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Mental Health among Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Multi-Country Comparison

Ding K 1 , Yang J 2 , Chin MK 3 , Sullivan L 4 , Demirhan G 5 , Violant-Holz V 6 Show all authors , Uvinha RR 7 , Dai J 8 , Xu X 9 , Popeska B 10 , Mladenova Z 11 , Khan W 12 , Kuan G 13 , Balasekaran G 14 , Smith GA 2 , On Behalf Of Global Community Health-Covid-Collaborative Research Team

Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Health Science, College of Education Health & Human Service, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
  • 2 Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
  • 3 Foundation for Global Community Health, Las Vegas, NV 89012, USA
  • 4 Discipline of Children's Studies, School of Education, National University of Ireland, H91 Galway, Ireland
  • 5 Department of Physical Education and Sport Teaching, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06420, Turkey
  • 6 Department of Didactics and Educative Organization, University of Barcelona, 08015 Barcelona, Spain
  • 7 School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01310, Brazil
  • 8 School of Physical Education and Sports, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China
  • 9 Hubei Key Laboratory of Sport Training and Monitoring, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan 430021, China
  • 10 Faculty of Educational Sciences, Goce Delcev University, 2000 Stip, North Macedonia
  • 11 Association of Touristic Animators, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
  • 12 Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, SGT University, Gurugram 122505, India
  • 13 Exercise and Sports Science, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Malaysia
  • 14 National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 178957, Singapore
Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 03 07;18(5).
PMID: 33800008 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18052686

Abstract

Despite the global impact of COVID-19, studies comparing the effects of COVID-19 on population mental health across countries are sparse. This study aimed to compare anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown among adults from 11 countries and to examine their associations with country-level COVID-19 factors and personal COVID-19 exposure. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults (≥18 years) in 11 countries (Brazil, Bulgaria, China, India, Ireland, North Macedonia, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, United States). Mental health (anxiety, depression, resilient coping, hope) and other study data were collected between June-August 2020. Of the 13,263 participants, 62.8% were female and 51.7% were 18-34 years old. Participants living in Brazil had the highest anxiety and depression symptoms while participants living in Singapore had the lowest. Greater personal COVID-19 exposure was associated with increased anxiety and depression symptoms, but country-level COVID-19 factors were not. Higher levels of hope were associated with reduced anxiety and depression; higher levels of resilient coping were associated with reduced anxiety but not depression. Substantial variations exist in anxiety and depression symptoms across countries during the COVID-19 lockdown, with personal COVID-19 exposure being a significant risk factor. Strategies that mitigate COVID-19 exposure and enhance hope and resilience may reduce anxiety and depression during global emergencies.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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