Background: Most COVID-19-related mental health research focused on average levels of mental health parameters in the general population. However, considering heterogeneous groups and their long-term responses could deepen our understanding of mental health during community crises. This four-wave study aimed to (1) identify subgroups with different trajectories of depressive and anxiety symptoms in the German general population, and (2) investigate associated risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz
August 2023
The impact of traumatic experiences on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic has been insufficiently discussed in the German-speaking countries. Against this background, a working group of scientifically and clinically active colleagues was formed on behalf of the German-Speaking Society for Psychotraumatology (DeGPT). The aim of the working group was to summarize central research findings on the incidence of domestic violence and associated psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in German-speaking countries and to discuss their implications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: During the COVID-19 pandemic, female gender was a robust factor associated with mental health problems. This study aimed to investigate associations between pandemic-related risk factors, stressors, and clinical symptoms, with special reference to gender and possible differential gender effects.
Methods: Participants were recruited from June to September 2020 through an online survey (ESTSS ADJUST study).
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a high burden in the general population. The exposure to an accumulation of risk factors, as opposed to a single risk, may have been associated with higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms during the pandemic. This study aimed to (1) identify subgroups of individuals with distinct constellations of risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) investigate differences in levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the current COVID-19 pandemic, people need to cope with multiple stressors which may affect their well-being. This study aimed (1) to identify latent coping profiles in the German general population, and (2) to investigate differences between these profiles in well-being. In total, N = 2326 German participants were recruited as part of the European Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) ADJUST study from June to September 2020 using an online survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Many disaster and trauma survivors experience persistent subclinical distress that places them at risk of developing a mental health disorder. This study describes the first European feasibility study of a brief and scalable skills-based intervention targeting persistent subclinical distress following disasters and trauma.
Method: Randomized controlled feasibility study of the Skills fOr Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) group program.
Background: After catastrophes, trauma and other highly stressful experiences, a proportion of individuals develop mental illness, while another proportion exhibit persisting subclinical distress that limits psychosocial functioning. Individuals with persisting subclinical distress rarely receive psychosocial support services.
Aim Of The Study: This paper presents the Skills fOr Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) program, a brief intervention developed for people with persistent subclinical distress following catastrophes and other severe stressors.