Individual differences in the long-term impact of the pandemic: moderators of COVID-related hardship, worry, and social support

• Published in: Quality of life research 2024-04, Vol.33 (4), p.927-939
• Main Authors: Schwartz, Carolyn E., Borowiec, Katrina, Li, Yuelin, Rapkin, Bruce D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: COVID-19; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Pandemics; Public Health; Quality of Life Research; Social support; Sociology; Well being
• ISSN: 0962-9343; 1573-2649; 1573-2649
• DOI: 10.1007/s11136-023-03573-0

Purpose Understanding people’s response to the pandemic needs to consider individual differences in priorities and concerns. The present study sought to understand how individual differences in cognitive-appraisal processes might moderate the impact of three COVID-specific factors—hardship, worry, and social support—on reported depression. Methods This longitudinal study of the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic included 771 people with data at three timepoints over 15.5 months. Participants were recruited from panels of chronically ill or general population samples. Depression was measured by an item response theory validated depression index created using items from existing measures that reflected similar content to the Patient Health Questionnaire-8. COVID-specific factors of hardship, worry, and social support were assessed with items compiled by the National Institutes of Health. The Quality of Life Appraisal Profile v2 Short-Form assessed cognitive appraisal processes. A series of random effects models examined whether appraisal moderated the effects of hardship, worry, and social support on depression over time. Results Over time the association between low social support and depression was greater ( p  = 0.0181). Emphasizing the negative was associated with exacerbated depression, in particular for those with low social support ( p  = 0.0007). Focusing on demands and habituation was associated with exacerbated depression unless one experienced greater hardship ( p  = 0.0074). There was a stronger positive connection between recent changes and depression for those people with higher worry scores early in the pandemic as compared to later, but a stronger positive correlation for those with lower worry scores later in the pandemic ( p  = 0.0015). Increased endorsement of standards of comparison, emphasizing the negative, problem goals, and health goals was associated with worse depression scores (all p