scholarly journals Mental Health and Behavior of College Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Mobile Smartphone and Ecological Momentary Assessment Study - Part II (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dante Mack ◽  
Alex DaSilva ◽  
Courtney Rogers ◽  
Elin Hedlund ◽  
Eilis Murphy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sedentary Time ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Health Changes ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Mobile Smartphone

BACKGROUND Since late 2019, the lives of people across the globe have been disrupted by COVID-19. Millions of people have become infected; billions have been continually asked or required by local and national governments to change their behavioral patterns. Previous research on the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that it is associated with large-scale behavioral and mental health changes, but few studies have been able to track these changes with frequent, near real-time sampling or compare these changes to previous years of data for the same individuals. OBJECTIVE By combining mobile phone sensing and self-reported mental health data in a cohort of college-aged students enrolled in a longitudinal study, we seek to understand the behavioral and mental health impacts associated with the pandemic, measured by search term interest in "coronavirus" and "covid fatigue" across the United States. METHODS Behaviors such as the number of locations visited, distance traveled, duration of phone usage, number of phone unlocks, sleep duration, and sedentary time were measured using the StudentLife mobile smartphone sensing app. Depression and anxiety were assessed using weekly self-reported Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs), including the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Participants were 217 undergraduate students. Differences in behaviors and self-reported mental health collected during the Spring 2020 term, as compared to previous terms in the same cohort, were modeled using mixed linear models. RESULTS Linear mixed models observed differences in phone usage, sleep, sedentary time and the number of locations visited associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In further models, these behaviors were strongly associated with increased interest in covid fatigue. When mental health metrics (e.g., depression and anxiety) were added to the previous measures (week of term, number of locations visited, phone usage, sedentary time), both anxiety and depression (_P_<.001) were significantly associated with interest in covid fatigue. Notably, these behavioral and mental health changes are consistent with those observed around the initial implementation of COVID-19 lockdowns in the spring of 2020 [@Huckins2020]. CONCLUSIONS In the initial lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, people spent more time on their phones, were more sedentary, visited fewer locations, and exhibited increased symptoms of anxiety and depression. As the pandemic persisted through the spring, people continued to exhibit very similar changes in both mental health and behaviors. Though unsurprising, understanding these large-scale shifts in mental health and behaviors is critical in disrupting the negative consequences to mental health during the ongoing pandemic. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8yt4x

scholarly journals Mental Health and Behavior of College Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Mobile Smartphone and Ecological Momentary Assessment Study - Part II

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dante ◽  
Alex DaSilva ◽  
Courtney Rogers ◽  
Elin L. Hedlund ◽  
Eilis I. Murphy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sedentary Time ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Health Changes ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Mobile Smartphone

Background:Since late 2019, the lives of people across the globe have been disrupted by COVID-19. Millions of people have become infected; billions have been continually asked or required by local and national governments to change their behavioral patterns. Previous research on the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that it is associated with large-scale behavioral and mental health changes, but few studies have been able to track these changes with frequent, near real-time sampling or compare these changes to previous years of data for the same individuals.Objectives:By combining mobile phone sensing and self-reported mental health data in a cohort of college-aged students enrolled in a longitudinal study, we seek to understand the behavioral and mental health impacts associated with the pandemic, measured by search term interest in "coronavirus" and "covid fatigue" across the United States.Methods:Behaviors such as the number of locations visited, distance traveled, duration of phone usage, number of phone unlocks, sleep duration, and sedentary time were measured using the StudentLife mobile smartphone sensing app. Depression and anxiety were assessed using weekly self-reported Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs), including the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Participants were 217 undergraduate students. Differences in behaviors and self-reported mental health collected during the Spring 2020 term, as compared to previous terms in the same cohort, were modeled using mixed linear models.Results:Linear mixed models observed differences in phone usage, sleep, sedentary time and the number of locations visited associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In further models, these behaviors were strongly associated with increased interest in covid fatigue. When mental health metrics (e.g., depression and anxiety) were added to the previous measures (week of term, number of locations visited, phone usage, sedentary time), both anxiety and depression (_P_&lt;.001) were significantly associated with interest in covid fatigue. Notably, these behavioral and mental health changes are consistent with those observed around the initial implementation of COVID-19 lockdowns in the spring of 2020 [@Huckins2020]. Conclusions:In the initial lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, people spent more time on their phones, were more sedentary, visited fewer locations, and exhibited increased symptoms of anxiety and depression. As the pandemic persisted through the spring, people continued to exhibit very similar changes in both mental health and behaviors. Though unsurprising, understanding these large-scale shifts in mental health and behaviors is critical in disrupting the negative consequences to mental health during the ongoing pandemic.

