Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stress and strain profiles in the German population

Publikationstyp:
Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Metadaten:
Abstract
<jats:p>Clinical observations indicate that people frequently display stress-related behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although numerous studies have been published concerning pandemic-related psychological distress, systematic data on the interrelationships between stress sensitivity, personality, and behavioral characteristics of people are still lacking. In the present cross-sectional online survey study, we applied a German version of the COVID Stress Scales (CSS) and standard psychological questionnaires to systematically identify the complex interplay between stress sensitivity, gender, and personality in the modulation of quality of life and mental health in the German population (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 1774; age ≥ 16 years). A CSS-based cluster analysis revealed two clusters characterized by higher and lower stress levels. Study participants in each cluster differed significantly with respect to neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Females were significantly overrepresented in the higher stress cluster, while there was an overrepresentation of males in the lower stress cluster. Neuroticism was identified as a risk factor and extraversion as a protective factor for enhanced pandemic-related stress responses. For the first time our data show a taxonomy of factors, which modulate pandemic-related stress sensitivity and warrant consideration as key indicators of quality of life and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. We suggest that our data may advise governmental regulation of pandemic-related public health measures, to optimize quality of life and psychological health in different groups of the population.</jats:p>
Autoren
  • Vincent MEL Nin
  • Gerd-Dieter Willmund
  • Stefanie M Jungmann
  • Gordon JG Asmundson
  • Martina Piefke
DOI
10.3389/fpubh.2023.990407
eISSN
2296-2565
Zeitschrift
Frontiers in Public Health
Online publication date
2023
Status
Published online
Herausgeber
Frontiers Media SA
Herausgeber URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.990407
Datum der Datenerfassung
2023
Titel
Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stress and strain profiles in the German population
Ausgabe der Zeitschrift
11

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