Increases in Stressors Prior to-Versus During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States Are Associated With Depression Among Middle-Aged Mothers

Abstract

Working parents in are struggling to balance the demands of their occupation with those of childcare and homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, studies show that women are shouldering more of the burden and reporting greater levels of psychological distress, anxiety, and depression relative to men. However, research has yet to show that increases in psychological symptoms are linked to changes in stress during the pandemic. Herein, we conduct a small-N study to explore the associations between stress and psychological symptoms during the pandemic among mothers using structural equation modeling, namely latent change score models. Thirty-three mothers completed questionnaires reporting current anxious and depressive symptoms (Beck Anxiety and Depression Index, respectively), as well as stressful life experiences prior to-versus during the pandemic (Social Readjustment Rating Scale). Women endorsed significantly more stressful events during the pandemic, relative to the pre-pandemic period. Additionally, 58% of mothers scored as moderate-to-high risk for developing a stress-related physical illness in the near future because of their pandemic-level stress. Depressive symptoms were associated with the degree of change in life stress, whereas anxiety symptoms were more related to pre-pandemic levels of stress. The present study preliminarily sheds light on the nuanced antecedents to mothers’ experiences of anxious and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although further work is needed in larger, more diverse samples of mothers, this study highlights the potential need for appropriate policies, and prevention and intervention programs to ameliorate the effects of pandemics on mothers’ mental health.

Increases in Circulating Cortisol during the COVID-19 Pandemic are Associated with Changes in Perceived Positive and Negative Affect among Adolescents

“…Major events like natural disasters and war are known to have both acute and chronic impacts on physiological stress responses, as well as perceived psychological distress and mental health (Miller et al, 2007 ; Stalder et al, 2017 ). For over a year now, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread across the world, killing over 5 million people, damaging economies, overburdening healthcare systems, and physically and psychologically harming individuals (Courtney et al, 2020 ; Taylor et al, 2021 ). The United States was hit particularly hard by the pandemic early on, harboring nearly 20% confirmed cases and 15% of global deaths ( https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/ ).…”

Parental stress and physical violence against children during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic: results of a population-based survey in Germany

“…These restrictions were effective to mitigate the spread of the virus [ 2 , 3 ], however also affect mental health and well-being. During the pandemic, a reduced quality of life [ 4 – 6 ], an increase in mental health problems [ 7 – 10 ], as well as higher levels of stress and distress [ 7 , 11 , 12 ] were shown. Taken together, research has broadly shown the various negative consequences of the COVID-pandemic, especially concerning mental health.…”

COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: Psychosocial and Health-Related Factors Associated with Psychological Discomfort

“…Psychological problems in patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, such as depression and anxiety disorders, are highly prevalent in adults and young people worldwide, regardless of cultural background [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. These findings have been shown even in the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak [ 11 ], and psychological discomfort seems to be present in different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Similar findings were found in Italy [ 19 ] and the Republic of Ireland [ 20 ]. However, it is during the periods of quarantine that individuals reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress [ 12 , 13 ].…”