The Impact of the Early Stages of COVID-19 on Mental Health in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom

The impact of COVID-19 on people's physical health is well documented. But how did COVID-19-with all the uncertainty and disruption of daily life it entailed-impact people's mental health? We used ecologically momentary assessments from 22,562 individuals (largely young adults) across the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 2023-03, Vol.124 (3), p.620-639
Main Authors: Müller, Sandrine R., Delahunty, Fionn, Matz, Sandra C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - psychology
Depression (Emotion)
Disruption
Emotions
Everyday life
Female
Germany - epidemiology
Happiness
Health status
Human
Humans
Major Depression
Male
Mental depression
Mental Health
Physical Distancing
Resilience
Social distancing
Sociodemographics
Uncertainty
United Kingdom - epidemiology
United States - epidemiology
Well Being
Young Adult
Young adults
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Summary:The impact of COVID-19 on people's physical health is well documented. But how did COVID-19-with all the uncertainty and disruption of daily life it entailed-impact people's mental health? We used ecologically momentary assessments from 22,562 individuals (largely young adults) across the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom to study the impact of the early stages of COVID-19 on mental health. Exploring within-person trajectories of mood (4,471,810 observations) and depression (274,911 observations) between January 1 and September 30 of 2020, and comparing them to those observed for the same time period in 2019, we provide evidence that people-on average-show high levels of resilience. While the United States saw momentary decreases in mood and increases in depression that quickly returned to baseline, Germany and the United Kingdom did not experience observable negative effects on mental health. In a small subsample of U.S. users, we show that the mental health trajectories appear to be relatively consistent across different sociodemographics groups. Investigating the impact of social distancing on people's mental health within-person, we demonstrate that social distancing-on average-was associated with a decline in mental health. However, our findings also highlight that not all COVID-19 experiences were created equal. While individuals who experienced social distancing as burdensome reported lower levels of mental health, those who did not, indicated normal or even elevated levels of mental health.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/pspp0000459