ArticleBMC public health2021
Meaningful activities during COVID-19 lockdown and association with mental health in Belgian adults.
Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Psychological impact of the quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic on the general European adult population: a systematic review of the evidence.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2022Pooled it
- The Roles of Happiness Motives in Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression: A Longitudinal Study in Emerging Adults.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Earthquake exposure, cognitive integration, and psychiatric symptoms in bereavement: A moderated mediation with fulfilling daily activities.The British journal of clinical psychology · 2025Article
- Using machine-assisted topic analysis to expedite thematic analysis of free-text data: Exemplar investigation of factors influencing health behaviours and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.British journal of health psychology · 2025Article
- Physical Activity and Mental Health After COVID-19 Recovery: Age and Sex Differences.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Longitudinal relationships between daily activities, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and suicidality during the COVID-19 pandemic: a three-wave cross-lagged study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- One-year post lockdown trajectories of mental health and impact of COVID-19 lockdown-related factors.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Physical Activity Levels and Women's Mental Health After COVID-19 Infection.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Adopting new habits and routines in response to COVID-19 lockdown disruptions: A qualitative study.The British journal of occupational therapy · 2024Article
- Three Perspectives on Older Adults' Daily Performance, Health, and Technology Use During COVID-19: Focus Group Study.JMIR aging · 2024Article
- Development and validation of the Environmental Confinement Stressors Scale (ECSS-20).Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Exploring the challenges of social participation during COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia through an occupational therapy lens.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the engagement in meaningful activities survey.The British journal of occupational therapy · 2023Article
- Insights into parents' perceived worry before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: inequality and heterogeneity of influences.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Data collection in pandemic times: the case of the Belgian COVID-19 health surveys.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2023Article
- Changes in Daily Occupations Patterns, Optimism, and Positive Affect During COVID-19 Lockdown.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapie · 2023Article
- Changes in Satisfaction with Meaningful Activities and Onset of Depressive Symptoms among Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults: A Population-Based Study Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2023Article
- Which Occupations Did People Engage in during Lockdown? A European Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey by Generation.Occupational therapy international · 2023Article
- Literacy and Mental Health of Portuguese Higher Education Students and Their Use of Health Promotion Strategies during Confinement in the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe spread of COVID-19 has affected people's daily lives, and the lockdown may have led to a disruption of daily activities and a decrease of people's mental health.
aimTo identify correlates of adults' mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium and to assess the role of meaningful activities in particular.
methodsA cross-sectional web survey for assessing mental health (General Health Questionnaire), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), meaning in activities (Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey), and demographics was conducted during the first Belgian lockdown between April 24 and May 4, 2020. The lockdown consisted of closing schools, non-essential shops, and recreational settings, employees worked from home or were technically unemployed, and it was forbidden to undertake social activities. Every adult who had access to the internet and lived in Belgium could participate in the survey; respondents were recruited online through social media and e-mails. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify key correlates.
resultsParticipants (N = 1781) reported low mental health (M = 14.85/36). In total, 42.4% of the variance in mental health could be explained by variables such as gender, having children, living space, marital status, health condition, and resilience (β = -.33). Loss of meaningful activities was strongly related to mental health (β = -.36) and explained 9% incremental variance (R
conclusionsThe extent of performing meaningful activities during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium was positively related to adults' mental health. Insights from this study can be taken into account during future lockdown measures in case of pandemics.
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