Social, financial and psychological stress during an emerging pandemic: observations from a population survey in the acute phase of COVID-19

  1. Rebecca Robillard
  2. Mysa Saad
  3. Jodi Edwards
  4. Elizaveta Solomonova
  5. Marie-Hélène Pennestri
  6. Alexander Daros
  7. Samuel Paul Louis Veissière
  8. Lena Quilty
  9. Karianne Dion
  10. Ashley Nixon
  11. Jennifer Phillips
  12. Raj Bhatla
  13. Edward Spilg
  14. Roger Godbout
  15. Bashour Yazji
  16. Cynda Rushton
  17. Wendy A Gifford
  18. Mamta Gautam
  19. Addo Boafo
  20. Rick Swartz
  21. Tetyana Kendzerska

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Abstract

The negative impacts of COVID-19 have rippled through every facet of society. Understanding the multidimensional impacts of this pandemic is crucial to identify the most critical needs and to inform targeted interventions. This population survey study aimed to investigate the acute phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in terms of perceived threats and concerns, occupational and financial impacts, social impacts and stress between 3 April and 15 May 2020.

Methods

6040 participants are included in this report. A multivariate linear regression model was used to identify factors associated with stress changes (as measured by the Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)) relative to pre-outbreak retrospective estimates.

Results

On average, PSS scores increased from low stress levels before the outbreak to moderate stress levels during the outbreak (p<0.001). The independent factors associated with stress worsening were: having a mental disorder, female sex, having underage children, heavier alcohol consumption, working with the general public, shorter sleep duration, younger age, less time elapsed since the start of the outbreak, lower stress before the outbreak, worse symptoms that could be linked to COVID-19, lower coping skills, worse obsessive–compulsive symptoms related to germs and contamination, personalities loading on extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism, left wing political views, worse family relationships and spending less time exercising and doing artistic activities.

Conclusion

Cross-sectional analyses showed a significant increase from low to moderate stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. Identified modifiable factors associated with increased stress may be informative for intervention development.

Trial registration number

NCT04369690 ; Results.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043805
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.06.29.20142638: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementConsent: Electronic informed consent was obtained from each participant.
    IRB: This study was approved by the Clinical Trials Ontario - Qualified Research Ethics Board via the Ottawa Health Science Network (Protocol #2131) and registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04369690).
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Analyses were done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23·0. Armonk, USA).
    SPSS
    suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    The study has several important limitations. First, generalizability is limited by the dissemination strategy and volunteer bias; although our demographic characteristics are consistent with other published surveys. The length and online nature of the survey may have prevented some individuals from completing it. Recall bias may have affected retrospective estimates of pre-outbreak metrics. Although our multivariate model corrected for this, data collection spanned over a month, a period during which we did observe dynamic changes in stress responses. This study also has several strengths, such as a relatively large sample size, the comprehensive set of factors assessed, and its launch in the early/mid phase of the outbreak.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: We found the following clinical trial numbers in your paper:

    IdentifierStatusTitle
    NCT04369690RecruitingThe Psychological, Social, and Economic Impacts of COVID-19

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.06.29.20142638v1 on medRxiv