Observational studyBrain and behavior2021
Longitudinal changes in anxiety and psychological distress, and associated risk and protective factors during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.
Observational study in Brain and behavior, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
86 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 156 citations in OpenAlex.
- The global evolution of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Anxiety Linked to COVID-19: A Systematic Review Comparing Anxiety Rates in Different Populations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Urban density and depression during COVID-19 in Seoul: Moderating effects of social participation.PloS one · 2026Article
- Viral Transmission? A Longitudinal Study of Media Use and Its Relation to Mental Strain During the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2025Observational
- The long-term impact of the covid-19 pandemic on patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.Medicine · 2025Article
- Course of well-being and mental health in Switzerland during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of a national survey within the framework of the COH-FIT study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on professional and advanced cycling athletes: a cross-sectional study in Poland.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2025Article
- One-year post lockdown trajectories of mental health and impact of COVID-19 lockdown-related factors.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Sleep quality during and after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) lockdowns in the UK: Results from the SleepQuest study.Journal of sleep research · 2024Article
- Trends in changes of family functioning during different phases of the pandemic - findings across four population-based surveys between 2020 to 2023 in Germany.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The Shield of Self-Esteem: Buffering against the Impact of Traumatic Experiences, Fear, Anxiety, and Depression.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Pandemic Loneliness in Healthcare Workers. Does It Predict Later Psychological Distress?Psychological reports · 2024Article
- Dealing with the challenges of the pandemic - results of a population-based survey during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic contrasting benefits and burden.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Exercise as Treatment for "Stress-Related" Mental Disorders.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Article
- Changes in mental distress among employees during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.PloS one · 2024Article
- Stress, anxiety, and depression trajectories during the "first wave" of the COVID-19 pandemic: what drives resilient, adaptive and maladaptive responses in the Portuguese population?Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The crisis is over, long live the crisis: mental health in emerging adulthood during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Investigating the reciprocity between cognition and behavior in adaptation to large-scale disasters.Npj mental health research · 2023Article
- Results of the COVID-19 mental health international for the health professionals (COMET-HP) study: depression, suicidal tendencies and conspiracism.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2023Article
- Easing pandemic-related restrictions, easing psychosocial stress factors in families with infants and toddlers? Cross-sectional results of the three wave CoronabaBY study from Germany.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2023Article
26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is related to multiple stressors and therefore may be associated with psychological distress. The aim of this study was to longitudinally assess symptoms of (un-)specific anxiety and depression along different stages of the pandemic to generate knowledge about the progress of psychological consequences of the pandemic and to test the role of potential risk and resilience factors that were derived from cross-sectional studies and official recommendations.
methodsThe present study uses a longitudinal observational design with four waves of online data collection (from March 27 to June 15, 2020) in a convenience sample of the general population in Germany. A total of N = 2376 participants that completed at least two waves of the survey were included in the analyses.
findingsSpecific COVID-19-related anxiety and the average daily amount of preoccupation with the pandemic decreased continuously over the four waves. Unspecific worrying and depressive symptoms decreased on average but not on median level. Self-efficacy, normalization, maintaining social contacts, and knowledge, where to get medical support, were associated with fewer symptoms relative to baseline. Suppression, unhealthy habits, and a longer average daily time of thinking about the pandemic were correlated with a relative increase of symptoms.
interpretationOur findings provide insight into the longitudinal changes of symptoms of psychological distress along the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Furthermore, we were able to reaffirm the anticipated protective and risk factors that were extracted from previous studies and recommendations.
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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.