The Persistence of the Impact of COVID-19–Related Distress, Mood Inertia, and Loneliness on Mental Health During a Postlockdown Period in Germany: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study
BackgroundThe first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 increased mental health problems globally. However, little is known about mental health problems during a low-incidence period of the pandemic without strict public health measures. ObjectiveWe aim to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2021-08-01
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| Series: | JMIR Mental Health |
| Online Access: | https://mental.jmir.org/2021/8/e29419 |
| _version_ | 1797735789907410944 |
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| author | Matthias Haucke Shuyan Liu Stephan Heinzel |
| author_facet | Matthias Haucke Shuyan Liu Stephan Heinzel |
| author_sort | Matthias Haucke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundThe first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 increased mental health problems globally. However, little is known about mental health problems during a low-incidence period of the pandemic without strict public health measures.
ObjectiveWe aim to investigate whether COVID-19–related risk factors for mental health problems persist beyond lockdown measures. We targeted a vulnerable population that is at risk of developing low mental health and assessed their daily dynamics of mood and emotion regulation after a strict lockdown.
MethodsDuring a postlockdown period in Germany (between August 8, 2020, and November 1, 2020), we conducted an ecological momentary assessment with 131 participants who experienced at least mild COVID-19–related distress and loneliness. To estimate negative mood inertia, we built a lag-1 three-level autoregressive model.
ResultsWe found that information exposure and active daily COVID-19 cases did not have an impact on negative mood amid a postlockdown period. However, there was a day-to-day carryover effect of negative mood. In addition, worrying about COVID-19, feeling restricted by COVID-19, and feeling lonely increased negative mood.
ConclusionsThe mental health of a vulnerable population is still challenged by COVID-19–related stressors after the lifting of a strict lockdown. This study highlights the need to protect mental health during postpandemic periods. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:03:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3629a795267744f789ee8a323779398a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2368-7959 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:03:13Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-3629a795267744f789ee8a323779398a2023-08-28T18:33:39ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Mental Health2368-79592021-08-0188e2941910.2196/29419The Persistence of the Impact of COVID-19–Related Distress, Mood Inertia, and Loneliness on Mental Health During a Postlockdown Period in Germany: An Ecological Momentary Assessment StudyMatthias Hauckehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8761-1124Shuyan Liuhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6948-5734Stephan Heinzelhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2325-900X BackgroundThe first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 increased mental health problems globally. However, little is known about mental health problems during a low-incidence period of the pandemic without strict public health measures. ObjectiveWe aim to investigate whether COVID-19–related risk factors for mental health problems persist beyond lockdown measures. We targeted a vulnerable population that is at risk of developing low mental health and assessed their daily dynamics of mood and emotion regulation after a strict lockdown. MethodsDuring a postlockdown period in Germany (between August 8, 2020, and November 1, 2020), we conducted an ecological momentary assessment with 131 participants who experienced at least mild COVID-19–related distress and loneliness. To estimate negative mood inertia, we built a lag-1 three-level autoregressive model. ResultsWe found that information exposure and active daily COVID-19 cases did not have an impact on negative mood amid a postlockdown period. However, there was a day-to-day carryover effect of negative mood. In addition, worrying about COVID-19, feeling restricted by COVID-19, and feeling lonely increased negative mood. ConclusionsThe mental health of a vulnerable population is still challenged by COVID-19–related stressors after the lifting of a strict lockdown. This study highlights the need to protect mental health during postpandemic periods.https://mental.jmir.org/2021/8/e29419 |
| spellingShingle | Matthias Haucke Shuyan Liu Stephan Heinzel The Persistence of the Impact of COVID-19–Related Distress, Mood Inertia, and Loneliness on Mental Health During a Postlockdown Period in Germany: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study JMIR Mental Health |
| title | The Persistence of the Impact of COVID-19–Related Distress, Mood Inertia, and Loneliness on Mental Health During a Postlockdown Period in Germany: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study |
| title_full | The Persistence of the Impact of COVID-19–Related Distress, Mood Inertia, and Loneliness on Mental Health During a Postlockdown Period in Germany: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study |
| title_fullStr | The Persistence of the Impact of COVID-19–Related Distress, Mood Inertia, and Loneliness on Mental Health During a Postlockdown Period in Germany: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Persistence of the Impact of COVID-19–Related Distress, Mood Inertia, and Loneliness on Mental Health During a Postlockdown Period in Germany: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study |
| title_short | The Persistence of the Impact of COVID-19–Related Distress, Mood Inertia, and Loneliness on Mental Health During a Postlockdown Period in Germany: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study |
| title_sort | persistence of the impact of covid 19 related distress mood inertia and loneliness on mental health during a postlockdown period in germany an ecological momentary assessment study |
| url | https://mental.jmir.org/2021/8/e29419 |
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