The DOI matches its Crossref record; 46 of the 48 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Factors associated with depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptomatology during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical implications for U.S. young adult mental health
Open accessAbstract
This study sought to identify factors associated with depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptomatology in U.S. young adults (18-30 years) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional online study assessed 898 participants from April 13, 2020 to May 19, 2020, approximately one month after the U.S. declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19 and prior to the initial lifting of restrictions across 50 U.S. states. Respondents reported high levels of depression (43.3%, PHQ-8 scores ≥ 10), high anxiety scores (45.4%, GAD-7 scores ≥ 10), and high levels of PTSD symptoms (31.8%, PCL-C scores ≥ 45). High levels of loneliness, high levels of COVID-19-specific worry, and low distress tolerance were significantly associated with clinical levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. Resilience was associated with low levels of depression and anxiety symptoms but not PTSD. Most respondents had high levels of social support; social support from family, but not from partner or peers, was associated with low levels of depression and PTSD. Compared to Whites, Asian Americans were less likely to report high levels across mental health symptoms, and Hispanic/Latinos were less likely to report high levels of anxiety. These factors provide initial guidance regarding the clinical management for COVID-19-related mental health problems.
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“On the other hand, exposure to nature may regulate stress, thus enhancing tolerance to negative emotions (34, 35), which may further reduce the risk of depression and anxiety (36, 37).”
From Can Viewing Nature Through Windows Improve Isolated Living? A Pathway Analysis on Chinese Male Prisoners During the COVID-19 Epidemic (2021) · cites this paper as [36]
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“Socially restrictive measures, quarantines and lockdowns have been associated with reduced social interaction and increased loneliness that may lead to a rise in mental health problems such as symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
From A Longitudinal Study of Loneliness Before the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Trajectories, Predictors, and Impact on Chinese Adolescent Mental Health (2024) · cites this paper as [6]
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“this is a lower prevalence when compared to those reported by research carried out on young adult populations at the early stages of the pandemic when social isolation was imposed to limit the spread of the virus (Faisal et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2020; Varma et al., 2021).”
From Social connections combat loneliness and promote wellbeing among college students coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic (2025) · cites this paper as Liu et al., 2020
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“Higher ratings of perceived social support from family are reported as being associated with lower levels of depression and PTSD (Liu et al., 2020).”
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“However, some recent research has emerged from countries such as China [8–11], Italy [12, 13], India [14, 15], Mexico [16], the United Kingdom [17], USA [18] and Spain [19–21].”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Liu, C. H., Zhang, E., Wong, G. T. F., Hyun, S., & Hahm, H. “.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Liu, Cindy H.
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-08
- Volume
- 290
- Pages
- 113172
- ISSN
- 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7263263
- OpenAlex
- W3030361728
- Cited by
- 1,157
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 92 · 2024: 130 · 2023: 226 · 2022: 316 · 2021: 300 · 2020: 64
- FWCI
- 90.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, young adults, loneliness, distress tolerance, resilience, social support, family social support, racial and ethnic differences, mental health
- MeSH terms
- Patient Health Questionnaire, Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Female, Humans, Loneliness, Male, Pneumonia, Viral, Quarantine, Social Support, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, United States, Coronavirus Infections, Young Adult, Pandemics
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