Why the COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic stressor
- PMID: 33428630
- PMCID: PMC7799777
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240146
Why the COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic stressor
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic does not fit into prevailing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) models, or diagnostic criteria, yet emerging research shows traumatic stress symptoms as a result of this ongoing global stressor. Current pathogenic event models focus on past, and largely direct, trauma exposure to certain kinds of life-threatening events. Yet, traumatic stress reactions to future, indirect trauma exposure, and non-Criterion A events exist, suggesting COVID-19 is also a traumatic stressor which could lead to PTSD symptomology. To examine this idea, we asked a sample of online participants (N = 1,040), in five western countries, to indicate the COVID-19 events they had been directly exposed to, events they anticipated would happen in the future, and other forms of indirect exposure such as through media coverage. We then asked participants to complete the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-5, adapted to measure pre/peri/post-traumatic reactions in relation to COVID-19. We also measured general emotional reactions (e.g., angry, anxious, helpless), well-being, psychosocial functioning, and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. We found participants had PTSD-like symptoms for events that had not happened and when participants had been directly (e.g., contact with virus) or indirectly exposed to COVID-19 (e.g., via media). Moreover, 13.2% of our sample were likely PTSD-positive, despite types of COVID-19 "exposure" (e.g., lockdown) not fitting DSM-5 criteria. The emotional impact of "worst" experienced/anticipated events best predicted PTSD-like symptoms. Taken together, our findings support emerging research that COVID-19 can be understood as a traumatic stressor event capable of eliciting PTSD-like responses and exacerbating other related mental health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, psychosocial functioning, etc.). Our findings add to existing literature supporting a pathogenic event memory model of traumatic stress.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Similar articles
-
The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Traumatic Stressor: Mental Health Responses of Older Adults With Chronic PTSD.Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021 Feb;29(2):105-114. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.10.010. Epub 2020 Oct 23. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021. PMID: 33153871 Free PMC article.
-
[Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a consequence of the interaction between an individual genetic susceptibility, a traumatogenic event and a social context].Encephale. 2012 Oct;38(5):373-80. doi: 10.1016/j.encep.2011.12.003. Epub 2012 Jan 24. Encephale. 2012. PMID: 23062450 Review. French.
-
Psychological distress related to COVID-19 - The contribution of continuous traumatic stress.J Affect Disord. 2020 Dec 1;277:129-137. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.141. Epub 2020 Aug 10. J Affect Disord. 2020. PMID: 32818776 Free PMC article.
-
Secondary traumatic stress and vicarious posttraumatic growth in healthcare workers during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Greece: The role of resilience and coping strategies.Psychiatriki. 2021 Apr 19;32(1):19-25. doi: 10.22365/jpsych.2021.001. Epub 2021 Mar 8. Psychiatriki. 2021. PMID: 33759805
-
Defining trauma: How level of exposure and proximity affect risk for posttraumatic stress disorder.Psychol Trauma. 2016 Mar;8(2):233-40. doi: 10.1037/tra0000077. Epub 2015 Sep 21. Psychol Trauma. 2016. PMID: 26390110 Review.
Cited by
-
COVID-19 Symptoms and Mental Health Outcomes among Italian Healthcare Workers: A Latent Class Analysis.Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Jul 15;12(14):1403. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12141403. Healthcare (Basel). 2024. PMID: 39057546 Free PMC article.
-
Critical incidents and post-traumatic stress symptoms among experienced registered nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.Int J Nurs Stud Adv. 2024 Mar 27;6:100194. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2024.100194. eCollection 2024 Jun. Int J Nurs Stud Adv. 2024. PMID: 38746821 Free PMC article.
-
Maternal distress during the COVID-19 outbreak: A socio-ecological perspective.PLoS One. 2024 May 3;19(5):e0302266. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302266. eCollection 2024. PLoS One. 2024. PMID: 38701039 Free PMC article.
-
Application of tele-neuropsychology and tele-mental health before and during COVID-19 era: a bibliometric analysis.Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2024 Feb 19;86(5):2777-2785. doi: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000001822. eCollection 2024 May. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2024. PMID: 38694297 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Network analysis on psychopathological symptoms, psychological measures, quality of life and COVID-19 related factors in Chinese psychiatric patients in Hong Kong.BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Apr 12;24(1):271. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-05690-7. BMC Psychiatry. 2024. PMID: 38609962 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Zhang Q, Zheng R, Fu Y, Mu Q, Li J. Post traumatic stress disorder and death anxiety symptoms during the Coronavirus epidemic in 2019: A cross-sectional study based on the affected population [Internet]. ResearchSquare; 2020. October [cited 2020 Nov 24] p. 1–16. Available from: https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-80116/v1
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous