Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov:293:113486.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113486. Epub 2020 Sep 25.

Psychological distress during the COVID-19 lockdown: The young adults most at risk

F Glowacz  1 , E Schmits  2
Affiliations

Psychological distress during the COVID-19 lockdown: The young adults most at risk

F Glowacz et al. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

To control the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have implemented restrictions. This study evaluates psychological distress related to the crisis and identifies predictive factors of anxiety/depression according to age. 2,871 adults were recruited through an online questionnaire during the lockdown. Three subsamples were identified: 18-30; 30-50; > 50 years. The population suffers from anxiety and depression. Young adults adu reported lower levels of living space, occupational activity, social contact and alcohol use, but higher anxiety, depression and uncertainty than older participants. This psychological distress can be explained by lockdown conditions (differently according to age) and by intolerance to uncertainty. Also, youth's alcohol intake has decreased. Deconfinement strategies have been discussed.

Keywords: Alcohol use; Lockdown covid 19; Mental health; Uncertainty; Young adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Bjelland I., Dahl A., Haug T., Neckelmann D. The validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. An updated literature review. J Psychosom Res. 2002;52:69–77. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3999(01)00296-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brooks S.K., Webster R.K., Smith L.E., Woodland L., Wessely S., Greenberg N., Rubin G.J. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet. 2020;395:912–920. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bush K., Kivlahan D.R., McDonell M.B., Fihn S.D., Bradley K.A. The AUDIT Alcohol Consumption Questions (AUDIT-C): an Effective Brief Screening Test for Problem Drinking. Arch Intern Med. 1998;158(16):1789–1795. doi: 10.1001/archinte.158.16.17892909.99.1.20. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cao W., Fang Z., Hou G., Han M., Xu X., Dong J., Zheng J. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Res. 2020;287 doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carleton R.N., Mulvogue M.K., Thibodeau M.A., McCabe R.E., Antony M.M., Asmundson G.J. Increasingly certain about uncertainty: intolerance of uncertainty across anxiety and depression. J Anxiety Disord. 2012;26(3):468–479. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.01.011. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms