Department of Public Mental Health, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Eur Psychiatry. 2021 Mar 9;64(1):e20. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.17.
Public health measures to curb SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates may have negative psychosocial consequences in youth. Digital interventions may help to mitigate these effects. We investigated the associations between social isolation, COVID-19-related cognitive preoccupation, worries, and anxiety, objective social risk indicators, and psychological distress, as well as use of, and attitude toward, mobile health (mHealth) interventions in youth.
Data were collected as part of the "Mental Health And Innovation During COVID-19 Survey"-a cross-sectional panel study including a representative sample of individuals aged 16-25 years (N = 666; Mage = 21.3; assessment period: May 5, 2020 to May 16, 2020).
Overall, 38% of youth met criteria for moderate or severe psychological distress. Social isolation worries and anxiety, and objective risk indicators were associated with psychological distress, with evidence of dose-response relationships for some of these associations. For instance, psychological distress was progressively more likely to occur as levels of social isolation increased (reporting "never" as reference group: "occasionally": adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 9.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.3-19.1, p < 0.001; "often": aOR 22.2, CI 9.8-50.2, p < 0.001; "very often": aOR 42.3, CI 14.1-126.8, p < 0.001). There was evidence that psychological distress, worries, and anxiety were associated with a positive attitude toward using mHealth interventions, whereas psychological distress, worries, and anxiety were associated with actual use.
Public health measures during pandemics may be associated with poor mental health outcomes in youth. Evidence-based digital interventions may help mitigate the negative psychosocial impact without risk of viral infection given there is an objective need and subjective demand.
为遏制 SARS-CoV-2 传播率而采取的公共卫生措施可能会对年轻人的心理产生负面影响。数字干预措施可能有助于减轻这些影响。我们调查了社交隔离、与 COVID-19 相关的认知困扰、担忧和焦虑、客观社会风险指标以及心理困扰之间的关系，以及年轻人对移动健康（mHealth）干预措施的使用和态度。
数据是作为“COVID-19 期间的心理健康和创新调查”的一部分收集的，这是一项包括 16-25 岁人群的代表性样本的横断面面板研究（N=666；Mage=21.3；评估期：2020 年 5 月 5 日至 5 月 16 日）。
总体而言，38%的年轻人符合中度或重度心理困扰的标准。社交隔离的担忧和焦虑以及客观风险指标与心理困扰相关，这些关联中有一些证据表明存在剂量反应关系。例如，随着社交隔离程度的增加，心理困扰的发生概率逐渐增加（以“从不”作为参考组：“偶尔”：调整后的优势比[OR]为 9.1，95%置信区间[CI]为 4.3-19.1，p<0.001；“经常”：OR 22.2，CI 9.8-50.2，p<0.001；“非常频繁”：OR 42.3，CI 14.1-126.8，p<0.001）。有证据表明，心理困扰、担忧和焦虑与对使用 mHealth 干预措施的积极态度有关，而心理困扰、担忧和焦虑与实际使用有关。
大流行期间的公共卫生措施可能与年轻人的心理健康不良后果有关。鉴于存在客观需求和主观需求，基于证据的数字干预措施可能有助于减轻负面影响，而不会有病毒感染的风险。