scholarly journals Mental Health and Behavior During the Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Mobile Smartphone and Ecological Momentary Assessment Study in College Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy F Huckins ◽  
alex dasilva ◽  
weichen wang ◽  
Elin L. Hedlund ◽  
Courtney Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Health Changes ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Mobile Smartphone ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundWorldwide, the vast majority of people have been impacted by COVID-19. While millions of individuals have become infected, billions of individuals have been asked or required by local and national governments to change their behavioral patterns. Previous research on epidemics or traumatic events suggest this can lead to profound behavioral and mental health changes, but rarely are researchers able to track these changes with frequent, near real-time sampling or compare these to previous years of data on the same individuals.ObjectivesWe seek to answer two overarching questions by combining mobile phone sensing and self-reported mental health data among college students participating in a longitudinal study for the past two years. First, have behaviors and mental health changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to previous time periods within the same participants? Second, did behavior and mental health changes track the relative news coverage of COVID-19 in the US media?MethodsBehaviors were measured using the StudentLife mobile smartphone sensing app. Depression and anxiety were assessed using weekly self-reported Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs). Differences in behaviors and self-reported mental health collected during the Winter 2020 term (the term in which the coronavirus pandemic started), as compared to prevous terms in the same cohort, were modeled using mixed linear models.ResultsDuring the initial COVID-19 impacted academic term (Winter 2020), individuals were more sedentary and reported increased anxiety and depression symptoms (P&lt;.001), relative to the previous academic terms and subsequent academic breaks. Interactions between the Winter 2020 term and week of academic term (linear and quadratic) were significant. In a mixed linear model, phone usage, number of locations visited, and week of the term, were strongly associated with increased coronavirus-related news. When mental health metrics (e.g., depression and anxiety) were added to the previous measures (week of term, number of locations visited, and phone usage), both anxiety (P&lt;.001) and depression (P&lt;.05) were significantly associated with coronavirus-related news.ConclusionsCompared with prior academic terms, individuals in Winter 2020 were more sedentary, anxious, and depressed. A wide variety of behaviors, including increased phone usage, decreased physical activity, and fewer locations visited, are associated with fluctuations in COVID-19 news reporting. While this large-scale shift in mental health and behavior is unsurprising, its characterization is particularly important to help guide the development of methods that could reduce the impact of future catastrophic events on the mental health of the population.

