Happy post COVID-19 lockdown? The impact of COVID-19 related distress, mood inertia and everyday loneliness on mental health during a post-lockdown phase (Preprint)
BACKGROUND The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 increased mental health problems. However, little is known about mental health problems during a low incidence phase without strict public health measures. OBJECTIVE We focused on a vulnerable population, who experienced at least mild COVID-19 related distress and loneliness. The goal was to investigate how COVID-19 related distress, COVID-19 case numbers, mood regulation and loneliness may affect mental health after a strict lockdown has ended. METHODS During a post-lockdown period in Germany (between 8. August 2020 and 01. November 2020), we conducted an ecological momentary assessment (EMA). To estimate moment-to moment and day-to-day negative mood inertia, we conducted a three-level autoregressive (AR) model. RESULTS We found that information exposure and active daily COVID-19 cases did not have an impact on negative mood amid a post-lockdown. However, we found a day-to-day carry over effect of negative mood. Moreover, worrying about COVID-19, feeling restricted by COVID-19, and feeling lonely increased negative mood. CONCLUSIONS Mental health of a vulnerable population is impacted by COVID-19 related stressors, even under a lenient lockdown. This study highlights the need to protect mental health during a post-pandemic phase.