Trauma and Mental Health during the Global Pandemic: Abstract book of the ESTSS 2021 Virtual Conference

The European Society for Traumatic Studies (ESTSS) launched a longitudinal pan-European study on the mental health impact of the current pandemic. The study aims to assess risk and resilience factors of mental health, COVID-19-related stressors, and coping with these stressors across Europe. Findings from the first wave of the ESTSS study on the mental health effects of the pandemic in eleven European countries in more than 15,000 participants will be presented in this symposium. The first presentation (Lotzin et al.) of this symposium will examine relationships between COVID-19-related stressors, risk and resilience factors, and symptoms of adjustment disorder, which will provide insights into the relative importance of different risk and resilience factors for mental health. The second presentation (Lenferink et al.) of this symposium will present distinct mental health profiles identified using latent class analysis, revealing the importance of resilience and wellbeing in understanding the effects of the pandemic. The last presentation (Zrnic et al.) will complement quantitative study findings by focusing on qualitative data analysis of personal experiences amid the pandemic in three countries (Austria, Georgia, and Portugal), highlighting both positive and negative pandemic-related thoughts and emotions. Implications for research and clinical practice of the study findings will be discussed.