scholarly journals Mental Health and Behavior During the Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Mobile Smartphone and Ecological Momentary Assessment Study in College Students (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy F Huckins ◽  
Alex W DaSilva ◽  
Weichen Wang ◽  
Elin Hedlund ◽  
Courtney Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Health Changes ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Mobile Smartphone ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Worldwide, the vast majority of people have been impacted by COVID-19. While millions of individuals have become infected, billions of individuals have been asked or required by local and national governments to change their behavioral patterns. Previous research on epidemics or traumatic events suggest this can lead to profound behavioral and mental health changes, but rarely are researchers able to track these changes with frequent, near real-time sampling or compare these to previous years of data on the same individuals. OBJECTIVE We seek to answer two overarching questions by combining mobile phone sensing and self-reported mental health data among college students participating in a longitudinal study for the past two years. First, have behaviors and mental health changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to previous time periods within the same participants? Second, did behavior and mental health changes track the relative news coverage of COVID-19 in the US media? METHODS Behaviors such as the number of locations visited, distance traveled, duration of phone usage, number of phone unlocks, sleep duration and sedentary time were measured using the StudentLife mobile smartphone sensing app. Depression and anxiety were assessed using weekly self-reported Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Participants were 217 undergraduate students, with 178 students having data during the Winter 2020 term. Differences in behaviors and self-reported mental health collected during the Winter 2020 term (the term in which the coronavirus pandemic started), as compared to previous terms in the same cohort, were modeled using mixed linear models. RESULTS During the initial COVID-19 impacted academic term (Winter 2020), individuals were more sedentary and reported increased anxiety and depression symptoms (P<.001), relative to the previous academic terms and subsequent academic breaks. Interactions between the Winter 2020 term and week of academic term (linear and quadratic) were significant. In a mixed linear model, phone usage, number of locations visited, and week of the term, were strongly associated with increased coronavirus-related news. When mental health metrics (e.g., depression and anxiety) were added to the previous measures (week of term, number of locations visited, and phone usage), both anxiety (P<.001) and depression (P=.029) were significantly associated with coronavirus-related news. CONCLUSIONS Compared with prior academic terms, individuals in Winter 2020 were more sedentary, anxious, and depressed. A wide variety of behaviors, including increased phone usage, decreased physical activity, and fewer locations visited, are associated with fluctuations in COVID-19 news reporting. While this large-scale shift in mental health and behavior is unsurprising, its characterization is particularly important to help guide the development of methods that could reduce the impact of future catastrophic events on the mental health of the population. CLINICALTRIAL

StayWell at Home: A Text Messaging Intervention to Counteract Depression and Anxiety during COVID-19 Social Distancing (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Aguilera ◽  
Rosa Hernandez-Ramos ◽  
Alein Yaritza Haro ◽  
Claire Elizabeth Boone ◽  
Tiffany Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
The United States ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
At Home

BACKGROUND Social distancing and stay-at-home orders are critical interventions to slow down person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. While these societal changes help to contain the pandemic, they also have unintended negative consequences, including anxiety and depression. We developed StayWell, a daily skills-based SMS text messaging program, to mitigate COVID-19 related depression and anxiety symptoms among people who speak English and Spanish in the United States. OBJECTIVE This paper describes the changes in the anxiety and depression levels of participants in the StayWell program after 60 days of exposure to skills-based SMS text messages. METHODS We used self-administered, empirically supported web-based questionnaires to assess the demographic and clinical characteristics of StayWell participants. Anxiety and depression were measured using the 2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2) scale and the 8-item Patient Health Quesstionanire-8 (PHQ-8) scale at baseline and 60-day timepoints. We used paired t-tests to detect the change in PHQ-8 and GAD-2 scores from baseline to follow-up measured 60 days later. RESULTS The analytic sample includes 193 participants who completed both the baseline and 60-day exit questionnaires. At the 60-day time point, there were statistically significant reductions in both PHQ-8 and GAD-2 scores from baseline. We found an average reduction of -1.72 (95% CI: -2.35, -1.09) in PHQ-8 scores and -0.48 (95% CI: -0.71, -0.25) in GAD-2 scores. This translated to an 18.5% and 17.2% reduction in mean PHQ-8 scores and GAD-2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS StayWell is a low-intensity, cost-effective, and accessible population-level mental health intervention. Participation in StayWell focused on COVID-19 mental health coping skills and was related to improved depression and anxiety symptoms. In addition to improvements in outcomes, we found high levels of engagement during the 60-day intervention period. Text messaging interventions could serve as an important public health tool for disseminating strategies to manage mental health. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04473599 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/23592

scholarly journals Causal Factors of Anxiety and Depression in College Students: Longitudinal Ecological Momentary Assessment and Causal Analysis Using Peter and Clark Momentary Conditional Independence (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy F Huckins ◽  
Alex W DaSilva ◽  
Elin L Hedlund ◽  
Eilis I Murphy ◽  
Courtney Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
First Year ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
First Year College ◽  
First Year College Students ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Mental Health Factors

