Perinatal Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence for Heightened Distress in Pregnant Women Highlights the Need for Novel Interventions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa Rae Morris ◽  
Dorian Traube ◽  
Ashwini Lakshmanan ◽  
Amy West ◽  
Darby Saxbe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Perinatal Mental Health ◽  
Interpersonal Therapy ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Perinatal Women

This manuscript reports on a sample of 641 pregnant women surveyed in spring 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when social distancing was at its peak in the United States. Expectant mothers described elevated psychological distress, perceived stress, loneliness, and many behavioral changes. More than half of the women in the sample endorsed depressive symptoms above clinical threshold and two-thirds reported clinically significant anxiety, with average scores for depression, anxiety, and stress more than a standard deviation higher than those measured pre-pandemic. Given this early evidence for heightened distress, treatment options that can be targeted to support perinatal women and comply with social distancing guidelines are needed. The final sections of this paper highlight the promising role of telehealth modalities and discuss specific interventions, such as Interpersonal Therapy, that may be particularly useful in treating perinatal women in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Significance: The COVID-19 pandemic has had sweeping effects on perinatal mental health, which in turn has wide-ranging impacts for maternal, child, and family well-being. This paper describes treatment approaches that may ameliorate the pandemic’s impact.

scholarly journals Mental Health and Prenatal Bonding in Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence for Heightened Risk Compared With a Prepandemic Sample

2021 ◽  
pp. 216770262110494
Author(s):  
Alyssa R. Morris ◽  
Darby E. Saxbe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Prenatal Bonding ◽  
First Time Mothers ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
First Time

We compared 572 pregnant women (319 first-time mothers) surveyed in spring 2020, during the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns in the United States, with 99 pregnant women (all first-time mothers) surveyed before the pandemic (2014–2020). Compared with the prepandemic sample, women assessed during the pandemic showed elevated depression, anxiety, and stress and weaker prenatal bonding to their infants. These findings remained significant when restricting the pandemic sample to first-time mothers only and held after controlling for race/ethnicity, education, and pregnancy stage. Average levels of depression and anxiety within the pandemic group exceeded clinically significant thresholds, and women who estimated that the pandemic had more negatively affected their social relationships reported higher distress. However, pandemic-related changes to social contact outside the household were inconsistently associated with mental health and with some positive outcomes (fewer depressive symptoms, stronger prenatal bonding). Given that prenatal stress may compromise maternal and child well-being, the pandemic may have long-term implications for population health.

scholarly journals Psychological Distress Among the U.S. General Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christi J. Guerrini ◽  
Sophie C. Schneider ◽  
Andrew G. Guzick ◽  
Gifty N. Amos Nwankwo ◽  
Isabel Canfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Amazon's Mechanical Turk

The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a significant global toll on emotional well-being, but evidence of mental health impacts in the United States remains limited. In April 2020, we conducted an exploratory survey of U.S. residents to understand prevalence of and factors associated with psychological distress during the pandemic. Data collection was conducted using Qualtrics, an online survey platform, and U.S. adult respondents were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform. Among 1,366 respondents, 42% (n = 571) reported clinically significant anxiety and 38% (n = 519) reported clinically significant depression. Factors associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms included Hispanic/Latino ethnicity; younger age; lower income; employment as or living with a health care worker-first responder; caregiver status; SARS-CoV-2 infection status; decreased frequency of engagement in healthy behaviors; and changed frequency of engagement in unhealthy behaviors. That some of these factors are associated with elevated distress during the pandemic is not yet widely appreciated and might be useful in informing management of mental health care resources.

scholarly journals Contribution of researchers in the Arab region to peer-reviewed literature on mental health and well-being of university students

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Waleed M. Sweileh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Search Query ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Arab Region ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Objective The current study aimed at investigating the contribution of researchers in the Arab region to the field of mental health and well-being of university students using bibliometric tools. Method Relevant literature was obtained from the Scopus database for the period from 2001–2020. Examples of keywords used in the query included “college student”, “university student”, and undergraduate student” combined with keywords such as wellbeing, wellness, suicide, and anxiety. No language restriction was used. Only research articles were considered. The search query was validated. Bibliometric indicators and mappings such as active countries, institutions, authors, highly cited documents, and the most frequently encountered topics were identified and discussed to shed light on research gaps in the Arab region. Research gaps were also identified. The analysis was carried out on February 12, 2021. Results The search query returned 309 research articles published by authors from 17 different Arab countries. Less than one-third (n = 97, 31.4%) of the retrieved articles were carried out in collaboration with authors from 39 non-Arab countries, mainly from the United Kingdom and the United States. The overall contribution of researchers from the Arab region to global research in the field was 5.6%. In total, 1212 authors from 791 different institutions participated in publishing the retrieved research articles. At the country level, Saudi Arabia (n = 125, 40.5%) ranked first, followed by Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. At the institutional level, The University of Jordan (n = 25, 8.1%) ranked first, followed by King Saud University, and Kuwait University. The retrieved articles included 132 (42.7%) articles on stress/distress, 95 (30.7%) on anxiety, 61 (19.7%) on depression. Knowledge gaps on suicide, eating disorders, substance use, and happiness were identified. The retrieved articles appeared in 193 different journals and approximately two-thirds of the active journal were in general medicine, public health, and education. Conclusions The contribution of researchers in the Arab region to the field showed a noticeable increase with time. However, important research gaps were identified. The contribution was confined to authors from a limited number of Arab countries. Funding and international research collaboration for the mental health and well-being of students need to be strengthened.

