ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2021
Age Differences in COVID-19 Risk Perceptions and Mental Health: Evidence From a National U.S. Survey Conducted in March 2020.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04557241 (Brief Informational Intervention for COVID-19 Misinformation Prophylaxis), which is not on this map. Cited by 243 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Brief Informational Intervention for COVID-19 Misinformation Prophylaxis
Who cites it
243 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Risk perception of severity or death from COVID-19: a systematic review of the factors associated.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the association between social support and anxiety during major public emergencies: a meta-analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Attitudes of COVID-19 vaccination among college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis of willingness, associated determinants, and reasons for hesitancy.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2022Pooled it
- Mental disorders following COVID-19 and other epidemics: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- The Psychological Well-Being of University Students amidst COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping review, systematic review and meta-analysis.Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2022Pooled it
- Smoking is associated with worse outcomes of COVID-19 particularly among younger adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- Government response moderates the mental health impact of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of depression outcomes across countries.Journal of affective disorders · 2021Pooled it
- Quality of life of patients with hip fracture was better during the COVID-19 period than before, an ancillary study from the HiFIT multicenter study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Trial
- Productive art engagement in a hybrid format: effects on emotions of older adults during COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in public health · 2024Trial
- Thinking of future as an older individual increases perceived risks for age-related diseases but not for COVID-19.International journal of psychology : Journal international de psychologie · 2022Trial
- Communicating about COVID-19 vaccine development and safety.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Community psychological and behavioural responses to coronavirus disease 2019 over one year of the pandemic in 2020 in Hong Kong.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Intervening on Trust in Science to Reduce Belief in COVID-19 Misinformation and Increase COVID-19 Preventive Behavioral Intentions: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
- Knowledge and attitudes toward mpox among the Lebanese population during the second wave and their attitudes toward vaccination.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Mandated capacity reductions created new gender disparities in liver cancer surveillance: a population-based cohort study.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- How personality traits shape susceptibility to mental distress in times of crisis: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic.PloS one · 2026Article
- The association between community environment and depression among Chinese older adults: an age-stratified analysis of the dual mediation pathways of aging anxiety and social adaptation stress.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Alarming data on attitudes and practices toward COVID-19 - changes during the 1 st, 2nd and 3rd waves of the pandemic: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Older Age Is Associated with Fewer Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Following Extreme Weather Adversity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- The perception of Covid-19 amongst vulnerable subgroups of the general population in Italy: insights from the qualitative study of the MOST project.BMC psychology · 2025Article
183 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTheories of aging posit that older adult age is associated with less negative emotions, but few studies have examined age differences at times of novel challenges. As COVID-19 spread in the United States, this study therefore aimed to examine age differences in risk perceptions, anxiety, and depression.
methodIn March 2020, a nationally representative address-based sample of 6,666 U.S. adults assessed their perceived risk of getting COVID-19, dying if getting it, getting quarantined, losing their job (if currently working), and running out of money. They completed a mental health assessment for anxiety and depression. Demographic variables and precrisis depression diagnosis had previously been reported.
resultsIn regression analyses controlling for demographic variables and survey date, older adult age was associated with perceiving larger risks of dying if getting COVID-19, but with perceiving less risk of getting COVID-19, getting quarantined, or running out of money, as well as less depression and anxiety. Findings held after additionally controlling for precrisis reports of depression diagnosis. DISCUSSION: With the exception of perceived infection-fatality risk, U.S. adults who were relatively older appeared to have a more optimistic outlook and better mental health during the early stages of the pandemic. Interventions may be needed to help people of all ages maintain realistic perceptions of the risks, while also managing depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis. Implications for risk communication and mental health interventions are discussed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.