Psychosocial correlates of posttraumatic growth among U.S. young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Abstract

Given the prolonged nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between posttraumatic growth (PTG) among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and their psychosocial characteristics, specifically: distress tolerance; resilience; family connectedness; depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms; and COVID-19-related worry. The study utilized data from 805 U.S. young adults (18–30 years) who completed online surveys during the COVID-19 pandemic across two waves (April-August 2020 and September 2020-March 2021). Overall, young adults reported low PTG scores. PTSD symptoms and COVID-19-related worry significantly predicted higher levels of PTG, while their depression symptoms predicted lower levels of PTG. Resilience and family connectedness significantly predicted higher levels of PTG, and distress tolerance significantly predicted lower levels of PTG after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics and negative influential factors. Compared to Whites, Asians were less likely to report PTG. In general, young adults have not perceived personal growth from the pandemic; however, young adults with certain psychosocial factors appear to be predisposed to such PTG. This study highlights the importance of exploring and elucidating the potential positive trajectories following the adversity of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7.

Robert L Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet B W Williams … (2006)

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common mental disorders; however, there is no brief clinical measure for assessing GAD. The objective of this study was to develop a brief self-report scale to identify probable cases of GAD and evaluate its reliability and validity. A criterion-standard study was performed in 15 primary care clinics in the United States from November 2004 through June 2005. Of a total of 2740 adult patients completing a study questionnaire, 965 patients had a telephone interview with a mental health professional within 1 week. For criterion and construct validity, GAD self-report scale diagnoses were compared with independent diagnoses made by mental health professionals; functional status measures; disability days; and health care use. A 7-item anxiety scale (GAD-7) had good reliability, as well as criterion, construct, factorial, and procedural validity. A cut point was identified that optimized sensitivity (89%) and specificity (82%). Increasing scores on the scale were strongly associated with multiple domains of functional impairment (all 6 Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form General Health Survey scales and disability days). Although GAD and depression symptoms frequently co-occurred, factor analysis confirmed them as distinct dimensions. Moreover, GAD and depression symptoms had differing but independent effects on functional impairment and disability. There was good agreement between self-report and interviewer-administered versions of the scale. The GAD-7 is a valid and efficient tool for screening for GAD and assessing its severity in clinical practice and research.

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Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).

Kathryn M Connor, Jonathan Davidson (2003)

Resilience may be viewed as a measure of stress coping ability and, as such, could be an important target of treatment in anxiety, depression, and stress reactions. We describe a new rating scale to assess resilience. The Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC) comprises of 25 items, each rated on a 5-point scale (0-4), with higher scores reflecting greater resilience. The scale was administered to subjects in the following groups: community sample, primary care outpatients, general psychiatric outpatients, clinical trial of generalized anxiety disorder, and two clinical trials of PTSD. The reliability, validity, and factor analytic structure of the scale were evaluated, and reference scores for study samples were calculated. Sensitivity to treatment effects was examined in subjects from the PTSD clinical trials. The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties and factor analysis yielded five factors. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that an increase in CD-RISC score was associated with greater improvement during treatment. Improvement in CD-RISC score was noted in proportion to overall clinical global improvement, with greatest increase noted in subjects with the highest global improvement and deterioration in CD-RISC score in those with minimal or no global improvement. The CD-RISC has sound psychometric properties and distinguishes between those with greater and lesser resilience. The scale demonstrates that resilience is modifiable and can improve with treatment, with greater improvement corresponding to higher levels of global improvement. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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Prevalence of Depression Symptoms in US Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Catherine K. Ettman, Salma M Abdalla, Gregory Cohen … (2020)

Key Points Question What is the burden of depression symptoms among US adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared with before COVID-19, and what are the risk factors associated with depression symptoms? Findings In this survey study that included 1441 respondents from during the COVID-19 pandemic and 5065 respondents from before the pandemic, depression symptom prevalence was more than 3-fold higher during the COVID-19 pandemic than before. Lower income, having less than $5000 in savings, and having exposure to more stressors were associated with greater risk of depression symptoms during COVID-19. Meaning These findings suggest that there is a high burden of depression symptoms in the US associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and that this burden falls disproportionately on individuals who are already at increased risk.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Psychiatry Res

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Psychiatry Res

Title: Psychiatry Research

Publisher: Elsevier B.V.

ISSN (Print): 0165-1781

ISSN (Electronic): 1872-7123

Publication date PMC-release: 27 May 2021

Publication date (Print): August 2021

Publication date (Electronic): 27 May 2021

Volume: 302

Page: 114035

Affiliations

[a ]Department of Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

[b ]Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

[c ]Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

[d ]Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA

[e ]School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

[f ]Psychology Department, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

[g ]School of Social Work, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

Author notes

[* ]Corresponding author at: Departments of Pediatric Newborn Medicine & Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Article

Publisher Item ID: S0165-1781(21)00332-2 Publisher ID: 114035

DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114035

PMC ID: 9754682

PubMed ID: 34139592

SO-VID: 465267c0-2286-4fa7-b495-27f5868d7cda

License:

Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.

History

Date received : 31 March 2021

Date accepted : 22 May 2021

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Psychosocial correlates of posttraumatic growth among U.S. young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Most cited references 53

A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7.

Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).

Prevalence of Depression Symptoms in US Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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