The psychological burden of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures: Experience from 4000 participants

Burhamah, Waleed; Alkhayyat, Abdulaziz; Oroszlányová, Melinda; AlKenane, Ahmad; Almansouri, Abdulrahman; Behbehani, Mousa; Karimi, Naser; Jafar, Hana; Alsuwaidan, Mohammad

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.09.014

Cited by 100 publications

(147 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Most of the included studies showed that COVID-19-related emotional reactions such as worry, fear about contracting the virus and stress predicted mental health outcomes in young people such as depression, anxiety, OCD symptoms, somatic symptoms and intensified behaviour problems. This is generally consistent with evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on adult mental health [ 49 , 50 ], yet not surprising. It has been well established in the literature that children, and especially adolescents, are susceptible to experiencing mental health problems, while most mental disorders have their onset in this age period [ 51 , 52 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Nearchou

Flinn

Niland

et al. 2020

IJERPH

465

427

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The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely discussed during the past few months, with scholars expressing concern about its potential debilitating consequences on youth mental health. Hence, this research aimed to provide a systematic review of the evidence on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on youth mental health. We conducted a mixed methods integrated review to identify any empirical study that focused on young people ≤ 18 years old. Eight databases were systematically searched to identify studies of any type of research design. The selection procedure followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The protocol of this systematic review was registered with PROSPERO (protocol ID: CRD4202019375). Twelve studies deemed eligible for data extraction (n = 12,262). The findings show that COVID-19 has an impact on youth mental health and is particularly associated with depression and anxiety in adolescent cohorts. The quality appraisal indicated that all studies were of low or moderate methodological quality. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting young people’s lives, and thus generating robust research evidence to inform policy decisions is essential. Hence, the methodological quality of future research should be drastically improved.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Nearchou

Flinn

Niland

et al. 2020

IJERPH

465

427

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Increased screen use behaviors may further be problematic, as subgroups of especially vulnerable individuals may be at risk of developing chronic and excessive usage patterns. Previous research showed that such behaviors relate to poorer psychological and physical well-being ( 3 , 15 , 24 , 25 ). Additionally, these behaviors may become addictive over time, so that several researchers argued that addiction-related disorders need special attention during the COVID-19 pandemic ( 38 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such excessive screen use behaviors can be associated with negative effects on psychological well-being during COVID-19-related confinements: students were negatively affected in their sleep quality, sleep duration, physical well-being, and mental health by excessive screen time ( 15 ); increased social media use was associated with a greater tendency to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety ( 24 ); finally, more time consuming news led to higher levels of anxiety and stress ( 3 , 25 ). Moreover, individuals during adolescence and young adulthood may be especially vulnerable to develop excessive, impulsive–compulsive screen use behaviors corresponding to the concept of “behavioral addiction” ( 11 , 26 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased Screen Use on Days With Increased Perceived COVID-19-Related Confinements—A Day Level Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

Arend

Blechert

Pannicke

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Introduction: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) quickly evolved into a global pandemic in early 2020, and most countries enforced social confinements to reduce transmission. This seems to dovetail with increasing, potentially problematic, screen use habits, such as gaming and “binge-watching.” Yet, the subjective experience of the common confinements may vary not only between individuals depending on age, sex, and living conditions (i.e., living alone) but also within individuals from day to day: confinements might interfere with habitual activity schedules more strongly on some days than on others. Such dynamic confinement experience has not been studied in relation to screen use yet but might guide targeted intervention.Method: In total, 102 participants (n = 83 female, n = 80 university students) completed 14 days of ecological momentary assessment during a COVID-19-related lockdown in Germany and Austria. Each evening, they indicated the extent to which they felt restricted by confinements in their social and work lives and whether they engaged in unusually high and intense levels of television watching, social media use, news consumption, internet surfing, and gaming. They also reported on how much they experienced their day to be structured.Results: Experienced work confinements were positively associated with social media usage. Further, work confinements were positively associated with gaming in males and with news consumption, especially in individuals living alone. Social confinements were positively associated with watching television especially in younger participants and with social media consumption in younger participants. Higher experienced day structure was related to less television watching, gaming, and internet surfing but more news consumption.Discussion: Screen use behaviors increased with higher confinements within person, dependent on sex, age, and living situation. Such knowledge allows tailoring on the person level (who should be addressed?) and the time level (when should interventions be scheduled?) as the negative consequences of excessive screen use behaviors on mental and physical health are well-documented. One potential low-threshold intervention might be day-structuring.

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“…Given the emotional strain during the pandemic, there is increasing concern about its impact on mental health ( Burhamah et al 2020 ; Planchuelo-Gómez et al, 2020 ). A national survey in China at the initial stage of COVID-19 outbreak indicated that 27.9% of participants had symptoms of depression, and 31.6% had symptoms of anxiety ( Shi et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of risk perception of COVID-19 with emotion and mental health during the pandemic

Han

Zheng

Agostini

et al. 2021

Journal of Affective Disorders

130

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The psychological burden of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures: Experience from 4000 participants

Cited by 100 publications

References 30 publications

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Increased Screen Use on Days With Increased Perceived COVID-19-Related Confinements—A Day Level Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

Associations of risk perception of COVID-19 with emotion and mental health during the pandemic

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