Anxiety, depression, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of the general population through multiple pathways. The aim of this study was to examine anxiety, depression, self-confidence, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Archives of Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-022-00990-4 |
| _version_ | 1811217735051378688 |
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| author | Di Long Gouke J. Bonsel Erica I. Lubetkin Mathieu F. Janssen Juanita A. Haagsma |
| author_facet | Di Long Gouke J. Bonsel Erica I. Lubetkin Mathieu F. Janssen Juanita A. Haagsma |
| author_sort | Di Long |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of the general population through multiple pathways. The aim of this study was to examine anxiety, depression, self-confidence, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, their underlying factors, and vulnerable groups. Methods A web-based survey was administered to persons from the general population of China, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The survey included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and items on self-confidence, social connectedness, and socio-demographics. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and regression analysis. Results Twenty-three thousand six hundred twenty-two respondents completed the survey. Overall, 42% of the total sample had mild to severe anxiety symptoms and 43% had mild to severe depression symptoms. 14% to 38% reported suboptimal ratings in self-confidence, social participation, contact with family and friends, and feeling connected to others. In the exploratory factor analyses, in most countries, one dominant factor had a high influence on GAD-7, PHQ-9 sum scores and self-confidence with eigenvalue (% variance) above 3.2 (53.9%). One less dominant factor had a high influence on social connectedness scores with eigenvalue (% variance) ranging above 0.8 (12.8%). Being younger, female, having chronic conditions, perceived as risky to COVID-19 infection, and feeling not very well protected against COVID-19 were significantly associated with the two underlying factors. Conclusions Anxiety, depression, and problems with self-confidence and social connectedness were highly prevalent in the general population of eight countries during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. This highlights the importance of the allocation of additional resources to implement policies to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on mental health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T06:59:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cfdbf936007e41d1bbe73ade52b20e1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2049-3258 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T06:59:37Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Archives of Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-cfdbf936007e41d1bbe73ade52b20e1c2022-12-22T03:43:03ZengBMCArchives of Public Health2049-32582022-11-0180111610.1186/s13690-022-00990-4Anxiety, depression, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemicDi Long0Gouke J. Bonsel1Erica I. Lubetkin2Mathieu F. Janssen3Juanita A. Haagsma4Department of Public Health, Erasmus MCDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus MCDepartment of Community Health and Social Medicine, CUNY School of MedicineDepartment of Psychiatry, Section Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Erasmus MCDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus MCAbstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of the general population through multiple pathways. The aim of this study was to examine anxiety, depression, self-confidence, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, their underlying factors, and vulnerable groups. Methods A web-based survey was administered to persons from the general population of China, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The survey included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and items on self-confidence, social connectedness, and socio-demographics. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and regression analysis. Results Twenty-three thousand six hundred twenty-two respondents completed the survey. Overall, 42% of the total sample had mild to severe anxiety symptoms and 43% had mild to severe depression symptoms. 14% to 38% reported suboptimal ratings in self-confidence, social participation, contact with family and friends, and feeling connected to others. In the exploratory factor analyses, in most countries, one dominant factor had a high influence on GAD-7, PHQ-9 sum scores and self-confidence with eigenvalue (% variance) above 3.2 (53.9%). One less dominant factor had a high influence on social connectedness scores with eigenvalue (% variance) ranging above 0.8 (12.8%). Being younger, female, having chronic conditions, perceived as risky to COVID-19 infection, and feeling not very well protected against COVID-19 were significantly associated with the two underlying factors. Conclusions Anxiety, depression, and problems with self-confidence and social connectedness were highly prevalent in the general population of eight countries during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. This highlights the importance of the allocation of additional resources to implement policies to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on mental health.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-022-00990-4AnxietyDepressionCOVID-19Social connectednessFactor analysis |
| spellingShingle | Di Long Gouke J. Bonsel Erica I. Lubetkin Mathieu F. Janssen Juanita A. Haagsma Anxiety, depression, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic Archives of Public Health Anxiety Depression COVID-19 Social connectedness Factor analysis |
| title | Anxiety, depression, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Anxiety, depression, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Anxiety, depression, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anxiety, depression, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Anxiety, depression, and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | anxiety depression and social connectedness among the general population of eight countries during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | Anxiety Depression COVID-19 Social connectedness Factor analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-022-00990-4 |
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