en Latinoamérica se reportaron más síntomas de salud mental asociados a eventos relacionados con la COVID-19 en comparación con otros eventos estresantes, mientras que se observó un patrón opuesto en América del Norte. Conclusiones: El impacto de los estresores asociados a la COVID-19 sobre la salud mental abarca un amplio rango de síntomas y es más severo que otros eventos estresantes. Esta diferencia fue especialmente evidente en Latinoamérica. Estos hallazgos enfatizan la necesidad de un tamizaje global para detectar una amplia gama de problemas de salud mental como parte de un enfoque de salud pública, permitiendo programas específicos de prevención e intervención.