Resilience in 2021—Descriptive Analysis of Individuals Accessing Virtual Mental Health Services: Retrospective Observational Study

BackgroundPsychological resilience has been extensively studied by developmental researchers, and there is a growing body of literature regarding its role in psychiatry and psychopathology research and practice. This study contributes to this growing literature by providing r...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Grant Graziani, Sarah Kunkle, Emily Shih
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2022-03-01
Series:JMIR Formative Research
Online Access:https://formative.jmir.org/2022/3/e34283
_version_ 1797735175704018944
author Grant Graziani
Sarah Kunkle
Emily Shih
author_facet Grant Graziani
Sarah Kunkle
Emily Shih
author_sort Grant Graziani
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundPsychological resilience has been extensively studied by developmental researchers, and there is a growing body of literature regarding its role in psychiatry and psychopathology research and practice. This study contributes to this growing literature by providing real-world evidence on the relationship between resilience and clinical symptoms among a large sample of employed Americans. ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe resilience levels in individuals accessing Ginger, a virtual mental health system, in addition to the association of resilience with demographic characteristics, baseline depression, and anxiety symptoms. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational study of 9165 members who signed up for Ginger and completed a baseline survey between January 1 and August 5, 2021. We used multivariate regression models to test for associations between baseline resilience and other member characteristics. ResultsBaseline resilience scores centered on a mean of 23.84 (SD 6.56) and median of 24 (IQR 8) out of 40, with 81.0% (7424/9165) of the sample having low resilience at baseline. Despite having relatively higher resilience scores, members with no or mild depression or anxiety still had low resilience scores on average. Self-reported suicidal ideation was associated with lower resilience. ConclusionsOverall, members had low baseline resilience, similar to resilience levels observed in trauma survivors in prior studies. Younger members and those with higher levels of depression and anxiety at intake reported lower levels of resilience at baseline. Notably, members with no or mild depression or anxiety still had low resilience scores on average, suggesting a need for mental health support among individuals who might not typically be recommended for treatment based on traditional clinical assessments, such as the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). Two suggestions for topics of future research are to develop treatment recommendations based on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and to understand the interaction between resilience levels and symptom-based outcome measures, such as the PHQ-9 and the GAD-7.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T12:55:19Z
format Article
id doaj.art-1537413d0c1346298991317a07c1bbd7
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2561-326X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T12:55:19Z
publishDate 2022-03-01
publisher JMIR Publications
record_format Article
series JMIR Formative Research
spelling doaj.art-1537413d0c1346298991317a07c1bbd72023-08-28T21:12:06ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2022-03-0163e3428310.2196/34283Resilience in 2021—Descriptive Analysis of Individuals Accessing Virtual Mental Health Services: Retrospective Observational StudyGrant Grazianihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5313-5158Sarah Kunklehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6368-0205Emily Shihhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6761-1832 BackgroundPsychological resilience has been extensively studied by developmental researchers, and there is a growing body of literature regarding its role in psychiatry and psychopathology research and practice. This study contributes to this growing literature by providing real-world evidence on the relationship between resilience and clinical symptoms among a large sample of employed Americans. ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe resilience levels in individuals accessing Ginger, a virtual mental health system, in addition to the association of resilience with demographic characteristics, baseline depression, and anxiety symptoms. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational study of 9165 members who signed up for Ginger and completed a baseline survey between January 1 and August 5, 2021. We used multivariate regression models to test for associations between baseline resilience and other member characteristics. ResultsBaseline resilience scores centered on a mean of 23.84 (SD 6.56) and median of 24 (IQR 8) out of 40, with 81.0% (7424/9165) of the sample having low resilience at baseline. Despite having relatively higher resilience scores, members with no or mild depression or anxiety still had low resilience scores on average. Self-reported suicidal ideation was associated with lower resilience. ConclusionsOverall, members had low baseline resilience, similar to resilience levels observed in trauma survivors in prior studies. Younger members and those with higher levels of depression and anxiety at intake reported lower levels of resilience at baseline. Notably, members with no or mild depression or anxiety still had low resilience scores on average, suggesting a need for mental health support among individuals who might not typically be recommended for treatment based on traditional clinical assessments, such as the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). Two suggestions for topics of future research are to develop treatment recommendations based on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and to understand the interaction between resilience levels and symptom-based outcome measures, such as the PHQ-9 and the GAD-7.https://formative.jmir.org/2022/3/e34283
spellingShingle Grant Graziani
Sarah Kunkle
Emily Shih
Resilience in 2021—Descriptive Analysis of Individuals Accessing Virtual Mental Health Services: Retrospective Observational Study
JMIR Formative Research
title Resilience in 2021—Descriptive Analysis of Individuals Accessing Virtual Mental Health Services: Retrospective Observational Study
title_full Resilience in 2021—Descriptive Analysis of Individuals Accessing Virtual Mental Health Services: Retrospective Observational Study
title_fullStr Resilience in 2021—Descriptive Analysis of Individuals Accessing Virtual Mental Health Services: Retrospective Observational Study
title_full_unstemmed Resilience in 2021—Descriptive Analysis of Individuals Accessing Virtual Mental Health Services: Retrospective Observational Study
title_short Resilience in 2021—Descriptive Analysis of Individuals Accessing Virtual Mental Health Services: Retrospective Observational Study
title_sort resilience in 2021 descriptive analysis of individuals accessing virtual mental health services retrospective observational study
url https://formative.jmir.org/2022/3/e34283
work_keys_str_mv AT grantgraziani resiliencein2021descriptiveanalysisofindividualsaccessingvirtualmentalhealthservicesretrospectiveobservationalstudy
AT sarahkunkle resiliencein2021descriptiveanalysisofindividualsaccessingvirtualmentalhealthservicesretrospectiveobservationalstudy
AT emilyshih resiliencein2021descriptiveanalysisofindividualsaccessingvirtualmentalhealthservicesretrospectiveobservationalstudy