Stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, disability, and mental health: Considerations from the Intermountain West
- PMID: 34382736
- PMCID: PMC8420204
- DOI: 10.1002/smi.3091
Stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, disability, and mental health: Considerations from the Intermountain West
Abstract
The deleterious mental health effects associated with the COVID-19 pandemic are increasingly apparent, however, questions remain about the extent to which pandemic-related stressor exposure has contributed to increased psychological distress among an already disadvantaged group, individuals with disabilities. The first aim of the study was to examine the distribution of pandemic-related stressors across multiple dimensions-employment, personal and family finances, personal relationships, and quality of social life-among individuals with and without disabilities. The second aim of the study was to examine the association between a composite COVID-19 stressor score and two mental health outcomes-depressive and anxiety symptoms-among the two subsamples. The study used quota-based online survey data (N = 2043) collected in the summer of 2020 from adults (18 and older) residing in the Intermountain West, half of whom had a self-reported disability. Study results demonstrated that individuals with disabilities experienced pandemic-related stressors at significantly higher rates relative to their non-disabled counterparts. Further, pandemic stressor exposure was associated with greater negative effects on their psychological well-being. We argue that the COVID-19 pandemic is generating a secondary mental illness pandemic, and that individuals with disabilities are affected by it at significantly higher proportions.
Keywords: COVID-19; disability; mental health; social stress.
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors have declared that they have no conflict of interest.
Similar articles
-
Psychological and behavioral responses during the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals with mobility and/or self-care disabilities.Disabil Health J. 2022 Jan;15(1):101216. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101216. Epub 2021 Sep 21. Disabil Health J. 2022. PMID: 34649808 Free PMC article.
-
Covid-19-related stressors, mental disorders, depressive and anxiety symptoms: a cross-sectional, nationally-representative, face-to-face survey in Serbia.Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2022 May 24;31:e36. doi: 10.1017/S2045796022000117. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2022. PMID: 35607805 Free PMC article.
-
Indicators of poor mental health and stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic, by disability status: A cross-sectional analysis.Disabil Health J. 2021 Oct;14(4):101110. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101110. Epub 2021 Apr 21. Disabil Health J. 2021. PMID: 33962896 Free PMC article.
-
Findings from an online survey on the mental health effects of COVID-19 on Canadians with disabilities and chronic health conditions.Disabil Health J. 2021 Jul;14(3):101085. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101085. Epub 2021 Feb 24. Disabil Health J. 2021. PMID: 33744158 Free PMC article.
-
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, financial worries, and perceived organizational support among people living with disabilities in Canada.Disabil Health J. 2021 Oct;14(4):101161. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101161. Epub 2021 Jun 23. Disabil Health J. 2021. PMID: 34246591 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
Study on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Chinese college students: a cross-sectional analysis.Front Public Health. 2024 Apr 15;12:1340642. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1340642. eCollection 2024. Front Public Health. 2024. PMID: 38686032 Free PMC article.
-
Disability, Discrimination, and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Stress Process Model.Soc Ment Health. 2022 Nov;12(3):215-229. doi: 10.1177/21568693221115347. Soc Ment Health. 2022. PMID: 38603117 Free PMC article.
-
Assessment of the feasibility of a community-based mental health training programme for persons with disabilities by non-specialists from different stakeholders' perspectives in Bangladesh.BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Mar 4;24(1):270. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-10742-5. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024. PMID: 38433239 Free PMC article.
-
Patterns of COVID-19 related lifestyle disruptions and their associations with mental health outcomes among youth and young adults.J Mood Anxiety Disord. 2023 Dec;4:100029. doi: 10.1016/j.xjmad.2023.100029. Epub 2023 Sep 30. J Mood Anxiety Disord. 2023. PMID: 38125785 Free PMC article.
-
Pandemic-specific coping, anxiety, and depression across multiple waves of COVID-19 in elite athletes with disabilities.Front Psychol. 2023 Oct 11;14:1256853. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1256853. eCollection 2023. Front Psychol. 2023. PMID: 37885746 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Altig, D. , Baker, S. , Barrero, J. M. , Bloom, N. , Bunn, P. , Chen, S. , Davis, S. J. , Leather, J. , Meyer, B. , Mihaylov, E. , Mizen, P. , Parker, N. , Renault, T. , Smietanka, P. , & Thwaites, G. (2020). Economic uncertainty before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Public Economics, 191, Article 104274. 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104274 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
-
- Andrews, E. E. , & Dunn, R. A. (2019). Families and disability. In Brenner L. A., Reid‐Arndt S. A., Elliott T. R., Frank R. G., & Caplan B. (Eds.), Handbook of rehabilitation psychology (pp. 189–202). 10.1037/0000129-013 - DOI
-
- Aneshensel, C. S. (1992). Social stress: Theory and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 18(1), 15–38.
-
- Batavia, A. I. , & Beaulaurier, R. L. (2001). The financial vulnerability of people with disabilities: Assessing poverty risks. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 28, 139–162.
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical