Shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic: Psychological responses from a subjective perspective-A longitudinal mixed-methods study across five European countries
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Shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic: Psychological responses from a subjective perspective-A longitudinal mixed-methods study across five European countries. / Zrnić Novaković, Irina; Ajduković, Dean; Bakić, Helena; Borges, Camila; Figueiredo-Braga, Margarida; Lotzin, Annett; Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, Xenia; Lioupi, Chrysanthi; Javakhishvili, Jana Darejan; Tsiskarishvili, Lela; Lueger-Schuster, Brigitte.
In: PLOS ONE, Vol. 18, No. 4, 2023, p. e0285078.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic: Psychological responses from a subjective perspective-A longitudinal mixed-methods study across five European countries
AU - Zrnić Novaković, Irina
AU - Ajduković, Dean
AU - Bakić, Helena
AU - Borges, Camila
AU - Figueiredo-Braga, Margarida
AU - Lotzin, Annett
AU - Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, Xenia
AU - Lioupi, Chrysanthi
AU - Javakhishvili, Jana Darejan
AU - Tsiskarishvili, Lela
AU - Lueger-Schuster, Brigitte
N1 - Copyright: © 2023 Zrnić Novaković et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - BACKGROUND: Contextual factors are essential for understanding long-term adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study investigated changes in mental health outcomes and subjective pandemic-related experiences over time and across countries. The main objective was to explore how psychological responses vary in relation to individual and environmental factors.METHODS: The sample consisted of N = 1070 participants from the general population of Austria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, and Portugal. We applied a longitudinal mixed-methods approach, with baseline assessment in summer and autumn 2020 (T1) and follow-up assessment 12 months later (T2). Qualitative content analysis by Mayring was used to analyse open-ended questions about stressful events, positive and negative aspects of the pandemic, and recommendations on how to cope. Mental health outcomes were assessed with the Adjustment Disorder-New Module 8 (ADNM-8), the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), and the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). The analyses were performed with SPSS Statistics Version 26 and MAXQDA 2022.RESULTS: The mental health outcomes significantly differed over time and across countries, with e.g. Greek participants showing decrease in adjustment disorder symptoms (p = .007) between T1 and T2. Compared with other countries, we found better mental health outcomes in the Austrian and the Croatian sample at both timepoints (p < .05). Regarding qualitative data, some themes were equally represented at both timepoints (e.g. Restrictions and changes in daily life), while others were more prominent at T1 (e.g. Work and finances) or T2 (e.g. Vaccination issues).CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that people's reactions to the pandemic are largely shaped by the shifting context of the pandemic, country-specific factors, and individual characteristics and circumstances. Resource-oriented interventions focusing on psychological flexibility might promote resilience and mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises.
AB - BACKGROUND: Contextual factors are essential for understanding long-term adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study investigated changes in mental health outcomes and subjective pandemic-related experiences over time and across countries. The main objective was to explore how psychological responses vary in relation to individual and environmental factors.METHODS: The sample consisted of N = 1070 participants from the general population of Austria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, and Portugal. We applied a longitudinal mixed-methods approach, with baseline assessment in summer and autumn 2020 (T1) and follow-up assessment 12 months later (T2). Qualitative content analysis by Mayring was used to analyse open-ended questions about stressful events, positive and negative aspects of the pandemic, and recommendations on how to cope. Mental health outcomes were assessed with the Adjustment Disorder-New Module 8 (ADNM-8), the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5), the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), and the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5). The analyses were performed with SPSS Statistics Version 26 and MAXQDA 2022.RESULTS: The mental health outcomes significantly differed over time and across countries, with e.g. Greek participants showing decrease in adjustment disorder symptoms (p = .007) between T1 and T2. Compared with other countries, we found better mental health outcomes in the Austrian and the Croatian sample at both timepoints (p < .05). Regarding qualitative data, some themes were equally represented at both timepoints (e.g. Restrictions and changes in daily life), while others were more prominent at T1 (e.g. Work and finances) or T2 (e.g. Vaccination issues).CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that people's reactions to the pandemic are largely shaped by the shifting context of the pandemic, country-specific factors, and individual characteristics and circumstances. Resource-oriented interventions focusing on psychological flexibility might promote resilience and mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises.
KW - Humans
KW - COVID-19/epidemiology
KW - Pandemics
KW - Mental Health
KW - Europe/epidemiology
KW - Austria/epidemiology
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0285078
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0285078
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 37098092
VL - 18
SP - e0285078
JO - PLOS ONE
JF - PLOS ONE
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 4
ER -
