CONNECT Study: Longitudinal Psychosocial Outcomes of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Large Population Cohort in the Netherlands

Number

Assigned to session

0.11 Joost den Draaier, 29-09-2023, 15:10 - 16:25

Field of research

Crisis, disaster or pandemic related

Overview of symposium

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) launched a pan-European cohort study to explore the relationships between COVID-19 related risk and protective factors, stressors, and symptoms of adjustment disorder. Participants were assessed by online survey longitudinally at three time points, with an interval of six months. From June 2020 to December 2021, 11 ESTSS member societies collected data from 15,563 adults (Austria, Croatia, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden). In the current symposium the unique longitudinal outcomes of the Dutch cohort (N=2000), collected by NtVP, are presented.

Authors

No participants found...

Introduction to the ADJUST and CONNECT Studies

Prof.dr. Trudy Mooren

Summary

Prof.dr. Trudy Mooren will introduce and provide context to the ADJUST and CONNECT study frameworks.

Authors

Trudy Mooren

Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic Burden on Mental Health and Wellbeing of First-Year University Students.

Dr. Joanne Mouthaan, Dr. Lonneke Lenferink, MSc Lyanne Reitsma, Dr. Marie José Van Hoof, Prof.dr. Trudy Mooren, Dr. Marie José Van Hoof, Paloma Guzman

Summary

Living away from family and having to adapt socially, academically, or even culturally, are major life changes for novice students, making them more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic’s (social) restrictions. Two longitudinal studies are presented: In Study 1 we examined depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, alcohol use, anxiety, academic stress, insomnia, and loneliness in consecutive university student cohorts pre- (N=318), early- (Spring 2020, N=135), and mid-to-late pandemic (Spring and Fall 2021, N=376). In Study 2 we examined 6, 12 and 18 month prevalence of adjustment disorder (AD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and wellbeing in a subcohort of the ESTSS COVID-19 population study: first-year Bachelor students from 4 Dutch universities (n=879). In Study 1, international students reported more depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and academic stress than domestic students in the 2020 cohort. Across time points, international students reported more academic stress, but less loneliness, than domestic students. In Study 2, student prevalence of AD and PTSD were lower (both 15%) than non-students (PTSD: 17%, AD: 26%) at 6 months, but students also reported lower wellbeing and higher burden due to physical and social restrictions than non-students. Results from follow up waves will be presented. Students appeared to be resilient in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the mental health of international students and the long term effects of restrictive measures warrant more attention.

Authors

Joanne Mouthaan

Lonneke Lenferink

Lyanne Reitsma

Marie José Van Hoof

Trudy Mooren

Marie José Van Hoof

Paloma Guzman

Adjustment disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general Dutch population: A longitudinal survey study

Dr. Lonneke Lenferink, MSc Lyanne Reitsma, Dr. Simon Groen, Dr. Marie José Van Hoof, Dr. Joanne Mouthaan

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to changes in society, including exposure to potential stressors, such as death of loved ones, limited physical contact with others, and COVID-19 infection. These stressors may increase the risk for adjustment disorder. An adjustment disorder is characterized by difficulties in adapting to a stressor that results in worry and rumination. This longitudinal survey-study aimed to identify risk and protective factors of an adjustment disorder in the general Dutch population. This research is part of a European project that is being carried out by (former) board members of the Dutch psychotrauma association in collaboration with the ESTSS. People completed an online survey at time-point 1 (N=2079; July-November 2020) and time-point 2 (N=777, February-June 2021). One fifth met criteria for a probable adjustment disorder at both time-points. Multiple regression analyses showed that women, reduced income and spending more time at home during pandemic, history of mental disorder, and childhood trauma were related to adjustment disorder severity (β = .06-.10), when taking baseline adjustment disorder severity and 20 other possible correlates into account. To conclude, risk and protective factors were identified that may help identify Dutch people at higher risk for adjustment disorder.

Authors

Lonneke Lenferink

Lyanne Reitsma

Simon Groen

Marie José Van Hoof

Joanne Mouthaan

The predictive value of adverse childhood events for wellbeing and mental health symptoms during the COVID pandemic.

Summary

The coronavirus pandemic had a direct impact on mental health, influencing wellbeing and the choice of coping behaviors. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to specific types of coping behaviors possibly impacting mental health. Aim of this study was to understand the impact of ACEs on pandemic coping behaviors the relationship with well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data analyses were based on the CONNECT study. Participants were recruited from July to November 2020. Sociodemographic data were gathered, along with questionnaires: Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire (ACE), Pandemic Coping Scale (PCS), and WHO-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5). Descriptive analyses as well as a MANOVA and moderation analyses were performed. The responses of 2,022 individuals were analyzed. On average, participants had experienced 1.3 ACEs; most of the population was considered at low risk (86.9%). Similarly, outcomes for wellbeing and coping behaviors were high, indicating good health and coping. While the multivariate analysis demonstrated significant outcomes (p = .040); individual relationships between ACEs and distinct pandemic coping styles were non-significant. ACEs did not moderate the relationship of coping and wellbeing (p = .150). ACEs in this general pandemic-stricken population were rare, and did not moderate between mental health and coping behavior.

Authors

No participants found...

Latent Class Analysis on Indicators of Acute Prolonged Grief Disorder and Well-being among Dutch Adults Bereaved during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Lyanne Reitsma, Prof.dr. Trudy Mooren, Dr. Joanne Mouthaan, Dr. Simon Groen, Dr. Marie José Van Hoof

Summary

Most studies examining prolonged grief disorder (PGD) symptoms in people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic are focused on either the presence or absence of psychopathology. However, good mental health does not only represent absence of psychopathology, but also presence of well-being. This is the first study examining symptom-profiles of acute PGD and well-being indicators in bereaved people. We aimed to identify (correlates of) latent classes of acute PGD and well-being in Dutch adults bereaved during the pandemic. Survey-data were analyzed of 266 adults bereaved on average 115 days prior. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to determine class-membership based on PGD and well-being indicators (assessed with the TGI-SR+ and WHO-5, respectively). Associations were examined between class-membership and background, loss-related, health-related, and pandemic-related characteristics. Four classes were identified: a low PGD/high well-being (32%), low PGD/moderate well-being (24%), moderate PGD/high well-being (23%), and high PGD/low well-being class (21%). People in the poorer mental health classes were more likely to be female, lower educated, a nuclear family member of the deceased, have a mental disorder, a bad health status, and higher risk of severe COVID-19. Our findings provide evidence about the co-occurrence of PGD and well-being indicators in people bereaved during the pandemic.