The mental health impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic and exposure to other potentially traumatic events up to old age

Abstract

We investigated whether the impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) on trauma‐related symptoms changes across the transitional adult lifespan (i.e., 16–100 years old) and if this association differs for self‐reported COVID‐19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs. A web‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted among 7,034 participants from 88 countries between late April and October 2020. Participants completed the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a self‐report questionnaire assessing trauma‐related symptoms. Data were analyzed using linear and logistic regression analyses and general linear models. We found that older age was associated with lower GPS total symptom scores, B = −0.02, p < .001; this association remained significant but was substantially weaker for self‐reported COVID‐19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs, B = 0.02, p = .009. The results suggest an association between older age and lower ratings of trauma‐related symptoms on the GPS, indicating a blunted symptom presentation. This age‐related trend was smaller for self‐reported COVID‐19–related PTEs compared to other PTEs, reflecting the relatively higher impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on older adults.

Randomized trial on the effects of an EMDR intervention on traumatic and obsessive symptoms during the COVID-19 quarantine: a psychometric study

“…Furthermore, it has been reported that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to worsen pre-existing mental health conditions and may be involved in the emergence of new stress-related disorders for most people ( 9 ). The COVID-19 pandemic has been proposed to generate a higher and enduring proportion of traumatic symptoms than other potentially stressful events ( 10 , 11 ).…”

The integrative process promoted by EMDR in dissociative disorders: neurobiological mechanisms, psychometric tools, and intervention efficacy on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Moreover, Horesh and Brown ( 2020 ) concluded that COVID-19 should be viewed from the perspective of trauma because it will most certainly lead to stress-related mental health issues. In adults, COVID-19-related events have been shown to be associated with more severe trauma-related symptoms than other potentially traumatic events (Olff et al, 2021 ; Havermans et al, 2023 ). Structural dissociation of the personality (SDP) theory (Van Der Hart et al, 2004 ; van der Hart et al, 2006 ) and polyvagal theory (Porges, 2007 , 2022 ) may promote the conceptualization of COVID-19 pandemic-triggered dissociative disorders within a psychophysiological and neurophysiological framework.…”