Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stress and strain profiles in the German population

Clinical observations indicate that people frequently display stress-related behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although numerous studies have been published concerning pandemic-related psychological distress, systematic data on the interrelationships between stress sensitivity, personality, and behavioral characteristics of people are still lacking. In the present cross-sectional online survey study, we applied a German version of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) and standard psychological questionnaires to systematically identify the complex interplay between stress sensitivity, gender, and personality in the modulation of quality of life and mental health in the German population (N = 1774; age ≥ 16 years). A CSS-based cluster analysis revealed two clusters characterized by higher and lower stress levels. Study participants in each cluster differed significantly with respect to neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Females were significantly overrepresented in the higher stress cluster, while there was an overrepresentation of males in the lower stress cluster. Neuroticism was identified as a risk factor and extraversion as a protective factor for enhanced pandemic-related stress responses. For the first time our data show a taxonomy of factors, which modulate pandemic-related stress sensitivity and warrant consideration as key indicators of quality of life and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. We suggest that our data may advise governmental regulation of pandemic-related public health measures, to optimize quality of life and psychological health in different groups of the population.

Help Needs among Parents and Families in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in Germany

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by multiple disruptions in the everyday lives of families. Previous research has underlined the negative impact of the pandemic on stress among parents and identified factors related to heightened levels of stress. Yet, several potential stressors have not been taken into account. Moreover, little is known about how general and pandemic-related stressors impacted help-seeking intentions for personal or family problems.

METHODS

We recruited N = 602 parents and their children (n = 101) for a cross-sectional online survey on parent, child and family well-being, stress and help need after the first wave of COVID-19 infections in Germany. Data were analysed using multinomial regression analyses to predict family help need, taking into account pre-pandemic help-seeking.

RESULTS

Parents showed high levels of stress, which were associated with pre-pandemic mental health, family functioning, pandemic related worries about finances, household workload and health worries. While 76.2% of families reported no during-pandemic help need, 11.3% reported a help need before and during the pandemic and 12.5% of families without prior help needs reported a new help need during the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the present study underline the need for help service providers to adapt their offers.

PTSD Symptoms and Coping with COVID-19 Pandemic among Treatment-Seeking Veterans: Prospective Cohort Study

Background: The aim of this study was to examine post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom levels and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic among treatment-seeking veterans with pre-existing PTSD. Method: A cohort of 176 male treatment-seeking veterans with pre-existing PTSD during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown (T1) and 132 participants from the same cohort one year after the onset of the pandemic (T2) participated in a longitudinal study. All participants responded to a COVID-19-related questionnaire and the following measures: the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5), PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and the Brief COPE. Results: The intensity of overall PTSD symptoms, avoidance symptoms and negative alterations in cognitions and mood was lower at T2. PTSD symptoms were not significantly correlated with SARS-CoV-2 potentially traumatic events (PTE) at T2. Veterans scored higher on emotion-focused and problem-focused coping than on dysfunctional coping. Conclusions: Veterans with pre-existing PTSD who were receiving long-term treatment coped with COVID-19 stressors without the effects of retraumatization and a consequent worsening of PTSD symptoms.

The relationship between COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and meaning in life: testing the moderating effects of self-compassion and savoring

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The stress people experience in relation to a highly stressful event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can undermine their sense of meaning in life. This study examined the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and meaning in life and whether self-compassion and savoring positive emotional experience moderated this relationship.

METHODS

Participants (N = 498) completed measures of pandemic-related stress, dimensions of meaning in life (comprehension, purpose, mattering), self-compassion (self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness), and savoring (savoring through anticipation, savoring the moment, savoring through reminiscence).

RESULTS

Results of regression analyses showed that pandemic-related stress related to less meaning in life and that all dimensions of self-compassion and savoring (with the exception of savoring through reminiscence) related positively to a dimension of meaning in life. Only common humanity buffered the relationship between pandemic-related stress and a dimension of meaning in life (purpose) as expected. Unexpectedly, for people high on common humanity the relationship between pandemic-related stress and mattering was positive, and for people high on mindfulness, the relationship between pandemic-related stress and comprehension was negative.

CONCLUSIONS

Although cross-sectional, this study's findings suggest that promoting common humanity might be important for protecting purpose and enhancing one's sense of mattering during a pandemic.