Factors Associated With Psychological Disturbances During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multicountry Online Study

Martyna Plomecka; Susanna Gobbi; Rachael Neckels; Piotr Radzinski; Beata Skorko; Samuel Lazzeri; Kristina Almazidou; Alisa Dedic; Asja Bakalovic; Lejla Hrustic; Zainab Ashraf; Sarvin Es Haghi; Luis Rodriguez-Pino; Verena Waller; Hafsa Jabeen; A Beyza Alp; Mehdi Behnam; Dana Shibli; Zofia Baranczuk-Turska; Zeeshan Haq; Salah Qureshi; Adriana M Strutt; Ali Jawaid

doi:10.2196/28736

Factors Associated With Psychological Disturbances During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multicountry Online Study

JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Aug 19;8(8):e28736. doi: 10.2196/28736.

Authors

Martyna Plomecka^#¹, Susanna Gobbi^#², Rachael Neckels³, Piotr Radzinski⁴, Beata Skorko⁵, Samuel Lazzeri⁶, Kristina Almazidou⁷, Alisa Dedic⁸, Asja Bakalovic⁸, Lejla Hrustic⁸, Zainab Ashraf⁹, Sarvin Es Haghi¹⁰, Luis Rodriguez-Pino¹¹, Verena Waller¹², Hafsa Jabeen¹³, A Beyza Alp¹⁴, Mehdi Behnam¹, Dana Shibli¹⁵, Zofia Baranczuk-Turska¹⁶, Zeeshan Haq¹⁷, Salah Qureshi¹⁷, Adriana M Strutt¹⁸, Ali Jawaid¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
² Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
³ Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, United States.
⁴ Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
⁵ Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
⁶ Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
⁷ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
⁸ Faculty of Medicine, University of Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
⁹ Faculty of Arts, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
¹¹ Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
¹² Laboratory for Applied Radiobiology, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
¹³ Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
¹⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Maltepe University, Istanbul, Turkey.
¹⁵ Faculty of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
¹⁶ Institute of Mathematics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
¹⁷ Texas Behavioral Health, Houston, TX, United States.
¹⁸ Baylor Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States.
¹⁹ Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 34254939
PMCID: PMC8396308
DOI: 10.2196/28736

Abstract

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of individuals. However, the susceptibility of individuals to be impacted by the pandemic is variable, suggesting potential influences of specific factors related to participants' demographics, attitudes, and practices.

Objective: We aimed to identify the factors associated with psychological symptoms related to the effects of the first wave of the pandemic in a multicountry cohort of internet users.

Methods: This study anonymously screened 13,332 internet users worldwide for acute psychological symptoms related to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 29 to April 14, 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic amidst strict lockdown conditions. A total of 12,817 responses were considered valid. Moreover, 1077 participants from Europe were screened a second time from May 15 to May 30, 2020, to ascertain the presence of psychological effects after the ease down of restrictions.

Results: Female gender, pre-existing psychiatric conditions, and prior exposure to trauma were identified as notable factors associated with increased psychological symptoms during the first wave of COVID-19 (P<.001). The same factors, in addition to being related to someone who died due to COVID-19 and using social media more than usual, were associated with persistence of psychological disturbances in the limited second assessment of European participants after the restrictions had relatively eased (P<.001). Optimism, ability to share concerns with family and friends like usual, positive prediction about COVID-19, and daily exercise were related to fewer psychological symptoms in both assessments (P<.001).

Conclusions: This study highlights the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at the worldwide level on the mental health of internet users and elucidates prominent associations with their demographics, history of psychiatric disease risk factors, household conditions, certain personality traits, and attitudes toward COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; depression; general psychological disturbance; global; mental health; pandemic; posttraumatic stress disorder.

©Martyna Plomecka, Susanna Gobbi, Rachael Neckels, Piotr Radzinski, Beata Skorko, Samuel Lazzeri, Kristina Almazidou, Alisa Dedic, Asja Bakalovic, Lejla Hrustic, Zainab Ashraf, Sarvin Es Haghi, Luis Rodriguez-Pino, Verena Waller, Hafsa Jabeen, A Beyza Alp, Mehdi Behnam, Dana Shibli, Zofia Baranczuk-Turska, Ali Jawaid, Salah Qureshi, Adriana M Strutt, Ali Jawaid. Originally published in JMIR Mental Health (https://mental.jmir.org), 19.08.2021.