Predictors of mental health among U.S. adults during COVID-19 early pandemic, mid- pandemic, and post-vaccine eras.

BACKGROUND: A collective trauma like COVID-19 impacts individuals differently due to socio-contextual and individual characteristics. Younger adults, minorities, affiliates of certain political parties, and residents of some regions of the United States reported experiencing poorer mental health during the pandemic. Being diagnosed with COVID-19, or losing a friend/family to it, was related to more adverse mental health symptoms. While the negative impact of COVID-19 on health outcomes has been studied, mental health changes during this pandemic need further exploration. METHODS: In a study of 8,612 U.S. households, using three surveys collected from a nationally representative panel between May 2020 and October 2021, using a repeated cross-sectional design, a linear mixed effect regression model was performed to investigate factors associated with the mental health status, based on the Mental Health Inventory-5, of individuals throughout different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether an improvement over time, especially after vaccines became available, was observed. RESULTS: An overall improvement in mental health was observed after vaccines became available. Individuals with no COVID-related death in their household, those not wearing masks, those identifying as members of the Republican Party, race/ethnicities other than Asian, men, older adults, and residents of the South were less likely than others to report mental health challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the need for widespread mental health interventions and health promotion to address challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Due to the worse mental health observed among Asians, younger adults, women, low-income families, those with a higher level of concern for COVID-19, people who lost someone to COVID-19, and/or individuals with histories of opioid use disorder and criminal legal involvement, over the period of this study, targeted attention needs to be given to the mental health of these groups.

Experimental evaluation of a neurophysiological intervention designed to increase student resilience: a pilot study.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions have shown promise for building resilience and protecting youth from adverse outcomes. This study reports on an experimental pilot evaluation of the Smart Brain Wise Heart SEL intervention during the 2021-2022 school year. Smart Brain Wise Heart (SBWH) uses a neurophysiological approach among ninth-grade students to evaluate the intervention's impact on youth resiliency, self-compassion, peer violence exposure, internalising disorders, and hyperactivity. Results did not indicate any significant universal changes in target outcomes. These null findings regarding universal impact may be explained by the unprecedented difficulty of implementing a school-based intervention amid ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and administrative issues. Despite these obstacles, students with lower academic achievement in the intervention condition scored significantly higher for resilience and self-compassion and lower on depressive symptoms than their peers in the comparison condition, even when controlling for baseline scores, sex, attachment (father, mother, peer), and exposure to adverse childhood experiences. Our findings suggest SBWH programming may have important implications for the trajectories of students exhibiting lower academic achievement, at a minimum, by significantly improving their emotional resilience, self-compassion, and depressive symptoms during a vital developmental stage. More research is urgently needed under optimal conditions to assess the universal implementation of the program.

Childhood Adversity, Emotional Well-Being, Loneliness, and Optimism: a National Study.

Optimism and loneliness, which reflect the expected inverse associations with excess morbidity and mortality, are theoretically and empirically associated with early adversities and offer potential avenues for clinical support. The current study first estimates latent classes of adverse childhood experiences and, second, assesses the role of these experiences on later reports of optimism and loneliness in late adolescence and emerging adulthood, and the role of emotional regulation and common mental disorders. Surveys were conducted in a longitudinal household sample of adolescents recruited in 2013 (average age of 20 at wave 6 follow-ups). The analytic sample included 1177 female and male respondents representative of their age group in the USA at baseline. Latent classes were estimated based on 10 indicators of childhood adversity. Respondents were assigned to classes using posterior probabilities of latent class membership, and class membership was used to predict psychological outcomes in multivariable models. Three latent classes of childhood adversity were identified in the current sample, representing low childhood adversity (81.5%), higher probability of family dysfunction with lower levels of interpersonal abuse (13.4%), and high adversity including higher probabilities of parental discord and violence as well as child abuse (5.1%). Both classes of respondents who faced greater childhood adversity were more likely to report greater loneliness and lower optimism in emerging adulthood. Results were attenuated by measures of emotional well-being. Addressing adolescent loneliness and supporting optimistic outlooks in emerging adulthood are two pathways with potential benefits to reduce mental and physical morbidities.

Relationship Dynamics and Abusive Interactions in a National Sample of Youth and Young Adults.

Stemming intimate partner violence among adults demands earlier education and skill-building supportive of healthy youth and young adult dating relationships. The current U.S.-based study examines a spectrum of youth and young adult relationship dynamics (RDs), inclusive of abusive interactions. In a nationally representative cohort of youth aged 10-18 at baseline and one parent or caregiver, survey responses regarding RDs from 618 participants ages 15-23 at wave 5 follow-up were analyzed. Latent class analysis of four positive dynamics, six problematic dynamics, and three scales of adolescent relationship abuse (ARA) were estimated, yielding four latent profiles of dating RDs. Relationships characterized by Unhealthy and Intense RDs both exhibited high probability of ARA but differed from each other in terms of other positive and problematic dynamics. Relationships characterized by Disengaged RDs had lower probability of ARA but elevated probability of awkward communications, negative feelings, social liability, and other challenging dynamics. Several baseline covariates were significantly associated with profiles of dating RDs approximately 5 years later. Younger participants were more likely to subsequently fall in an Intense or Disengaged RDs profile, as were participants with baseline emotional health problems. Further, classification in the Unhealthy RDs profile was less likely for participants reporting a better baseline relationship with their parents and more likely for those exposed to violence in childhood. These findings suggest that in addition to developmental maturity, youth and young adults would benefit from closer investigation and processing of past emotional and relational issues and traumas to foster healthier dating relationships.

Predictors of Mental Health among the General Population of U.S. Adults Eight Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on mental health. We examined whether mental health differed based on sociodemographic and background characteristics, political party affiliation, and concerns about COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional, national sample of 1095 U.S. adults were surveyed October 22-26, 2020. The survey collected information on demographics, risk and protective behaviors for COVID-19, and mental health using the Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5) scale. Independent samples t-tests, one-way Analysis of Variance tests, and a multivariable linear regression model were conducted. Results: Regression results showed respondents with criminal justice (B = -6.56, 95% CI = -10.05, -3.06) or opioid misuse (B = -9.98, 95% CI = -14.74, -5.23) histories reported poorer mental health than those without. Those who took protective behaviors (e.g., wearing masks) reported poorer mental health compared to those who indicated protective behaviors were unnecessary (B = 7.00, 95% CI = 1.61, 12.38) while those who took at least one risk behavior (e.g., eating in a restaurant) reported better mental health than those who did not. Conclusions: Our study shows that certain groups have experienced poorer mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that mental health should continue to be monitored so that public health interventions and messaging help prevent the spread of COVID-19 without increasing poor mental health outcomes.