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. 2021 Jun:300:113920.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113920. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Longitudinal changes in psychological distress in the UK from 2019 to September 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a large nationally representative study

Michael Daly  1 , Eric Robinson  2
Affiliations

Longitudinal changes in psychological distress in the UK from 2019 to September 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a large nationally representative study

Michael Daly et al. Psychiatry Res. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

In a large (n=10918), national, longitudinal probability-based sample of UK adults the prevalence of clinically significant psychological distress rose from prepandemic levels of 20.8% in 2019 to 29.5% in April 2020 and then declined significantly to prepandemic levels by September (20.8%). Longitudinal analyses showed that all demographic groups examined (age, sex, race/ethnicity, income) experienced increases in distress after the onset of the pandemic followed by significant decreases. By September 2020 distress levels were indistinguishable from prepandemic levels for all groups. This recovery may reflect the influence of the easing of restrictions and psychological adaptation to the demands of the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Nationally representative study; Psychological distress.

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Conflict of interest statement

MD has no conflicts of interest to declare. ER has previously received funding from Unilever and the American Beverage Association for unrelated research.

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