Association among income loss, financial strain and depressive symptoms during COVID-19: Evidence from two longitudinal studies

Abstract

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has major ramifications for global health and the economy, with growing concerns about economic recession and implications for mental health. Here we investigated the associations between COVID-19 pandemic-related income loss with financial strain and mental health trajectories over a 1-month course.Methods. Two independent studies were conducted in the U.S and in Israel at the beginning of the outbreak (March-April 2020, T1; N = 4 171) and at a 1-month follow-up (T2; N = 1 559). Mixedeffects models were applied to assess associations among COVID-19-related income loss, financial strain, and pandemic-related worries about health, with anxiety and depression, controlling for multiple covariates including pre-COVID-19 income.Findings. In both studies, income loss and financial strain were associated with greater depressive symptoms at T1, above and beyond T1 anxiety, worries about health, and pre-COVID-19 income.Worsening of income loss was associated with exacerbation of depression at T2 in both studies.Worsening of subjective financial strain was associated with exacerbation of depression at T2 in one study (US).Interpretation. Income loss and financial strain were uniquely associated with depressive symptoms and the exacerbation of symptoms over time, above and beyond pandemic-related anxiety.Considering the painful dilemma of lockdown versus reopening, with the tradeoff between public health and economic wellbeing, our findings provide evidence that the economic impact of COVID-19 has negative implications for mental health.

Left alone outside: A prospective observational cohort study on mental health outcomes among relatives of COVID-19 hospitalized patients

“…Pandemic-related stress factors (PRSF) were assessed using a designated inventory that was previously used during the H1N1 pandemic in Japan ( Imai et al, 2010 ) and translated into Hebrew in the context of the current Coronavirus pandemic in Israel ( Dorman-Ilan et al, 2020 ; Hertz-Palmor et al, 2021 ; Matalon et al, 2021 ; Mosheva et al, 2021 , 2020 ). The inventory includes items inquiring about worries regarding contagion, finance, and fatigue, feelings of protection by the authorities, feelings of being informed on the virus, and feelings of social isolation.…”

“…The predictors in each model were sociodemographic factors and PRSF. These predictors were chosen for the models based on previous findings among relatives of COVID-19 patients ( Dorman-Ilan et al, 2020 ) and the general population ( Hertz-Palmor et al, 2021 ). Sociodemographic factors included age, sex, and being ultra-orthodox, a population which was enriched in the analytic sample due to its high COVID-19 morbidity rates in Israel ( Jeffay, 2020 ).…”

Family Functioning in the Time of COVID-19 Among Economically Vulnerable Families: Risks and Protective Factors

“…These economic (e.g., job loss, inability to pay one's bills) and social sources of stress (e.g., disruption in child care, being exposed to the virus) have the potential to be long-lasting with effects reverberating throughout individuals' lives. Research to date on the associations between the stress caused by this pandemic and families' wellbeing has mostly documented economic and health impacts (Brown et al, 2020;Fontanesi et al, 2020;Lawson et al, 2020;Hertz-Palmor et al, 2021). Because the pandemic is still evolving, the science to understand the pandemic's effects on family functioning, including parenting and mental health, is also unfolding in real time.…”

Who Is Suffering from the “Corona Blues”? An Analysis of the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Depression and Its Implications for Health Policy

“…Financial crises are highly likely to lead to an increase in depression. Empirical studies show that a decrease in income or financial pressure [ 52 ] or a loss of income due to COVID-19 [ 33 ] are significantly associated with depressive symptoms. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals’ financial situations deteriorate over time.…”