Julia S Yarrington1, Jana Lasser2, David Garcia2, Jose Hamilton Vargas3, Diego Dotta Couto3, Thiago Marafon3, Michelle G Craske1, Andrea N Niles4. 1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. 2. Section for Science of Complex Systems, Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Institute of Interactive Systems and Data Science, Faculty of Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria; Complexity Science Hub Vienna, Vienna, Austria. 3. Youper, Inc., San Francisco, USA. 4. Youper, Inc., San Francisco, USA. Electronic address: andrea@youper.ai.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents an unprecedented crisis with potential negative mental health impacts. METHODS: This study used data collected via Youper, a mental health app, from February through July 2020. Youper users (N = 157,213) in the United States self-reported positive and negative emotions and anxiety and depression symptoms during the pandemic. We examined emotions and symptoms before (pre), during (acute), and after (sustained) COVID-related stay-at-home orders. RESULTS: For changes in frequency of reported acute emotions, from the pre to acute periods, anxiety increased while tiredness, calmness, happiness, and optimism decreased. From the acute to sustained periods, sadness, depression, and gratitude increased. Anxiety, stress, and tiredness decreased. Between the pre and sustained periods, sadness and depression increased, as did happiness and calmness. Anxiety and stress decreased. Among symptom measures, anxiety increased initially, from the pre to the acute periods, but later returned to baseline. LIMITATIONS: The study sample was primarily comprised of young people and women. The app does not collect racial or ethnicity data. These factors may limit generalizability. Sample size was also not consistent for all data collected. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that although there were initial negative impacts on emotions and mental health symptoms in the first few weeks, many Americans demonstrated resilience over the following months. The impact of the pandemic on mental health may not be as severe as predicted, although future work is necessary to understand longitudinal effects as the pandemic continues.
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents an unprecedented crisis with potential negative mental health impacts. METHODS: This study used data collected via Youper, a mental health app, from February through July 2020. Youper users (N = 157,213) in the United States self-reported positive and negative emotions and anxiety and depression symptoms during the pandemic. We examined emotions and symptoms before (pre), during (acute), and after (sustained) COVID-related stay-at-home orders. RESULTS: For changes in frequency of reported acute emotions, from the pre to acute periods, anxiety increased while tiredness, calmness, happiness, and optimism decreased. From the acute to sustained periods, sadness, depression, and gratitude increased. Anxiety, stress, and tiredness decreased. Between the pre and sustained periods, sadness and depression increased, as did happiness and calmness. Anxiety and stress decreased. Among symptom measures, anxiety increased initially, from the pre to the acute periods, but later returned to baseline. LIMITATIONS: The study sample was primarily comprised of young people and women. The app does not collect racial or ethnicity data. These factors may limit generalizability. Sample size was also not consistent for all data collected. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that although there were initial negative impacts on emotions and mental health symptoms in the first few weeks, many Americans demonstrated resilience over the following months. The impact of the pandemic on mental health may not be as severe as predicted, although future work is necessary to understand longitudinal effects as the pandemic continues.
Authors: Dianne M Hezel; Amy M Rapp; Michael G Wheaton; Reilly R Kayser; Sarah V Rose; Gabrielle R Messner; Rachel Middleton; H Blair Simpson Journal: J Psychiatr Res Date: 2022-03-26 Impact factor: 5.250