BACKGROUND Across college campuses, the prevalence of clinically relevant depression or anxiety is affecting more than 27% of the college population at some point between entry to college and graduation. Stress and self-esteem have both been hypothesized to contribute to depression and anxiety levels. Although contemporaneous relationships between these variables have been well-defined, the causal relationship between these mental health factors is not well understood, as frequent sampling can be invasive, and many of the current causal techniques are not well suited to investigate correlated variables. OBJECTIVE This study aims to characterize the causal and contemporaneous networks between these critical mental health factors in a cohort of first-year college students and then determine if observed results replicate in a second, distinct cohort. METHODS Ecological momentary assessments of depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem were obtained weekly from two cohorts of first-year college students for 40 weeks (1 academic year). We used the Peter and Clark Momentary Conditional Independence algorithm to identify the contemporaneous (t) and causal (t-1) network structures between these mental health metrics. RESULTS All reported results are significant at <i>P</i>&lt;.001 unless otherwise stated. Depression was causally influenced by self-esteem (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, cohort 1 [C1]=–0.082, cohort 2 [C2]=–0.095) and itself (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=0.388, C2=0.382) in both cohorts. Anxiety was causally influenced by stress (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=0.095, C2=0.104), self-esteem (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=–0.067, C2=–0.064, <i>P</i>=.002), and itself (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, of C1=0.293, C2=0.339) in both cohorts. A causal link between anxiety and depression was observed in the first cohort (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=0.109) and only observed in the second cohort with a more liberal threshold (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C2=0.044, <i>P</i>=.03). Self-esteem was only causally influenced by itself (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=0.389, C2=0.393). Stress was only causally influenced by itself (<i>t</i>-1 <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=0.248, C2=0.273). Anxiety had positive contemporaneous links to depression (<i>t </i> <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=0.462, C2=0.444) and stress (<i>t </i> <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=0.354, C2=0.358). Self-esteem had negative contemporaneous links to each of the other three mental health metrics, with the strongest negative relationship being stress (<i>t </i> <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=–0.334, C2=–0.340), followed by depression (<i>t </i> <i>r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=–0.302, C2=–0.274) and anxiety (<i>t </i> <i> r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=–0.256, C2=–0.208). Depression had positive contemporaneous links to anxiety (previously mentioned) and stress (<i>t </i> <i> r</i><sub>p</sub>, C1=0.250, C2=0.231). CONCLUSIONS This paper is an initial attempt to describe the contemporaneous and causal relationships among these four mental health metrics in college students. We replicated previous research identifying concurrent relationships between these variables and extended them by identifying causal links among these metrics. These results provide support for the vulnerability model of depression and anxiety. Understanding how causal factors impact the evolution of these mental states over time may provide key information for targeted treatment or, perhaps more importantly, preventative interventions for individuals at risk for depression and anxiety.

scholarly journals Age Differences in COVID-19 Risk Perceptions and Mental Health: Evidence From a National U.S. Survey Conducted in March 2020

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wändi Bruine de Bruin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Depression Diagnosis ◽  
Adult Age

