Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38670924›Full record

Trial reportPsychological reports2026

Job Loss Due to COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study of Mental Health, Protective and Risk Factors.

Andrew F Arena, Daniel Collins, Andrew Mackinnon, Sophia Mobbs, Isobel Lavender, Samuel B Harvey, Mark Deady

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychological reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Andrew F ArenaBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7105-2911
Daniel CollinsBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Andrew MackinnonBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Sophia MobbsBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Isobel LavenderBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Samuel B HarveyBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Mark DeadyBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Black Dog Institute · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on unemployment, which-compounded by the additional stressors associated with the pandemic-had considerable mental health impact. The current study examined the trajectory of mental health amongst those experiencing pandemic-related job loss, alongside the impact of risk and protective factors. Data were obtained from 374 Australian participants who were allocated to a waitlist control arm of a randomised control trial. The outcome variables assessed at baseline and six-month follow-up consisted of depression, anxiety, and suicidality. The assessed risk and protective factors were age, gender, relationship status, education, exercise frequency, COVID-related stress, dispositional resilience, and coping self-efficacy. Re-employment by follow-up was used as a covariate. Overall, there were decreases in depression and anxiety symptoms, and partial evidence of decreased suicidality, demonstrating an apparent capacity for individuals to better cope with their circumstances over time. Demographics and exercise had no effect on changes in mental health. Those with high COVID-related stress, low resilience, and low coping self-efficacy had worse mental health at baseline, although exhibited significantly greater improvements in mental health over time. Obtaining re-employment by follow-up did not predict changes in mental health. The present results offer an optimistic picture of recovery for those experiencing pandemic-related job loss, even for those with the most substantial risk and severity. The likely protective role played by Australian social welfare policies over the course of the study is explored. Stress around one's broader sociocultural or economic circumstances, perceived resilience, and coping self-efficacy are valuable targets for intervention.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PsychologicalAnxietyCOVID-19DepressionResilience, PsychologicalStress, PsychologicalUnemploymentAdultAustraliaFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMental HealthMiddle AgedProtective FactorsCOVID-19Job losslongitudinalmental healthprotective factorsrisk factors

Identifiers

PMID38670924
PMCPMC12953664
OpenAlexW4395699444

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.