The pandemic caused social changes and stress, and the stress took a unique toll on general mental health.
Faculty in the Department of Psychology–Dr. Millie Cordaro (senior lecturer), Dr. Rebecca Deason (associate professor), Dr. Kelly Haskard-Zolnierek (associate professor), and Dr. Krista Howard (associate professor)–partnered with faculty from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Texas at San Antonio to study how psychological stress and pandemic-specific factors impacted anxiety levels during the pandemic.
The article, “Pandemic-Specific Factors Related to Generalized Anxiety Disorder during the Initial COVID-19 Protocols in the United States,” was published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing.
To study the relationship between factors, the team surveyed over 2,000 adults in the United States during stay-at-home directives in April 2020. The team found a high prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) during the initial outbreak compared to 12 months before the pandemic. The team also found higher levels of stress, fatigue, poor physical health, and loneliness.
COVID-specific concerns included worries about accessing testing, maintaining social distancing, contracting COVID, and rising COVID cases in the community. Stay-at-home policy concerns included worries about maintaining income, paying bills, being isolated, and having access to technology. There were also government confidence and trust concerns that included worries about the economy, medical resources, and unemployment benefits.
The team called for a thoughtful clinical approach to managing pandemic-related anxiety. The approach should pay attention to the levels of each stressor, not simply as general stress overall. “The clinical focus should be on the frequency and intensity of the pandemic-themed concerns, rather than the mere presence of all-encompassing pandemic concerns.”
The team also suggested that diagnoses should reflect the complexity of pandemic-related anxiety: “[H]ealthcare providers need to be especially vigilant in the provisional diagnosis of an already difficult to detect mental health disorder.”
Finally, the team ultimately recommended that future studies continue to track the long-term psychological health of the American public, post-pandemic.