Hyland, Philip and Shevlin, Mark and Murphy, Jamie and McBride, Orla and Fox, Robert and Bondjers, Kristina and Karatzias, Thanos and Bentall, Richard P. and Martinez, Anton and Vallières, Frédérique (2021) A longitudinal assessment of depression and anxiety in the Republic of Ireland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatry Research, 300. p. 113905. ISSN 0165-1781

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Abstract

Few studies have examined changes in mental health before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. We examined changes in the prevalence of major depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) between February 2019 and March-April 2020; if there were changes in major depression and GAD during six weeks of nationwide lockdown; and we identified factors that predicted major depression and GAD across the six-week lockdown period. Nationally representative samples of Irish adults were gathered using identical methods in February 2019 (N = 1020) and March-April 2020 (N = 1041). The latter was reassessed six weeks later. Significantly more people screened positive for depression in February 2019 (29.8% 95% CI = 27.0, 32.6) than in March-April 2020 (22.8% 95% CI = 20.2, 25.3), and there was no change in GAD. There were no significant changes in depression and GAD during the lockdown. Major depression was predicted by younger age, non-city dwelling, lower resilience, higher loneliness, and higher somatic problems. GAD was predicted by a broader set of variables including several COVID-19 specific variables. These findings indicate that the prevalence of major depression and GAD did not increase as a result of, or during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Cite as: Philip Hyland, Mark Shevlin, Jamie Murphy, Orla McBride, Robert Fox, Kristina Bondjers, Thanos Karatzias, Richard P. Bentall, Anton Martinez, Frédérique Vallières, A longitudinal assessment of depression and anxiety in the Republic of Ireland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Psychiatry Research, Volume 300, 2021, 113905, ISSN 0165-1781, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113905.
Keywords:	Depression;Anxiety;COVID-19;Longitudinal;Mental health;
Academic Unit:	Assisting Living & Learning,ALL institute Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology
Item ID:	16935
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113905
Depositing User:	Philip Hyland
Date Deposited:	13 Feb 2023 15:26
Journal or Publication Title:	Psychiatry Research
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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