Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health. Identifying risk factors and susceptible subgroups will guide efforts to address mental health concerns during the pandemic and long-term management and monitoring after the pandemic. We aimed to examine associations of in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35981-0 |
| _version_ | 1797801443776790528 |
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| author | Kexin Zhu Siyi Wang Yihua Yue Beth A. Smith Zuo-Feng Zhang Jo L. Freudenheim Zhongzheng Niu Joanne Zhang Ella Smith Joshua Ye Ying Cao Jie Zhang Dwight A. Hennessy Lijian Lei Lina Mu |
| author_facet | Kexin Zhu Siyi Wang Yihua Yue Beth A. Smith Zuo-Feng Zhang Jo L. Freudenheim Zhongzheng Niu Joanne Zhang Ella Smith Joshua Ye Ying Cao Jie Zhang Dwight A. Hennessy Lijian Lei Lina Mu |
| author_sort | Kexin Zhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health. Identifying risk factors and susceptible subgroups will guide efforts to address mental health concerns during the pandemic and long-term management and monitoring after the pandemic. We aimed to examine associations of insecurity (concerns about food, health insurance, and/or money), social support, and change in family relationships with poor mental health and to explore disparities in these associations. An online survey was collected from 3952 US adults between May and August 2020. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma-related disorders were assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Perceived Stress Scale-4, and the Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Screen, respectively. Social support was measured by the Oslo Social Support Scale. Logistic regression was used and stratified analyses by age, race/ethnicity, and sex were performed. We found a higher prevalence of poor mental health among those who were younger, female, with lower socioeconomic status, and racial/ethnic minorities. Participants who were worried about money, health insurance, or food had higher odds of symptoms of anxiety (OR = 3.74, 95% CI: 3.06–4.56), depression (OR = 3.20, 95% CI: 2.67–3.84), stress (OR = 3.08, 95% CI: 2.67–3.57), and trauma-related disorders (OR = 2.93, 95% CI: 2.42–3.55) compared to those who were not. Compared to poor social support, moderate and strong social support was associated with lower odds of all four symptoms. Participants who had changes in relationships with parents, children, or significant others had worse mental health. Our findings identified groups at higher risk for poor mental health, which offers insights for implementing targeted interventions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:50:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7c7077ac98e94aa5a3400b5091b97566 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:50:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-7c7077ac98e94aa5a3400b5091b975662023-06-18T11:12:39ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-06-0113111010.1038/s41598-023-35981-0Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemicKexin Zhu0Siyi Wang1Yihua Yue2Beth A. Smith3Zuo-Feng Zhang4Jo L. Freudenheim5Zhongzheng Niu6Joanne Zhang7Ella Smith8Joshua Ye9Ying Cao10Jie Zhang11Dwight A. Hennessy12Lijian Lei13Lina Mu14Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkDepartment of Psychology, Vassar CollegeDepartment of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkDepartment of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkDepartment of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los AngelesDepartment of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkDepartment of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkArcher School for GirlsNichols SchoolThe Quarry Lane SchoolDepartment of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-MadisonDepartment of Sociology, State University of New York Buffalo StateDepartment of Psychology, State University of New York Buffalo StateDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkAbstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health. Identifying risk factors and susceptible subgroups will guide efforts to address mental health concerns during the pandemic and long-term management and monitoring after the pandemic. We aimed to examine associations of insecurity (concerns about food, health insurance, and/or money), social support, and change in family relationships with poor mental health and to explore disparities in these associations. An online survey was collected from 3952 US adults between May and August 2020. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma-related disorders were assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Perceived Stress Scale-4, and the Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Screen, respectively. Social support was measured by the Oslo Social Support Scale. Logistic regression was used and stratified analyses by age, race/ethnicity, and sex were performed. We found a higher prevalence of poor mental health among those who were younger, female, with lower socioeconomic status, and racial/ethnic minorities. Participants who were worried about money, health insurance, or food had higher odds of symptoms of anxiety (OR = 3.74, 95% CI: 3.06–4.56), depression (OR = 3.20, 95% CI: 2.67–3.84), stress (OR = 3.08, 95% CI: 2.67–3.57), and trauma-related disorders (OR = 2.93, 95% CI: 2.42–3.55) compared to those who were not. Compared to poor social support, moderate and strong social support was associated with lower odds of all four symptoms. Participants who had changes in relationships with parents, children, or significant others had worse mental health. Our findings identified groups at higher risk for poor mental health, which offers insights for implementing targeted interventions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35981-0 |
| spellingShingle | Kexin Zhu Siyi Wang Yihua Yue Beth A. Smith Zuo-Feng Zhang Jo L. Freudenheim Zhongzheng Niu Joanne Zhang Ella Smith Joshua Ye Ying Cao Jie Zhang Dwight A. Hennessy Lijian Lei Lina Mu Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic Scientific Reports |
| title | Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Disparities in insecurity, social support, and family relationships in association with poor mental health among US adults during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | disparities in insecurity social support and family relationships in association with poor mental health among us adults during the covid 19 pandemic |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35981-0 |
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