scholarly journals The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic: A probability-based, nationally representative study of mental health in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (42) ◽  
pp. eabd5390 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Alison Holman ◽  
Rebecca R. Thompson ◽  
Dana Rose Garfin ◽  
Roxane Cohen Silver
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Representative Study ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Over Time

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic is a collective stressor unfolding over time; yet, rigorous empirical studies addressing its mental health consequences among large probability-based national samples are rare. Between 18 March and 18 April 2020, as illness and death escalated in the United States, we assessed acute stress, depressive symptoms, and direct, community, and media-based exposures to COVID-19 in three consecutive representative samples from the U.S. probability-based nationally representative NORC AmeriSpeak panel across three 10-day periods (total N = 6514). Acute stress and depressive symptoms increased significantly over time as COVID-19 deaths increased across the United States. Preexisting mental and physical health diagnoses, daily COVID-19–related media exposure, conflicting COVID-19 information in media, and secondary stressors were all associated with acute stress and depressive symptoms. Results have implications for targeting public health interventions and risk communication efforts to promote community resilience as the pandemic waxes and wanes over time.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Religious (Dis)Affiliation and Depressive Symptomatology

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew May
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Life Study ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Religious affiliation is generally associated with better mental health. The nonreligious, however, currently constitute one of the fastest-growing religious categories in the United States. Since most of the nonreligious were raised in religious homes, their growth raises important questions about the mental health of those who consider dropping out of religion. In this article, I use longitudinal data from the Portraits of American Life Study to examine the impact of religious affiliation on mental health. Specifically, I compare individuals who dropped out of religion (leavers) with individuals who considered dropping out (stayers) and individuals who are more consistent in their religious (stable affiliates) and nonreligious (stable Nones) affiliations. I find that stayers experience more depressive symptoms than any other group and that they experience a greater increase in depressive symptoms over time. My findings are consistent with identity theories in sociology, and they provide evidence that a strong religious or secular identity is an important contributor to mental health.

scholarly journals Disintermediating your friends: How online dating in the United States displaces other ways of meeting

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (36) ◽  
pp. 17753-17758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Rosenfeld ◽  
Reuben J. Thomas ◽  
Sonia Hausen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Online Dating ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heterosexual Couples ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
First Time ◽  
Over Time

We present data from a nationally representative 2017 survey of American adults. For heterosexual couples in the United States, meeting online has become the most popular way couples meet, eclipsing meeting through friends for the first time around 2013. Moreover, among the couples who meet online, the proportion who have met through the mediation of third persons has declined over time. We find that Internet meeting is displacing the roles that family and friends once played in bringing couples together.

scholarly journals Engagement With Online Tobacco Marketing Among Adolescents in the United States: 2013–2014 to 2014–2015

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 918-925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Soneji ◽  
JaeWon Yang ◽  
Meghan Bridgid Moran ◽  
Andy S L Tan ◽  
James Sargent ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Tobacco Marketing ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
National Prevalence ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Objective To assess changes in engagement with online tobacco and electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) marketing (online tobacco marketing) among adolescents in the United States between 2013 and 2015. Methods We assessed the prevalence of six forms of engagement with online tobacco marketing, both overall and by brand, among adolescents sampled in Wave 1 (2013–2014; n = 13651) and Wave 2 (2014–2015; n = 12172) of the nationally representative Population Assessment for Tobacco and Health Study. Engagement was analyzed by tobacco use status: non-susceptible never tobacco users; susceptible never tobacco users; ever tobacco users, but not within the past year; and past-year tobacco users. Results Among all adolescents, the estimated prevalence of engagement with at least one form of online tobacco marketing increased from 8.7% in 2013–2014 to 20.9% in 2014–2015. The estimated prevalence of engagement also increased over time across all tobacco use statuses (eg, from 10.5% to 26.6% among susceptible adolescents). Brand-specific engagement increased over time for cigarette, cigar, and e-cigarette brands. Conclusion Engagement with online tobacco marketing, both for tobacco and e-cigarettes, increased almost twofold over time. This increase emphasizes the dynamic nature of online tobacco marketing and its ability to reach youth. The Food and Drug Administration, in cooperation with social networking sites, should consider new approaches to regulate this novel form of marketing. Implications This is the first study to estimate the national prevalence of engagement with online tobacco marketing among adolescents over time. The estimated prevalence of this engagement approximately doubled between 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 among all adolescents and, notably, among adolescents at relatively low risk to initiate tobacco use. This increase in engagement could represent public health harm if it results in increased initiation and use of tobacco products. Stronger federal regulation of online tobacco marketing and tighter control of access to tobacco-related content by social media sites could reduce adolescents’ exposure to and engagement with online tobacco marketing.

scholarly journals Driving Status and Transportation Disadvantage Among Medicare Beneficiaries

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 935-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Ryvicker ◽  
Evan Bollens-Lund ◽  
Katherine A. Ornstein
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Medicare Beneficiaries ◽  
Coordination Strategies ◽  
Representative Study ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Transportation disadvantage may have important implications for the health, well-being, and quality of life of older adults. This study used the 2015 National Health Aging Trends Study, a nationally representative study of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and over ( N = 7,498), to generate national estimates of transportation modalities and transportation disadvantage among community-dwelling older adults in the United States. An estimated 10.8 million community-dwelling older adults in the United States rarely or never drive. Among nondrivers, 25% were classified as transportation disadvantaged, representing 2.3 million individuals. Individuals with more chronic medical conditions and those reliant on assistive devices were more likely to report having a transportation disadvantage ( p < .05). Being married resulted in a 50% decreased odds of having a transportation disadvantage ( p < .01). Some individuals may be at higher risk for transportation-related barriers to engaging in valued activities and accessing care, calling for tailored interventions such as ride-share services combined with care coordination strategies.

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