Abstract Objectives Theories of aging posit that older adult age is associated with less negative emotions, but few studies have examined age differences at times of novel challenges. As COVID-19 spread in the United States, this study therefore aimed to examine age differences in risk perceptions, anxiety, and depression. Method In March 2020, a nationally representative address-based sample of 6,666 U.S. adults assessed their perceived risk of getting COVID-19, dying if getting it, getting quarantined, losing their job (if currently working), and running out of money. They completed a mental health assessment for anxiety and depression. Demographic variables and precrisis depression diagnosis had previously been reported. Results In regression analyses controlling for demographic variables and survey date, older adult age was associated with perceiving larger risks of dying if getting COVID-19, but with perceiving less risk of getting COVID-19, getting quarantined, or running out of money, as well as less depression and anxiety. Findings held after additionally controlling for precrisis reports of depression diagnosis. Discussion With the exception of perceived infection-fatality risk, U.S. adults who were relatively older appeared to have a more optimistic outlook and better mental health during the early stages of the pandemic. Interventions may be needed to help people of all ages maintain realistic perceptions of the risks, while also managing depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis. Implications for risk communication and mental health interventions are discussed.

scholarly journals Causal Factors of Anxiety and Depression in College Students: Longitudinal Ecological Momentary Assessment and Causal Analysis Using Peter and Clark Momentary Conditional Independence

10.2196/16684 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. e16684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy F Huckins ◽  
Alex W DaSilva ◽  
Elin L Hedlund ◽  
Eilis I Murphy ◽  
Courtney Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
First Year ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
First Year College ◽  
First Year College Students ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Mental Health Factors

Background Across college campuses, the prevalence of clinically relevant depression or anxiety is affecting more than 27% of the college population at some point between entry to college and graduation. Stress and self-esteem have both been hypothesized to contribute to depression and anxiety levels. Although contemporaneous relationships between these variables have been well-defined, the causal relationship between these mental health factors is not well understood, as frequent sampling can be invasive, and many of the current causal techniques are not well suited to investigate correlated variables. Objective This study aims to characterize the causal and contemporaneous networks between these critical mental health factors in a cohort of first-year college students and then determine if observed results replicate in a second, distinct cohort. Methods Ecological momentary assessments of depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem were obtained weekly from two cohorts of first-year college students for 40 weeks (1 academic year). We used the Peter and Clark Momentary Conditional Independence algorithm to identify the contemporaneous (t) and causal (t-1) network structures between these mental health metrics. Results All reported results are significant at P<.001 unless otherwise stated. Depression was causally influenced by self-esteem (t-1 rp, cohort 1 [C1]=–0.082, cohort 2 [C2]=–0.095) and itself (t-1 rp, C1=0.388, C2=0.382) in both cohorts. Anxiety was causally influenced by stress (t-1 rp, C1=0.095, C2=0.104), self-esteem (t-1 rp, C1=–0.067, C2=–0.064, P=.002), and itself (t-1 rp, of C1=0.293, C2=0.339) in both cohorts. A causal link between anxiety and depression was observed in the first cohort (t-1 rp, C1=0.109) and only observed in the second cohort with a more liberal threshold (t-1 rp, C2=0.044, P=.03). Self-esteem was only causally influenced by itself (t-1 rp, C1=0.389, C2=0.393). Stress was only causally influenced by itself (t-1 rp, C1=0.248, C2=0.273). Anxiety had positive contemporaneous links to depression (t rp, C1=0.462, C2=0.444) and stress (t rp, C1=0.354, C2=0.358). Self-esteem had negative contemporaneous links to each of the other three mental health metrics, with the strongest negative relationship being stress (t rp, C1=–0.334, C2=–0.340), followed by depression (t rp, C1=–0.302, C2=–0.274) and anxiety (t rp, C1=–0.256, C2=–0.208). Depression had positive contemporaneous links to anxiety (previously mentioned) and stress (t rp, C1=0.250, C2=0.231). Conclusions This paper is an initial attempt to describe the contemporaneous and causal relationships among these four mental health metrics in college students. We replicated previous research identifying concurrent relationships between these variables and extended them by identifying causal links among these metrics. These results provide support for the vulnerability model of depression and anxiety. Understanding how causal factors impact the evolution of these mental states over time may provide key information for targeted treatment or, perhaps more importantly, preventative interventions for individuals at risk for depression and anxiety.

