Anita DeLongis

Experiencing stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic such as health-related concern, social isolation, occupational disruption, financial insecurity, and resource scarcity can adversely impact mental health; however, the extent of the impact varies greatly between individuals. In this study, we examined the role of neuroticism as an individual-level risk factor that exacerbates the association between pandemic stressors and depressive symptoms. With repeated assessments of pandemic stressors and depressive symptoms collected from 3,181 participants over the course of the pandemic, we used multilevel modeling to test if neuroticism moderated the association between pandemic stressors and depressive symptoms at both between- and within-person levels. At the between-person level, we found that participants who reported more pandemic stressors on average had higher levels of depressive symptoms and that this association was stronger among those high in neuroticism. At the within-person level, reporting more pandemic stressors relative to one’s average on any given occasion was also associated with heightened depressive symptoms and this effect was similarly exacerbated by neuroticism. The findings point to pandemic stressor exposure and neuroticism as risk factors for depressive symptoms and, in demonstrating their synergistic impact, may help identify individuals at greatest risk for adverse psychological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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While there is a large and growing body of evidence around the health and well-being benefits of formal volunteering, less is known about the downstream benefits of informal helping behaviors. A small literature has evaluated associations between informal helping and health and well-being outcomes. However, epidemiological studies have not evaluated if changes in informal helping are associated with subsequent health and well-being. Using data from 12,998 participants in the Health and Retirement Study, a national cohort of US adults aged >50, we evaluated if changes in informal helping (between t0;2006/2008 and t1;2010/2012) were associated with 35 indicators of physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health and well-being (at t2;2014/2016). Over the four-year follow-up period, informal helping >=100 (versus 0) hours/year was associated with a 32% lower mortality risk (95% CI [0.54, 0.86]), and improved physical health (e.g., 21% reduced risk of stroke (95% CI [0.64, 0.96])), health behaviors (e.g., 11% increased physical activity (95% CI [1.04, 1.19])), and psychosocial outcomes (e.g., higher purpose in life (β=0.13, 95% CI [0.08, 0.18])). However, there was also evidence that informal helping was associated with higher negative affect (β=0.06, 95% CI [0.003, 0.12]) and little evidence of associations with various other outcomes. In secondary analyses, we adjusted for formal volunteering and caregiving and results were largely unchanged. Encouraging informal helping may improve various aspects of health and well-being and also promote societal well-being.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on lives around the globe. In addition to the primary threat of infection, widespread secondary stressors associated with the pandemic have included social isolation, financial insecurity, resource scarcity, and occupational difficulties. The current study examined the impact of these disruptions on psychological distress during the initial adjustment phase to the pandemic in North America. A sample of 2463 residents of the US and Canada completed both baseline and follow-up surveys across several weeks between March and May 2020. Those participants perceiving stress related to higher levels of personal threat to health and to the well-being of family members at baseline reported higher levels of depressive symptoms at follow-up, even after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. In addition, pandemic-related secondary stressors (social isolation, financial insecurity, occupational difficulty, and resource scarcity) were all independently associated with depressive symptoms at follow-up, controlling for both baseline depression and perceived health threats. The results were robust and held up after controlling for demographic factors. Women, young adults, and those who reported lower income were all at higher risk for subsequent depressive symptoms. Findings from the present study can help to identify key groups at risk for mental health problems during the pandemic and indicate actionable areas for targeted intervention.

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Paramedics are frequently exposed to traumatic events on the job, and although they have higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptomology (PTSS) than the general population (Berger et al., 2012), not all paramedics experience high PTSS. Identifying factors that impact PTSS among individuals who are frequently exposed to traumatic stress is important for the development of evidence-based interventions. Using a longitudinal design, we examined relationships among rumination, perceived stress, and PTSS in 87 shift-working paramedics. Perceived stress and rumination were examined daily across a one-week period, while measurements of PTSS were assessed at baseline and at a two-year follow-up. Regression analyses indicated that perceived stress significantly predicted rumination. Rumination significantly predicted PTSS at the two-year follow-up, even after controlling for baseline PTSS, depression, and occupational stressors. Perceived stress did not directly predict PTSS at follow-up. Rather, rumination mediated the relationship between perceived stress and PTSS. Specifically, higher levels of perceived stress were associated with higher rumination, and higher rumination was associated with higher levels of PTSS at follow-up. These findings suggest the importance of targeting both perceived stress and rumination in clinical interventions for individuals who are frequently exposed to traumatic stressors.

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Shift workers are a population at risk for experiencing poor sleep. Given the evidence linking health with shift work and sleep disturbance, it is important to identify factors that can exacerbate or mitigate sleep problems in this vulnerable population. We followed eighty-seven shift-working paramedics morning and evening over one week using an intensive longitudinal design. Multilevel modeling was used to examine whether the detrimental effects of daily occupational stress on sleep quality were buffered by perceived social support availability. Paramedics who reported more social support tended to report better quality sleep over the week. Additionally, social support buffered sleep from day-to-day fluctuations in occupational stress as well as from high average occupational stress over the week. Findings indicated that those with low levels of social support displayed poor sleep quality on days with high occupational stress; those high in support did not show significant effects of occupational stress on sleep. Those with low levels of social support tended to also display poor sleep on average across the week when they also tended to report high occupational stress on average across the week. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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Objective. To examine the effects of depressive symptoms and empathic responding on patient disability and marital quality over time. To identify factors that contribute to patient perceptions of spouses as responding empathically to their rheumatoid arthritis. Methods. Patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and their spouses (n = 133 couples) independently completed mailed questionnaires at baseline and one year later. Patients completed measures of functional impairment, marital quality, depressive symptoms, and perceived empathic responding from their spouse. Spouses reported their own depressive symptoms and empathic responding behavior. Results. Perceived empathic responding was found to interact with spouse depressive symptoms contributing significantly to the prediction of patient functional impairment reports at follow-up. Only when spouse empathic responding was low was spouse depression associated with greater patient functional impairment at 1-year follow-up. Similarly, in the model predicting patient marital quality at follow-up, there were significant 2-way interactions between perceived empathic responding and both spouse depressive symptoms and patient depressive symptoms. Only when spouse empathic responding was low did patient or spouse depression significantly predict poorer marital quality at follow-up. Patient perceptions of spouse empathic responding were found to depend on spouse reports of their own empathic responding, patient marital satisfaction, and the interaction of patient depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction. Conclusion. Empathic responding from the spouse was found to buffer against the negative effects of spouse depression on functional and marital outcomes for patients with RA. In developing couple-oriented RA treatments, increasing perceived empathic responding could serve as a useful target for intervention.

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