scholarly journals A Faith to Move Mountains? Childhood Abuse, Religious Change, and Mental Health at Midlife

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 461-461
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Religious Importance ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Of all the various forms of adversity experienced during childhood, childhood maltreatment (emotional and physical abuse) is shown to have the largest impacts on mental health and well-being. Yet we still have a limited understanding of why some victims of early maltreatment suffer immense mental health consequences later on in the life course, while others are able to cushion the blow of these early insults. Using two waves of data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), this study considers change in religiosity as a buffer across three dimensions for victims of childhood abuse: religious importance, attendance, and the specific act of seeking comfort through religion. Results suggest that increases in religious comfort during adulthood are positively associated with adult mental health for victims of abuse, while decreases in religious comfort over time were associated with worse mental health. Changes in religious attendance and religious importance were not significant associated with mental health for victims of abuse. Taken together, my results show that the stress-moderating effects of religion for victims of childhood maltreatment are contingent on the stability or increases or decreases in religiosity over the life course, which has been overlooked in previous work.

Aspiring to Do All Things Through Him Who Strengthens? Quixotic Hope, Religiosity, and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood

2021 ◽  
pp. 215686932110085
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Educational Expectations ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
National Study ◽  
Health Consequences

Beliefs about the probability of educational success tend to be very optimistic in the United States. However, scholars are beginning to uncover mental health consequences associated with quixotic hope—the unrealistic outstripping of expectation by aspiration. Using longitudinal data from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Study of Youth and Religion, this study asks, (1) does religiosity promote or diminish the likelihood of quixotic hope? and (2) does religious attendance and closeness to God mitigate long-term mental health consequences of quixotic hope? Results show that weekly religious attendance had a modest negative relationship with the likelihood of experiencing quixotic hope, while increasing religious attendance over time attenuated the negative mental health consequences of quixotic hope on increases in depression. Closeness to God neither predicted quixotic hope nor played a moderating role for depression. As educational expectations rise, regular religious practice may help protect the emotional well-being of youth.

scholarly journals Military spouses with deployed partners are at greater risk of poor perinatal mental health: a scoping review

2019 ◽  
Vol 165 (5) ◽  
pp. 363-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Rose Godier-McBard ◽  
L Ibbitson ◽  
C Hooks ◽  
M Fossey
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Perinatal Period ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Military Spouses ◽  
Perinatal Mental Health

BackgroundPoor mental health in the perinatal period is associated with a number of adverse outcomes for the individual and the wider family. The unique circumstances in which military spouses/partners live may leave them particularly vulnerable to developing perinatal mental health (PMH) problems.MethodsA scoping review was carried out to review the literature pertaining to PMH in military spouses/partners using the methodology outlined by Arksey and O’Malley (2005). Databases searched included EBSCO, Gale Cengage Academic OneFile, ProQuest and SAGE.ResultsThirteen papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria, all from the USA, which looked a PMH or well-being in military spouses. There was a strong focus on spousal deployment as a risk factor for depressive symptoms and psychological stress during the perinatal period. Other risk factors included a lack of social/emotional support and increased family-related stressors. Interventions for pregnant military spouses included those that help them develop internal coping strategies and external social support.ConclusionsUS literature suggests that military spouses are particularly at risk of PMH problems during deployment of their serving partner and highlights the protective nature of social support during this time. Further consideration needs to be made to apply the findings to UK military spouses/partners due to differences in the structure and nature of the UK and US military and healthcare models. Further UK research is needed, which would provide military and healthcare providers with an understanding of the needs of this population allowing effective planning and strategies to be commissioned and implemented.

scholarly journals COVID-19 as a Stressor: Pandemic Expectations, Perceived Stress, and Negative Affect in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda R Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Stress And Coping ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
And Coping

Abstract Objectives The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic is appraised as a stressor influences perceived stress (PS) and psychological well-being during the event. Here, the association of older adults’ expectations concerning the pandemic’s duration and impact with PS and negative affect (NA) is investigated. Based on the stress and coping framework, PS is expected to mediate the association between COVID-19 expectations and NA. Methods Seven hundred fourteen residents of the United States and aged 60 and older completed an anonymous online survey in late March 2020 reporting PS, NA, and expectations regarding the pandemic. Results Regression analyses controlling for demographic factors revealed that more dire pandemic expectations significantly predicted PS and NA directly, and the effects on NA were significantly mediated by PS. Discussion Findings provide evidence that expectations about a pandemic influence the extent to which older adults experience stress and NA in the midst of a pandemic event. Implications for mental health are discussed.

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