scholarly journals Digital phenotyping of complex psychological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hull ◽  
Jacob Levine ◽  
Niels Bantilan ◽  
Angel Desai ◽  
Maimuna S. Majumder
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Depression Symptom ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Psychological Reactions ◽  
Symptom Scores

Background: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has negatively impacted mortality, economic conditions, and mental health. A large scale study on psychological reactions to the pandemic to inform ongoing population-level symptom tracking and response to treatment is currently lacking.Methods: Average intake scores for standard depression and anxiety symptom scales were tracked from January 1, 2017 to June 9, 2020 for patients seeking treatment from a digital mental health service to gauge the relationship between COVID-19 and self-reported symptoms. We applied natural language processing (NLP) to unstructured therapy transcript data from patients seeking treatment during the height of the pandemic in the United States between March 1, 2020 and June 9, 2020 to identify words associated with COVID-19 mentions. This analysis was used to identify symptoms that were present beyond those assessed by standard depression and anxiety measures.Results: Depression and anxiety symptoms reported by 169,889 patients between January 1, 2017 and June 9, 2020 were identified. There was no detectable change in intake depression symptom scores. Intake anxiety symptom scores increased 1.42 scale points [95% CI: 1.18, 1.65] between March 15, 2020 and April 1, 2020, when scores peaked. In the transcript data of these 169,889 patients, plus an expanded sample of 49,267 patients without symptom reports, term frequency-inverse document frequency (tf-idf) identified 2,377 positively correlated and 661negatively correlated terms that were significantly (FDR&lt;.01) associated with mentions of the virus. These terms were classifiable into 24 symptoms beyond those included in the diagnostic criteria for anxiety or depression.Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic may have increased intake anxiety symptoms for individuals seeking digital mental health treatment. NLP analyses suggest that standard symptom scales for depression and anxiety alone are inadequate to fully assess and track psychological reactions to the pandemic. Symptoms of grief, trauma, obsession-compulsion, agoraphobia, hypochondriasis, panic, and non- suicidal self-injury should be monitored as part of a new COVID-19 Syndrome category.

Falling Behind and Feeling Bad: Unmet Expectations and Mental Health during the Transition to Adulthood

2021 ◽  
pp. 215686932199189
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Culatta ◽  
Jody Clay-Warner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Original Sample ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Unmet Expectations

How do perceived expectations of what it means to be an adult affect mental health? We draw from life course and social psychological literature to argue that falling behind perceived expectations for reaching markers of adulthood is associated with depression and anxiety. We test predictions with data from an original sample of more than five hundred 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States. Consistent with predictions, we find a positive relationship between falling behind expectations and both anxiety and depression even while controlling for own expectations about the accomplishment of markers of adulthood. In particular, we find that falling behind perceived expectations of peers regarding markers of adulthood is associated with anxiety and that falling behind perceived expectations of parents and society regarding markers of adulthood is associated with depressive symptoms.

Childhood Material Hardship and Adolescent Mental Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 0044118X2110018
Author(s):  
Chrisse Edmunds ◽  
Melissa Alcaraz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Adolescent Depression ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Fragile Families ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Material Hardship ◽  
Critical Age ◽  
The Relationship

Adolescent mental health has implications for current and future wellbeing. While a link exists between poverty and mental health, little is known about how experiencing material hardship, such as insecurity of food, housing, utilities, and medical care, throughout early childhood affects adolescent mental health. We examine the relationship between material hardship in childhood and adolescent mental health. We use Poisson regression to examine the effect of material hardship experienced at different stages of childhood on adolescent depression and anxiety outcomes at age 15. We use longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( N = 3,222). We find that recently experiencing material hardship during childhood is positively and significantly associated with anxiety and depression symptoms at age 15, even when controlling for material hardship at age 15. Additionally, we find that insecurity during mid-childhood and the stress of lacking basic needs during a critical age may influence mental health in adolescence.

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